The Geelong ferry is run by Port Phillip Ferries on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only. It leaves Docklands at 10:40 am and reaches Geelong at 12:50 pm via Portarlington, then returns at 4:00 pm. An adult one-way ticket is $29 plus an 8% fuel levy, $31.32 in total, checked October 2026.
Yes, there is a ferry from Melbourne to Geelong, but only at weekends. Port Phillip Ferries sails from Docklands at 10:40 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, calls at Portarlington and reaches Geelong at 12:50 pm, a trip of 2 hours 10 minutes. The return leaves Geelong at 4:00 pm. An adult one-way ticket costs $29 plus an 8% fuel levy added from 4 September 2026, so $31.32 in total.
Checked October 2026, on Port Phillip Ferries’ off-peak timetable.
| Direction | Departs | Arrives | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Docklands to Geelong (via Portarlington) | 10:40 am | 12:50 pm | Sat, Sun, public holidays |
| Geelong to Docklands (via Portarlington) | 4:00 pm | 6:10 pm | Sat, Sun, public holidays |
Source: Port Phillip Ferries, Geelong to Docklands.
That’s one boat each way. It suits a day trip from Melbourne nicely: you get just over three hours in Geelong before the 4:00 pm sailing home. Miss it and you’re on the train.
The operator switches between off-peak and peak timetables during the year. We couldn’t find when the next peak timetable starts, so check the service updates page before you plan around extra sailings.
One-way weekend fares, checked October 2026. The 8% temporary fuel levy applies to standard tickets bought from 4 September 2026. The adult and child totals are the operator’s; the other totals are our sums of fare plus 8%.
| Ticket | Base fare | With 8% levy |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | $29.00 | $31.32 |
| Concession and seniors | $26.50 | $28.62 |
| Child (4 to 16) | $20.00 | $21.60 |
| Family (2 adults, 2 children) | $83.50 | $90.18 |
| Infant (0 to 3) | Free, seat must be reserved | Free |
| Adult return | $58.00 | $62.64 |
Source: Port Phillip Ferries fares and the fuel levy notice.
The fare page also lists lower Monday to Friday prices (adult $25). The Geelong run has no weekday sailings at the moment, and public holidays are charged at the weekend rate, so the weekend column is the one you’ll pay.
A few rules from the operator:
The ferry is not part of Victoria’s half-price public transport scheme. For a family on a budget, the train from Southern Cross is far cheaper: under-18s ride free and the adult weekend cap is $4.00 until 1 January 2027.
The Geelong service doesn’t run all year. In 2026 Port Phillip Ferries paused all Geelong sailings from Monday 25 May and brought them back on Saturday 5 September, citing low winter demand and fuel supply problems. The Portarlington route kept running through winter.
Expect a similar break in future winters, though the operator hadn’t announced 2027 dates when we checked. Look at the service updates page before you travel between May and September.
The Geelong stop is on the central waterfront, between Cunningham Pier and The Carousel. Step off and you are beside Steampacket Gardens, with the 1890s carousel a minute away.
Walking times from the ferry stop (our estimates from map distances):
| To | About |
|---|---|
| The Carousel and waterfront visitor information | 2 min |
| National Wool Museum, Moorabool St | 5 min |
| Eastern Beach swimming enclosure | 16 min along the shore |
| Geelong railway station | 10 min |
Our Geelong waterfront guide covers the piers, gardens and painted bollards along the shore. If you’d like to stay over, the Crowne Plaza and Novotel are both about 4 minutes’ walk from the stop; see where to stay in Geelong.
In Melbourne the ferry leaves from 131 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands. Arrive 20 minutes early with a bike, since loading takes extra time.
The Geelong boat calls at Portarlington, on the Bellarine Peninsula, in both directions. The operator runs a separate Portarlington to Docklands route that kept sailing through the 2026 winter. Portarlington is a small bayside town on the Bellarine; see our Portarlington guide. A weekend ferry also links Geelong and Portarlington, about 40 minutes for an adult fare of $19 plus the levy.
Choose the ferry if the boat ride is the point: the morning crossing of Port Phillip, a stop at Portarlington, then lunch on the Geelong waterfront. Choose the train if you want more time in Geelong or need to travel on a weekday. The train takes about an hour and runs every 20 minutes.
The price gap is widest for families. Two adults and two children pay $90.18 one way on the ferry with the levy. On a weekend train the same family pays at most $8.00 for the whole day: two adults capped at $4.00 each, and the children free. That holds until 1 January 2027, when the half-price scheme ends.
A good combination is the ferry one way and the train the other. Sail down in the morning, spend the afternoon on the waterfront, and take a V/Line train back whenever you like. Our Geelong day trip guide plans the day around that.
For the other bay crossing, the car ferry between Queenscliff and Sorrento, see our Queenscliff to Sorrento ferry guide.
10 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 availability10 hours
A food and drink loop of the bay that opens with a stroll on the Geelong waterfront, lunches at Jack Rabbit Vineyard on the Bellarine, then crosses to a Mornington Peninsula brewery and the bathing boxes.
fromA$219
Check availability7 hours
Take the ferry from Docklands to Portarlington, pick up a bike at the pier and ride the flat Bellarine coastal trail towards St Leonards at your own pace.
fromA$175
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Updated
Yes. Port Phillip Ferries sails from Docklands to Geelong on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, one trip each way. It leaves Docklands at 10:40 am and arrives at 12:50 pm after a stop at Portarlington, then leaves Geelong at 4:00 pm and reaches Docklands at 6:10 pm. There are no weekday sailings on the current off-peak timetable, checked October 2026.
2 hours 10 minutes, because it calls at Portarlington on the Bellarine Peninsula on the way. That is about twice as long as the V/Line train, which takes 59 to 62 minutes from Southern Cross. Take the ferry for the trip across the bay, not to save time. Boarding closes 3 minutes before departure, and missed sailings are not refunded.
An adult one-way weekend fare is $29, a child aged 4 to 16 is $20, and a family of two adults and two children is $83.50. Since 4 September 2026 an 8% temporary fuel levy is added, so an adult pays $31.32 and a child $21.60. Infants under 4 travel free but need a reserved seat. Prices checked October 2026.
No. Port Phillip Ferries is a private operator, so you buy tickets online or from its retailers, and myki is not accepted. The ferry is also left out of Victoria's half-price public transport scheme, which runs until 1 January 2027. If you want the cheapest trip, the train costs at most $5.70 on a weekday and $4.00 at weekends.
On the central waterfront, between Cunningham Pier and The Carousel. You step off beside Steampacket Gardens, about 5 minutes' walk from the National Wool Museum and about 16 minutes along the shore from Eastern Beach. Geelong railway station is about a 10-minute walk uphill, by our estimate from the map.
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.
Portarlington is a bayside town on the Bellarine Peninsula, about 31 km from Geelong, known for its mussel farms.
The Geelong Waterfront is the walkable bayfront on Corio Bay, from Rippleside Park past Cunningham Pier and the Carousel to Eastern Beach.
The Searoad car ferry crosses Port Phillip between Queenscliff and Sorrento in about 40 minutes.