Secret Hideaways & Hidden Gems on the Mornington Peninsula
Explore our Favourite Spots on the Mornington Peninsula!
What To Do – Discover some of the Mornington Peninsulas best cafes, eateries and attractions!
The Mornington Peninsula is home to many secret hideaways and hidden attractions that often can only be known by speaking to the locals!
We have created your one stop guide to ensure you find the best kept surprises of our region creating your best experiences yet!
Whether you are after fresh, delectable food, a stroll through nature to quiet beaches, adventure attractions, beautifully curated boutiques, local markets or local beer and wine, the Mornington Peninsula provides an array of attractions to suit every traveller!
BREAKFAST & LUNCH
Merricks General Store, Merricks – Café and wine store, Art Gallery.
Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm, Main Ridge – Visit their café or choose to pick your own strawberries during picking season!
Georgie Bass Café, Flinders – All about putting fresh, local and seasonal produce on your plate. Handpicked the best regional farmers, dairies, orchards and vineyards to help serve simple, delicious food that not only looks great but tastes fabulous!
Hunter Café, Rye – Quirky cafe serving delicious, healthy, vibrant food. Eco conscious. Dine in and takeaway.
Mr Curtis, Mt Martha – Breakfast, brunch, tapas, lunch, dinner, coffee and cocktail options with beach views.
Commonfolk, Mornington – Try out their freshly roasted coffee, delicious wholesome food and great atmosphere. Visit and shop with their creatives working in the studio and be sure to visit the Nook studios right next door!
Baked, Sorrento – Baked goods, sandwiches, buddha bowls and cakes. Something to suit everyone!
The Winey Cow, Mornington – The perfect place to stop for brunch with the breakfast menu available all day.
Store 15, Mornington – Home to boutique coffee, cold pressed juice and raw superfood.
Soulful Vegan Food, Mornington – 100% vegan. Renowned for their everchanging, fresh menu where most of their offerings are created from scratch. Indulge in homemade bread, sauces, fresh juices, the list goes on!
EAT
The Epicurean – The Shed Restaurant.
Red Gum BBQ – The most authentic Southern American BBQ in Australia and the Mornington Peninsula’s best BBQ and Beer Hall.
Barn & Co – Barn & Co. is a casual and charming restaurant in a barn set on a stunning winery.
Ciao Bella – A cosy Italian restaurant located in Balnarring serving pizza, pasta and seafood in a casual, relaxed Italian atmosphere.
The Heritage – A beautiful heritage 1930’s building featuring original classic open fires, a spacious sunny deck and a huge beer garden amongst the 2-acre property in the heart of Balnarring.
Flinders Hotel & Zigis Bar – A casual bar and bistro serving seriously good fare to locals and visitors.
Assagini – Italian for ‘small tastings’ and many refer to us as an Italian Tapas style bar – restaurant.
For those who like to taste several, deliciously executed dishes to accompany their drinks & conversations.
Alatonero – Saltwater in Greek. Inspired from a long-term love affair with Santorini, and a passion for Greek food and life, Alatonero offers you a true taste of the Greek Islands without the airfare!
Sorrento Hotel – Hotel Sorrento prides itself on serving sumptuous and seasonal dining. At its core, Hotel Sorrento offers everything from your classics to contemporary modern dishes.
Portsea Pub – Established in 1876 and recently renovated it is the perfect place to stay, drink and dine by the bay.
STAY
Iluka Retreat, Glamping – Treat yourself to a blissful Glamping experience amongst nature. A true outdoor glamping venture sleeping under the stars without the stress! Plan your weekend swimming in the lake, taking on our popular obstacle course Challenge Valley, or plan a picnic on our hilltop to catch the sunset.
Iluka Retreat, Group Lodges – A 36 acre property with Group Accommodation set across 2 lodges, camping areas for exclusive groups and glamping villages. Iluka is a privately owned hidden oasis, nestled among beautiful rolling hills. Overlooking stunning vistas, Iluka provides a back to nature experience where you can sit back, relax and lounge beneath the stars. Located in the coastal town of Shoreham with a short drive to some of the Peninsulas finest wineries, attractions and beaches.
Bayplay Lodge, Blairgowrie – Bayplay Lodge is the ideal group accommodation, nestled amidst the tea trees in a peaceful setting just 500m from the beach. Perfect for family holidays, reunions or social gatherings, special interest groups and school camps!
Portsea Apartments – Self-contained apartments located in the heart of the Portsea township opposite to popular local tourist attractions.
ADVENTURE ATTRACTIONS
Bayplay Adventure Tours – Bayplay offers an array of amazing adventure activities and unforgettable experiences. Located in Portsea, it is a one-stop shop for all your adventure needs! Bayplay provides day tours including: Learn to Scuba Dive, Sea Kayaking coastline tours, Snorkel with Sea Dragons, Catamaran Sailing, Guided Hiking and Bike Riding tours as well as activity equipment rental for self-guided options.
Ashcombe Maze and Lavender Gardens – Home to Australia’s oldest and most famous hedge maze, a beautiful circular rose maze, and the year-round flowering Lavender Labyrinth, all set among 25 acres of world acclaimed gardens.
