Queenscliff is a small Victorian-era town at the tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, about 31 km and 35 minutes from Geelong. Its main sights are Fort Queenscliff (guided tours only), the maritime museum, dolphin and seal swims from the harbour, the Bellarine Railway and the car ferry to Sorrento.
Queenscliff is a small town at the eastern tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, where Port Phillip meets the open sea. The main things to do in Queenscliff are a guided tour of Fort Queenscliff, a dolphin and seal swim from the harbour, the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum, a heritage train ride and lunch in one of its 1880s hotels. The Searoad ferry to Sorrento leaves from the harbour. From Geelong it is about 31 km, or 35 minutes by car.
About 1,500 people live here (1,516 at the 2021 census), and the town is the seat of its own small council, the Borough of Queenscliffe.
The fort is the reason most people come. It was built between 1879 and 1889 around an earlier 1860 battery, and its own site describes it as a 19th-century coastal artillery fort, one of the largest and best preserved in Australia. It is still a Defence site, so you can only get in on a guided tour run by the Fort Queenscliff Heritage Association with the Army History Unit, which runs the military museum inside.
| Detail | Fort Queenscliff (Checked October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Address | 1 King Street, Queenscliff |
| Public tours | Monday and Friday 11 am; Saturday and Sunday 11 am and 1:45 pm |
| Adult | $25 |
| Concession | $20 |
| Child | $10 |
| Family (2 adults and their children) | $55 |
| Fort plus Geelong Gaol combined ticket | Adult $40, family $90 |
| Group size | Up to 35 per tour; groups of 20 or more must book |
Arrive at least 10 minutes early. Defence security locks the gates at 11 am and 1:45 pm sharp.
Bring the right ID. Every adult needs printed government photo ID. Digital driver licences from Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland are accepted; Western Australia and Tasmania licences must be the physical card. Overseas visitors need a hard-copy passport, and photos or photocopies of ID are refused. There are no public toilets at the fort.
The Black Lighthouse (the High Light), built of unpainted bluestone in 1862, stands inside the fort walls. Its partner, the White Lighthouse (Low Light), is the same stone painted white so ships could tell the two apart by day. You see both from outside only.
If you have also been to the old Geelong Gaol, the combined ticket saves $8 on two adult entries.
Sea All Dolphin Swims runs boat trips from Queenscliff Boat Harbour. You snorkel at Pope’s Eye, then visit the Australian fur seals at Chinaman’s Hat before the boat goes looking for dolphins. Resellers list the season as roughly October to May, with snorkel gear and marine park fees included.
The GetYourGuide version we list takes 3.5 hours, offers a snorkel or a sightseeing-only place, and has an optional transfer from Geelong Station. It rates 4.8 from 16 reviews.
Dolphins are wild animals, so no trip can guarantee you will see them.
The museum on Wharf Street covers the sea pilots and lifeboat crews who worked the Rip, the dangerous entrance to Port Phillip, plus old steam boats and a boat-building shed. Exhibits include the lifeboat Queenscliffe. The same volunteers run the Sunday tours of the Point Lonsdale lighthouse.
| Maritime museum | Checked October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Address | 2 Wharf Street, Queenscliff |
| Hours | 11 am to 4 pm daily (Anzac Day 1 to 4 pm) |
| Closed | Good Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day |
| Adult / concession / child 4-14 | $12 / $10 / $6 |
Queenscliff Harbour is where the dolphin boats, the fishing boats and the Searoad ferry terminal sit. Visit Geelong & the Bellarine says it has a 42 m observation tower and that stingrays often cruise among the moored boats. TARRA, the restaurant in the ferry terminal, and 360Q on the harbour are the two places the tourism board names for a meal with a view.
The car ferry to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula leaves on the hour from 7 am to 6 pm and takes about 40 minutes. Fares, timetable and booking tips are in our Queenscliff to Sorrento ferry guide. As a foot passenger it makes an easy half-day trip across the bay and back.
