Geelong beaches

Geelong’s own beach is Eastern Beach, a calm bay beach on Corio Bay a short walk from the city centre, with a 1930s swimming enclosure and lifeguards in summer. The best beaches near Geelong are 25 to 35 minutes away by car: sheltered bay beaches on the Bellarine Peninsula to the east, and surf beaches at Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, Torquay and Jan Juc to the south.

Pick by the water you want. Corio Bay and Port Phillip are flat. Bass Strait is not.

Beaches at a glance

Beach	Type	From Geelong	Patrolled
Eastern Beach	Bay, enclosure and children’s pool	In the city	Lifeguards 1 Nov to 19 Apr
Rippleside and St Helens	Small bay beaches	3.4 km, 5 min	No
Portarlington	Sheltered bay	31 km, about 30 min	No
Point Lonsdale front beach	Calm, rock pools	29 km, about 30 min	Santa Casa Beach, peak summer only
Barwon Heads (river side)	Estuary sand	22 km, about 25 min	No
Ocean Grove main beach	Surf	23 km, about 25 min	Yes, in season
13th Beach	Surf	About 25 min (Barwon Heads)	Yes, in season
Torquay Front Beach	Gentle surf	22 km, about 25 min	Yes, in season
Jan Juc	Surf	24 km, about 30 min	Yes, in season
Bells Beach	Surf break, not for swimming	29 km, about 35 min	No
Anglesea	Surf	36 km, about 40 min	Not checked

Checked October 2026. Drive times are OpenStreetMap routing estimates without traffic. “In season” means roughly late November to Easter; 2026-27 patrol days weren’t published when we checked.

Eastern Beach, in the city

Eastern Beach is the beach most visitors mean when they say “Geelong beach”. It sits at the eastern end of the waterfront, near the Botanic Gardens, and was built as a sea baths complex between 1927 and 1939. The semicircular enclosure is still there, along with a children’s pool, a dive tower, a playground, barbecues and lawns.

The council’s lifeguard hours for the children’s pool and dive tower, checked October 2026:

Dates	Lifeguards
1 November to 21 December	12 pm to 5 pm daily
22 December to 28 February	10 am to 7 pm daily
1 March to 19 April	12 pm to 5 pm daily
20 April to 31 October	None; dive tower closed

The children’s pool is open around the clock, but outside those hours nobody is watching. The water is the bay, so check the EPA beach report after heavy rain. Parking is free all day on Garden Street and Hearne Parade above the beach. On peak summer days the council manages traffic at the Ritchie Boulevard car park, so arrive early.

The Eastern Beach guide has the full history of the baths.

Rippleside and St Helens

At the other end of the waterfront, about 3.4 km north of the city, Rippleside Park has a small beach, a fenced inclusive playground, accessible barbecues, toilets and a Changing Places facility. Beachsafe lists the beach at St Helens and Rippleside as about 150 m long with a low hazard rating and no surf life saving service.

It’s a local’s spot rather than a destination, and the west end of the bollard trail. Dogs can be off the lead here between 5 pm and 10 am.

Calm beaches on the Bellarine

The Bellarine Peninsula faces Port Phillip on one side and Bass Strait on the other. The bay side is where families with small children go.

Portarlington. A regional tourism feature describes it as a “sheltered and family friendly bay” with calm water and a long stretch of sand. Beachsafe lists no surf life saving service, so supervise closely. Portarlington is also known for its mussel farms. See Portarlington.

Point Lonsdale front beach. Better for “wandering, wading and rock pool rambling” than laps, in the words of the same feature. The Point Lonsdale lighthouse guide covers the town. The back beach at Point Lonsdale faces Bass Strait and has strong rips; the local surf club recommends it only for surfers and experienced swimmers.

Barwon Heads, river side. The sandy banks either side of the bridges, where the Barwon River meets the sea, are favoured by families with young children. The ocean side is a different beach entirely. See Barwon Heads.

Surf beaches south of Geelong

Ocean Grove main beach. About 2 km of sand, patrolled by the Ocean Grove surf club in season, and a popular spot for beginner surf lessons. The 2021 tourism feature called it “one of the safest family surf beaches in Victoria”. It is still surf, so swim between the flags. Dogs are banned on the main beach all year. More in Ocean Grove.

13th Beach, Barwon Heads. A surf beach patrolled by the Barwon Heads 13th Beach club, and named by the tourism feature as a spot for keen surfers.

Torquay Front Beach and Cosy Corner. Torquay is the official start of the Great Ocean Road. Front Beach usually has low waves and is patrolled in summer, and Cosy Corner, between Front Beach and the rocks at Point Danger, is described as the most protected swimming spot in town. See Torquay.

Jan Juc. Wider than Torquay’s Front Beach, with slightly bigger waves, and patrolled in summer. A surf beach first; swim only between the flags.

Bells Beach. Famous for the Rip Curl Pro at Easter, and best watched from the clifftop platforms. It’s a surf break, not a swimming beach. See Bells Beach.

Patrols and safety

Victorian surf clubs and lifeguards patrolled from 15 November 2025 to 19 April 2026 last season. Days vary by beach. At Torquay, for example, volunteers patrol weekends and public holidays from November to April, and paid lifeguards add weekdays from December to February. Lifesavers are only on duty when the red and yellow flags are up.

Before you go:

• check flags, hazards and patrol days for your beach on beachsafe.org.au;
• swim between the flags and never alone;
• at bay beaches with no patrol, stay within your depth and keep small children within reach.

Which beach should you choose?

With toddlers, stay in town at Eastern Beach in lifeguard hours, or drive to Portarlington. For school-age kids who want waves, Torquay Front Beach or Ocean Grove between the flags. For a surf lesson, Torquay has a beginner lesson with board and wetsuit included (see the tour box on this page). For a walk and a look rather than a swim, Bells Beach and the clifftops.

A full day on the coast is easy to build from Geelong. The Bellarine Peninsula guide and the Great Ocean Road itinerary cover the rest.