Stay on the waterfront at the Crowne Plaza or Novotel if you have no car and want the bay at the door. Pick a CBD hotel such as Rydges or Holiday Inn & Suites for the station and the footy. Book Oaks R Suites for Eastern Beach, or Bayside for easier parking.
For most first visits, stay on the waterfront. The Crowne Plaza and the Novotel are both about 4 minutes’ walk from Cunningham Pier, the Carousel and the Melbourne ferry stop, and you won’t need a car. Pick a CBD hotel (Rydges, Holiday Inn & Suites, Quest Geelong Central) if you are here for the footy, the arts centre or the train. Go to Eastern Beach at Oaks R Suites for a summer beach stay with kids or a dog. Choose Bayside Geelong on The Esplanade if parking matters more than the view.
Geelong is compact. Every hotel below except Eden Oak is within about 17 minutes’ walk of the pier. Our walking times come from straight-line distances, so treat them as “about”.
| Area | Hotels here | Walk to the pier | Walk to the station | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterfront | Crowne Plaza, Novotel | About 4 min | About 6 to 11 min | No car, couples, first visit, ferry arrivals |
| CBD | Rydges, Holiday Inn & Suites, Quest Geelong Central | About 13 to 16 min | About 7 to 11 min | Footy, arts centre, families wanting a pool |
| Eastern Beach and Eastern Park | Oaks R Suites, Eden Oak | About 10 min (Oaks); 33 min (Eden Oak) | About 16 min (Oaks) | Beach stays, dogs, quiet stays by car |
| North waterfront | Bayside Geelong, Quest on The Esplanade | About 15 to 17 min | About 12 to 16 min | Drivers, longer stays |
| Bellarine and Torquay | See below | Car needed | Car or bus | Coast breaks, wineries, surf |
Checked October 2026. Walking times are our estimates from straight-line distance.
The newest big hotel in town opened in early 2026 at 33 Smythe St, next to the Nyaal Banyul convention centre. It has 200 rooms, an indoor heated pool and a rooftop-style bar. It is about 4 minutes’ walk to the pier and about 6 to the station, the closest of any hotel here to the trains. Valet parking is listed at $45 a day with unlimited in and out, and the Wilson car park under the convention centre connects to the hotel. No price band is published yet. It suits couples, business trips and anyone arriving without a car. Crowne Plaza Geelong on Booking.com
The Novotel at 10-14 Eastern Beach Rd faces the bay across the road and has 109 rooms with balconies and an indoor pool. It is the closest hotel to the pier, about 4 minutes’ walk, and about 11 from the station. Booking sites list valet parking at about $45 a night; the hotel’s own site gives no fee. Booking sites also mention renovation works running to 31 December 2026, which the hotel’s site does not confirm, so ask. The tourism board lists rooms from about $200 to $599. Couples and families who want the pool and the bay should start here. Novotel Geelong on Booking.com
Rydges is the old Mercure, which left Accor in 2017. It sits on the corner of Gheringhap and Myers streets with 138 rooms, apartments and suites, and a pool. It is about 11 minutes from the station and about 16 from the pier, and it is the hotel to book if you are walking to GMHBA Stadium. Parking is about $27 per vehicle per night at the rear off Gheringhap St; it is limited and must be booked ahead. The tourism board lists about $160 to $399. Rydges Geelong on Booking.com
At 40 Ryrie St, this IHG hotel has 180 rooms including 23 suites and a 20 m heated indoor pool. It is about 7 minutes from the station and 13 from the pier, and walkable to both the stadium and Geelong Arts Centre. IHG lists parking at $35 per space per night, limited and booked in advance, entered from Fenwick St. The tourism board lists about $159 to $499, the cheapest starting band of the big hotels. Families, footy trips and arts-centre nights all fit. Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong on Booking.com
Quest’s newer Geelong property, at 71-77 Gheringhap St, runs from studios to three-bedroom apartments. It is about 10 minutes from the station and 14 from the pier. Parking is secure and undercover at about $28 per vehicle per night. The tourism board lists about $180 to $750. With full kitchens it is the CBD pick for families and longer stays. Quest Geelong Central on Booking.com
This is a heritage-listed building from about 1854 at 10 Bellerine St, looking over Austin Park, with 128 rooms and apartments. It is about 10 minutes from the pier, a short walk from the Eastern Beach swimming enclosure and about 16 minutes from the station. Parking is on site, with an EV charger, at about $20 to $25 a night depending on where you read it. It has pet-friendly lofts. The tourism board lists about $199 to $899. Families with a dog and summer beach trips are its natural fit. Oaks R Suites Geelong on Booking.com
Eden Oak, at 20 Adams Court in the Eastern Park precinct beside East Geelong Golf Course, has 46 suites, a pool and a restaurant. It is about 33 minutes’ walk from the pier, so plan on driving. There is a car park; no fee is published, and neither is a price. It suits weddings, events and a quiet stay by car. Eden Oak Geelong on Booking.com
At 13-15 The Esplanade, Bayside has 79 rooms and apartments, a pool, sauna and gym, plus Franca’s Ristorante. It is about 16 minutes to the station and 17 to the pier. Its own website says parking is free for direct bookings, subject to availability, but its facilities list says charges apply. Ask when you book. The tourism board lists about $225 to $650. Bayside Geelong on Booking.com
The older Quest, at 16-18 The Esplanade South, is about 12 minutes from the station and 15 from the pier. Parking is secure and undercover, subject to availability, with a daily fee that Quest does not publish. Families and longer stays fit best. Quest Geelong on Booking.com
The tourism board’s listings put three city options at the bottom: the Comfort Inn in the 1934 T&G Building at 151 Ryrie St from about $150 (no on-site parking; see the Comfort Inn Geelong website), Holiday Inn & Suites from about $159 and Rydges from about $160. Cheaper still is Tasman Holiday Parks in Belmont, from about $40 for two, though you will need a car. These are listing bands with no dates attached, so check your own nights.