Queenscliff became a seaside resort in the late 19th century, and several of the grand hotels from that time still stand. Wikipedia dates them as the Palace Hotel (1879, later renamed the Esplanade), the Baillieu (1881, later the Ozone), the Vue Grand (1883) and the Queenscliff Hotel (1887; the tourism board says 1888).
For a cheaper base with more choice, Geelong is 35 minutes away; see where to stay in Geelong.
The volunteer-run Bellarine Railway starts at Queenscliff station. Its Swan Bay Express is a 45-minute ride from Queenscliff on weekends during its shed-tour season and on weekdays in school holidays; on Saturday 10 October 2026 it left at 11 am, 12 pm and 2:15 pm. On some Sundays the Seaside Explorer runs the whole line from Drysdale. The Q Train, a restaurant train, uses the same line from Drysdale.
Queenscliff station is also the end of the 35 km Bellarine Rail Trail from South Geelong. Details for both are in our Bellarine Rail Trail guide.
The Queenscliff Music Festival takes over the town on the last weekend of November; in 2026 that is Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November. Visit Geelong & the Bellarine also lists a film festival in June, a literary festival in October and the Queenscliff Rod Run of classic cars in February.
| Way to go | Time | Details (Checked October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Car | About 35 min | About 31 km; free parking at the ferry terminal for up to 12 hours |
| Bus 56 (McHarry’s) | Check the timetable | Geelong to Queenscliff via Ocean Grove and Point Lonsdale; myki |
| Bike | Depends on pace | 35 km Bellarine Rail Trail from South Geelong |
| Day tour | 10 hours | From Melbourne, starting on the Geelong waterfront |
Point Lonsdale, with its lighthouse and the lookout over the Rip, is the next town west and fits easily into the same day. The Bellarine Peninsula guide covers the other towns, and our tours page lists every bookable trip in the area.
3.5 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 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 availability3-6 hours
A five-course lunch or dinner on The Q Train's heritage carriages, running from Drysdale past Swan Bay to Queenscliff and back.
fromA$150
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
Only on a guided tour, because the fort is an active Defence site. Public tours run Monday and Friday at 11 am, and at 11 am and 1:45 pm on weekends, for up to 35 people. Adults pay $25. Every adult needs printed government photo ID or a digital licence from Victoria, NSW, South Australia or Queensland; overseas visitors need a hard-copy passport.
Yes. Sea All Dolphin Swims runs boat trips from Queenscliff Boat Harbour to snorkel with Australian fur seals at Chinaman's Hat or Pope's Eye and look for dolphins in the bay. Listings give a season of roughly October to May. Dolphins are wild, so a sighting is never certain. The tour we list runs 3.5 hours.
Drive about 31 km, roughly 35 minutes, or take McHarry's bus route 56, which runs from Geelong to Queenscliff through Ocean Grove and Point Lonsdale. Cyclists can ride the 35 km Bellarine Rail Trail from South Geelong, which ends at Queenscliff station. On some days the Bellarine Railway's heritage trains run between Drysdale and Queenscliff.
Yes, if you like history, the sea or slow days. Queenscliff packs a coastal fort, two lighthouses, a maritime museum, a heritage railway and 1880s hotels into a small town, and the Sorrento ferry leaves from the harbour. It is busiest in summer and on the last weekend of November, when the Queenscliff Music Festival is on.
The Queenscliffe Maritime Museum on Wharf Street is open 11 am to 4 pm daily and has a full lifeboat inside. The fort's military museum is part of the guided tour. A meal at one of the old hotels on the main street fills a wet afternoon, and the ferry crossing to Sorrento runs in rough weather too.
The Searoad car ferry crosses Port Phillip between Queenscliff and Sorrento in about 40 minutes.
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 Rail Trail is a 35 km walking and cycling path from South Geelong station to Queenscliff on the old railway line.
The Bellarine Peninsula is the stretch of coast between Geelong and the entrance to Port Phillip, 22 to 34 km from the city.