The Searoad car ferry crosses Port Phillip between Queenscliff and Sorrento in about 40 minutes. It leaves each side on the hour from 7 am to 6 pm, every day of the year. On 16 October 2026 a car with driver cost $91 one way and an adult foot passenger $21.
The Queenscliff to Sorrento ferry is a car and passenger ferry run by Searoad across the mouth of Port Phillip. The crossing takes about 40 minutes and boats leave both Queenscliff and Sorrento on the hour from 7 am to 6 pm, every day of the year, Christmas Day included. On the date we checked, a car with driver cost $91 one way and an adult on foot $21. It is the shortcut between the Bellarine Peninsula and the Mornington Peninsula, and it saves driving round the bay through Melbourne.
Queenscliff is about 31 km by road from Geelong, so the ferry also works as the quickest way from Geelong to Sorrento.
Searoad’s fares page has a date picker, and prices change with the date and the season. These are the fares it showed for Friday 16 October 2026. Checked October 2026.
| Ticket | One way | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Standard vehicle up to 5.5 m, driver included | $91 | $169 |
| Large vehicle or motorhome over 5.5 m (charged from 6 m) | $19 per metre | $37 per metre |
| Caravan or boat (charged from 6 m) | $18 per metre | $33 per metre |
| Trailer (charged from 4 m) | $16 per metre | $29 per metre |
| Motorbike, rider included | $54 | $95 |
| Bike rack on a standard car | $10 | $20 |
| Adult, on foot or as an extra car passenger | $21 | $42 |
| Concession (Australian cards only) | $19 | $38 |
| Child 4 to 15 | $16 | $32 |
| Child 0 to 3 | Free | Free |
| Family on foot, 2 adults and 2 or 3 children | $64 | $128 |
| Bicycle | Free (rider pays the foot fare) | Free |
A few things the table doesn’t show:
Measure your vehicle with everything attached. Bull bars, tow bars and bike racks all count towards the length, and roof boxes count towards the height (4.1 m maximum).
The ferry leaves Queenscliff and Sorrento on the hour, 7 am to 6 pm, seven days a week. In busy periods there is an extra 7 pm sailing, and older versions of the timetable show extra boats over late December to early January, January weekends, Labour Day and Easter. Check the live timetable on searoad.com.au for your date, because Searoad sometimes runs a reduced service during annual maintenance.
Searoad gives the crossing as 40 minutes. Its FAQ says 40 to 45 minutes, and Visit Geelong & the Bellarine says about 45.
Two boats run the route, the MV Sorrento and the MV Queenscliff. Port Phillip is a sheltered bay rather than open sea, and Searoad says the ferries run in rough weather and fog. In very rough weather you will feel a slight roll.
Buy online at searoad.com.au or at either terminal. Online vehicle sales close two hours before most departures, so a same-morning booking can still work outside peak times.
| Step | Vehicles | Foot passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Arrive at the terminal | 40 minutes before departure | 20 minutes before departure |
| Where to go | Car ticket window | Straight to the boarding lounge if pre-booked |
| Running late | Ticket valid on the next ferry | Ticket valid on the next ferry |
Checked October 2026.
The ticket rules are generous. Date and time changes are free and unlimited. If you cancel more than 48 hours ahead you get a full refund; inside 48 hours you can turn the ticket into an open ticket valid for 12 months from purchase.
Children under 12 can’t travel without an adult.
The terminal is at Queenscliff Harbour. From Geelong:
If you are staying in Geelong the night before, the waterfront hotels in our Geelong accommodation guide are about 35 minutes’ drive from the terminal.
No ferry runs straight from Geelong to Sorrento. The route is road to Queenscliff, then the Searoad ferry across the Heads. The alternative is driving all the way round the bay through Melbourne.
The ferry that does leave the Geelong waterfront belongs to Port Phillip Ferries and goes to Docklands, via Portarlington, on weekends only. That service is covered in our Melbourne to Geelong ferry guide.
At Sorrento, the Sorrento jetty car park is run by the Mornington Peninsula Shire. Searoad says it is free from May to October and $1 an hour from 8 am to 8 pm between November and April. Bus 788 runs from Sorrento’s main street through the Mornington Peninsula to Frankston station.
Both ferries have a cafe that opens on every sailing, with barista coffee, sandwiches, pies and local wine and beer. You can stay with your car during the crossing or go up to the lounge; a lift runs from the car deck for anyone who needs it (tell staff at check-in).
Dogs travel free on a lead but must stay on the outside decks. Hire cars are generally allowed because the route is part of the road network rather than an island service, but check your rental contract.
Sit on the outside deck as you leave Queenscliff. The Point Lonsdale lighthouse stands about 6 km to the south-west, at the edge of the Rip, the narrow entrance to Port Phillip.
If you would rather not drive, the GetYourGuide day tour we list first starts on the Geelong waterfront, stops at Point Lonsdale, has lunch at TARRA in Queenscliff and then crosses to Sorrento on the car ferry. The Around the Bay food and wine trail follows a similar loop with lunch at a Bellarine vineyard.
The dolphin and seal snorkel cruise in the list leaves from Sorrento pier on the Mornington Peninsula side, not from Queenscliff. You would need to cross on the ferry as a foot passenger first and walk to the pier. If you are based on the Bellarine, the Queenscliff dolphin and seal swims leave from Queenscliff Harbour and need no ferry at all. More options are on our tours page.
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 availability3 hours
A cruise from Sorrento pier, a ferry ride across the bay from Queenscliff, to snorkel with fur seals and look for the resident dolphins, with lunch on board.
fromA$210
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
Searoad gives the crossing time as 40 minutes. Its FAQ page says 40 to 45 minutes, and the regional tourism site uses 45. Add the check-in time on top: vehicles need to be at the ticket window 40 minutes before departure and foot passengers 20 minutes before, so allow about an hour and a half door to door from the terminal.
On 16 October 2026 Searoad's fares page showed $91 one way and $169 return for a standard vehicle up to 5.5 m, driver included. Extra adults were $21 each way. Fares change by date, a temporary fuel levy of $5 per one-way vehicle booking applies, and buying online is cheaper than at the window, so check the date you want.
You can turn up and buy at the window, but booking online is cheaper and online vehicle sales close two hours before most sailings. Tickets are flexible: you can change the date or time for free, and if you miss your ferry the ticket is valid on the next one. Book ahead for public holidays, Easter and the Christmas to early January peak.
Not directly. No ferry runs from Geelong to Sorrento. Drive or take bus 56 from Geelong to Queenscliff, about 31 km, then cross on the Searoad ferry. The ferry that does leave Geelong, run by Port Phillip Ferries, goes to Docklands in Melbourne via Portarlington on weekends only.
Yes to both. Dogs travel free on a lead but must stay on the outside decks; guide dogs can go into the lounge. Bikes are also free: the rider pays the foot passenger fare and boards through the car ticket window, then rides onto the ferry. Bike racks on cars cost extra because they add to the vehicle length.
Queenscliff is a small Victorian-era town at the tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, about 31 km and 35 minutes from Geelong.
Point Lonsdale Lighthouse is a 21 m white concrete tower, first lit in 1902, on the headland overlooking the Rip at the entrance to Port Phillip.
The Bellarine Peninsula is the stretch of coast between Geelong and the entrance to Port Phillip, 22 to 34 km from the city.
The Geelong ferry is run by Port Phillip Ferries on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only.