Hotels in Apollo Bay

Exploring Apollo Bay

The popular seaside stopover of Apollo Bay stands between Cape Otway and the Wye River at the halfway point of the magnificent 243km long Great Ocean Road along Australia's southeast coast. Water sports and sunbathing are among Apollo Bay's most popular attractions, like in most other Great Ocean Road seaside communities. However, Apollo Bay also boasts spectacular bush walking trails through the seemingly endless streams, waterfalls, and misty green rainforests of the Otway Ranges.

The first European settlement near present day Apollo Bay was a Point Bunbury whaling station established during the 1840s, but the region's fishing and tourism industry exploded in earnest after the Great Ocean Road opened in 1932. The Old Cable Museum now stands in the building where the first telegraph and telephone connections between Tasmania and mainland Australia were established. Apollo Bay's other major museum, the Bass Strait Shell Museum, contains an impressive shell, coral, and marine life collection. Most Apollo Bay hotels, like the Apollo Bay Backpackers Lodge, are modest establishments geared towards backpacking beach-goers, but Rayville Boat Houses provides a more upscale atmosphere.

There is a range of options for all travelers. The most popular hotel in Apollo Bay is the Apollo Bay Beach House, which has been booked &TravellersChoiceBooked1 times from our Hotels.com verified guests. Our guests also highly recommended Captains At The Bay in Apollo Bay as it has been reserved &TravellersChoiceBooked2 times.

Sights nearby

Many tourists choose to stay in Apollo Bay hotels because of the community's convenient midpoint location along the Great Ocean Road. Most of the main attractions on this legendary Victoria road are easy daytrip destinations from Apollo Bay.

- Cape Otway Lightstation

Mainland Australia's oldest surviving lighthouse has stood guard over Cape Otway since 1848. The Southern Ocean meets the Bass Strait on some of Victoria's highest oceanfront cliffs, where Apollo Bay, a half-hour drive away from the lighthouse, can easily be seen.

- Maits Rest

This 30-minute rainforest walk not far from Apollo Bay was named after forestry patrol officer Maitland Bryant, who used the path as a resting spot for his horses. Glow worms help light the path for night-time walkers, but the carnivorous black Otway snail is a much rarer sight.

- Marriner’s Lookout and Falls

It may take mere minutes to drive the kilometre between Apollo Bay and Marriner's Lookout, but the half-hour return trip on foot is far more scenic and relaxing. Green and lush mosses, lichens, and tree ferns flourish along the hiking trail to Marriner’s Falls.

- Great Otway National Park

Four smaller parks were combined into the vast and rugged Great Otway National Park in 2004. Tall cliffs over sandy beaches dominate the park's coastline, while the bushy interior is filled with waterfalls, fern gullies, and the steep Otway Ranges. Cape Otway Lightstation stands guard over this extensive park between Princetown and Anglesea.

Eating and drinking and shopping nearby

There are no fast food chains in Apollo Bay, but hungry visitors can nonetheless grab plenty of quick bites to eat along the Great Ocean Road. Some of the finest local dining, however, is found at the restaurants belonging to hotels such as Chris's Beacon Point Villas, located just five kilometres away in nearby Skenes Creek. Most other Apollo Bay eating establishments are casual cafés, seafood restaurants, or relaxing seaside bistros. Large shopping complexes and chain stores are equally non-existent in Apollo Bay, where most shops stand along the ocean and sell locally-made arts and crafts.

Public transport

Cars are by far the most common way to travel in Apollo Bay, where public transportation options are few and far between. The community lies nearly 200kms from Melbourne International Airport and 132kms from the smaller Avalon Airport. The nearest rail station is located over 60kms away in Birregurra. Three private bus operators who travel between Apollo Bay, Geelong, and several smaller Great Ocean Road communities are the only regional public transportation apart from taxis.