Experience the Stunning Little Penguin Parade on Phillip Island

The penguin parade is a phenomenal event people travel from all around the world to see! When you think of penguins, you might picture emperor penguins, like they had in Happy Feet, the largest of the species. We’re going in the complete opposite direction with seeing little penguins, the smallest ones in the world.

These penguins are 30–45 cm (12–18 inches) tall and weigh approximately 1 kg (2.2 lbs). They are SO SMALL! What’s incredible is on Phillip Island in Victoria, Australia, these tiny flightless birds have been marching out of the ocean every night for almost a thousand years. It’s a completely natural habit, not caused by human intervention.

After a long day of hunting for fish, they emerge from the ocean and head into their burrows. This is the only place in the world you can witness such an incredible event, and it’s only a two-hour drive from Melbourne!

I’d also like to recommend you pack something warm to wear for the evening, as it does get cold when the sun goes down!

If you’ve rented a car, you can definitely drive there on your own. However, if you’re like me, you might want to book a tour to the island. I booked mine with Sightseeing Tours Australia, and they were fabulous!

They made it super easy with multiple pickup locations throughout the city! There was even a pickup spot in St Kilda, a five-minute walk away from my hostel. Make sure you pay attention to the different pickup times for each spot.

This is an all-day tour that starts in the afternoon. You will be getting back late!

Approximately one hour out of Melbourne is this Australian wildlife sanctuary. They’re home to koalas, dingos, wallabies, kangaroos, quokkas, and some far less cuddly creatures as well.

This is the first stop on the tour where you’re given about an hour to walk around. Your tour price gets you general admission. However, you’re welcome to buy upgrades such as animal encounters or feeding the kangaroos. Overall, this was a cute little stop, but I much preferred Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney.

There’s a small gift shop and cafe here if you want to grab something. I picked up a Vegemite and cheese sandwich, as it was only $5 AUD.

Finally, on Phillip Island, your first stop is about 20 minutes at the beach! This is known as a major surfing beach. Here you can get pictures, walk along the sand, and even dip your toes in the pretty chilly ocean. With the exception of Tasmania, the next major landmass is Antarctica. Which is pretty wild!

On the western tip of Phillip Island, you’ll drive along this coastal attraction to see amazing views and maybe even some animals. We saw wallabies and even an echidna! Also geese, lots and lots of geese.

This is a drive-by attempt to see some seals on the rocks. I don’t recall seeing any, unfortunately.

Your driver will give you a general admission ticket to view the parade. You can go inside the visitor center, where there are food options, gift shops, and other interactive activities.

I didn’t buy anything, but there are some absolutely beautiful Australian-made pieces at the shop near the entrance. The second shop has the more commercial souvenirs. I would have gotten a sticker for my water bottle, but sadly there were none.

There’s an activity projected on the wall where you can pretend to be a penguin and catch fish, which is silly and fun! Additionally, you should read the wall behind this. There’s a bunch of information on the various kinds of penguins. Including the little penguin you’re about to see!

I wouldn’t dilly-dally too much inside so you can get a good seat for the penguins! Have your ticket scanned and walk along the boardwalk to the stands.

This is the main event!

Rangers will give some talks about the penguins and explain how no photos are allowed! The biggest thing is the flash, as it hurts their eyes. Originally, you could take pictures with no flash. Unfortunately, too many people messed that up, so now it’s not permitted at all. The worst they do is to tell you to stop and to put your phone or camera away. However, I won’t lie, I took some on the boardwalk, but I made sure my flash was absolutely off. The correct thing to do? No. I’m not perfect, nor was I even close to the only one.

The penguins start to emerge out of the ocean right around after the sun goes down. For March, this was around 8:30pm.

Not sure I can explain my excitement when I started to see those tiny creatures coming out of the water, getting knocked back into the ocean, and walking up the beach with their little friends. They are BEYOND ADORABLE! This goes on for about 15-20 minutes, and then you’re able to walk along the boardwalks, aka Penguin Highway, to see them work their way into their burrows.

It’s often easier to see the penguins at this point. They actually made quite a bit of noise, which was hilarious. Some got into fights and others just plopped into their homes.

The drive back to the city takes just under two hours. Finally, your tour guide will drop everyone off in the reverse order you were picked up in, but you can get off at whichever stop you’d like. I got back around 12:30 am and was beyond beat!

This is definitely a long day, and I’m so beyond grateful I did it! Seeing the little penguins marching across the sand, something they’ve been doing for nearly a millennium, was incredible. Worth every single penny.