Stay out of town if the coast is the point. All of these need a car or a patient bus ride.
Our Bellarine Peninsula guide and Torquay guide cover the towns.
The train from Southern Cross takes about an hour, and V/Line fares are half price until 1 January 2027: see Melbourne to Geelong, or the weekend ferry from Docklands. Flying in? We cover Avalon Airport and Melbourne Airport. Driving in, read our Geelong parking guide first. Sailing to Tasmania, see the Spirit of Tasmania terminal guide. The Geelong map shows where each area sits.
4 hours
A dawn balloon flight that meets at the Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong and drifts over the city, the bay, the Barwon River and the Barrabool Hills, with breakfast afterwards.
fromA$390
Check availability10 hours
Starts with a walk past the Baywalk Bollards on the Geelong waterfront, then Point Lonsdale lighthouse, lunch in Queenscliff and the car ferry across the bay to Sorrento and the Mornington Peninsula.
fromA$199
Check availability3.5 hours
Snorkel at Popes Eye and with the young fur seals at Chinaman's Hat, then go looking for dolphins in Port Phillip Heads, with an optional bus transfer from Geelong Station.
fromA$210
Check availability1.5 hours
A guided look round the working Little Creatures brewery in an old 1920s wool mill in South Geelong, finishing with a tasting paddle.
fromA$35
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Updated
For a first visit without a car, the waterfront. The Crowne Plaza and the Novotel are about 4 minutes' walk from Cunningham Pier and the Carousel, and the Crowne Plaza is about 6 minutes from the station. Footy fans should stay in the CBD at Rydges or Holiday Inn & Suites, which are walkable to GMHBA Stadium. Families after a beach should look at Oaks R Suites near Eastern Beach.
Yes, though none sit right on the water. Oaks R Suites at 10 Bellerine St has apartments about 10 minutes' walk from the pier and close to Eastern Beach. Quest Geelong on The Esplanade South and Quest Geelong Central have studios to multi-bedroom apartments with kitchens, about 14 to 15 minutes' walk from the pier. Bayside Geelong on The Esplanade also has apartments.
Most CBD hotels charge. Checked October 2026: Rydges Geelong about $27 a night (pre-book, limited), Quest Geelong Central about $28, Holiday Inn & Suites about $35 (limited), and Crowne Plaza valet about $45 a day. Oaks R Suites lists about $20 to $25 depending on the source. Bayside Geelong says parking is free for direct bookings, subject to availability. Confirm when you book.
On the tourism board's listings, the lowest starting bands in the city are Holiday Inn & Suites from about $159, Rydges from about $160 and the Comfort Inn in the T&G Building from about $150. Tasman Holiday Parks in Belmont starts from about $40 for two, but you need a car. These are listing bands with no dates, so check your own nights.
Torquay, if the coast is the whole trip. It is where the Great Ocean Road officially starts, and RACV puts its Torquay resort about 30 minutes' drive from Geelong. Geelong suits a mixed trip: the waterfront, a train to Melbourne, the Bellarine and one or two coast days by car. Most Great Ocean Road tours start in Melbourne and skip Geelong, so neither town is a tour base.
Council parking in central Geelong costs $3.80 an hour or $15.90 a day in the Haymarket and Busport car parks, and $10.30 all day on a few outer streets.
The quickest way from Melbourne to Geelong is the V/Line train from Southern Cross: about 59 to 62 minutes, every 20 minutes off-peak and at weekends.
The Spirit of Tasmania sails from Spirit of Tasmania Quay, 136 Corio Quay Road, North Geelong, about 10 minutes' drive from the CBD.
Geelong sits on the south shore of Corio Bay.