Enchanted Adventure Maze Garden – Featuring hedge mazes, tube slides, an outdoor sculpture park, tree surfing and an indoor three-dimensional maze, this beautiful outdoor adventure park has something for everyone.
Heronswood House and Garden – Heronswood is a breathtaking historic property situated on two hectares of formal gardens in Dromana with a café.
THINGS TO DO
Arthurs Seat Eagle – Experience the most stunning view at Arthurs Seat on Victoria’s only aerial gondola! See the highest point on the Mornington Peninsula.
Charlies Auto Museum – A car museum housing a unique collection of over 80 motor vehicles, memorabilia, model cars and automobile paraphernalia from eras spanning over years.
Dromana 3 Drive In – Drive-in cinema showing new releases, plus an American diner serving made-to-order burgers.
Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Park – Explore the bush-land while feeding kangaroos and wallabies, petting friendly koalas and enjoying encounters with colourful birds, reptiles, dingoes and many other animals including endangered species.
NATIONAL PARKS & WALKING TRACKS
Cape Shanck Lighthouse Reserve & Bushrangers Bay – Visit the lighthouse museum, explore rock pools, see some of the best coastal scenery near Melbourne when you follow the Bushrangers Bay Nature Walk.
Coolart Wetlands and Homestead – Coolarts historic mansion is set in a delightful garden with wetlands, woodlands and pasture nearby. Paths take you to the beach, lagoon and wetlands.
Point Nepean National Park/Fort Nepean – Journey to the tip of the Mornington Peninsula to Point Nepean National Park and explore the rugged coastline, natural beauty and military history of the region.
Arthurs Seat State Park – Rising above the Mornington Peninsula, Arthurs Seat is the most familiar of all Port Phillip Bay landscape features. Its 314-metre summit, reached by road or on foot, gives spectacular views of the bay and Port Phillip Heads.
Millionaires Walk – Millionaires Walk features priceless bay views and the chance to quietly peruse some highly-priced private architecture.
Devilbend Reservoir – A haven for waterbirds and walkers, Devilbend Reserve comprises 422 hectares of native vegetation along with almost 250 hectares of water surface area. Devilbend can be explored by selected walking tracks.
BEACHES
Blairgowrie – Sandy bay beach with barbecue and picnic facilities in the foreshore reserve, a boat ramp suitable for small craft and a walking and cycling track.
Blairgowrie, St Johnswood Rock – On the back beaches of Mornington Peninsula sits the Blairgowrie jumping rock. A jagged cliff perches over a turquoise rock pool. Bridgewater Bay is incredibly scenic and there’s plenty of rock pools to explore.
Sorrento Front Beach – Popular bay beach and holiday destination. The departure point for the Queenscliff-Sorrento car and passenger ferry.
Portsea Front Beach – Popular bay beach and holiday destination features wide foreshore reserves with picnic and barbecue facilities.
Ocean Beaches
Sorrento Ocean Beach – Part of the Mornington Peninsula National Park, this popular surf beach features picnic and barbecue areas, kiosk and tea rooms.
Flinders Ocean Beach – Part of the Mornington Peninsula National Park, this protected sandy bay beach and foreshore reserve has picnic, barbecue and play facilities.
Flinders Blow Hole – Magnificent views can be seen of the wild surf and rocky Bass Strait coastline. There is a well-made track and a wooden boardwalk and stairway to the blowhole. The next dirt carpark on your left is the locals spot ‘Kerry Greens’ made up of perfect rolling hills, ocean views and tracks down to the seas edge.
Shoreham Beach – Steep, sandy, pine-tree framed beaches are located around the mouth of Stony Creek and rocky platforms and reefs are popular for family exploration.
Point Leo Surf Beach – This popular surf beach has swells rolling in from Bass Strait, while the foreshore reserve has picnic, barbecue and play facilities, a kiosk and camping area.
Westernport Bay Beaches
Merricks Beach – A safe sandy bay beach with walking tracks through wide foreshore reserve to beach.
Balnarring Beach – Popular beach with well-vegetated sand dunes, camping and caravan parks, and foreshore reserve with picnic, barbecue and play facilities.
Somers Beach – Popular sandy beach with picnic and barbecue facilities within a wide foreshore reserve.
WINE & DINE
Montalto Vineyard – Award-winning wines with a fine-dining restaurant, cellar door, garden piazza and free Sculpture Trail.
Tucks Ridge – Enjoy blind wine tastings under their tree or linger over lunch on the terrace.
Pier 10 – Restaurant and Cellar Door. Enjoy a menu using local, regional produce or food from the Pier 10 organic, vegetable garden.
Pt Leo Estate – Bay views, sculpture park, cellar Door, sublime food, fine dining.
Panton Vineyard – A family-owned, boutique vineyard located on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula bringing you exceptional quality wines from a picturesque and intimate setting.
Green Olive – Tapas, including veggie options, in a farm-shop restaurant with a patio and views over a vineyard.
T’Gallant – Located on a former apple orchard nestled amongst the rolling hills of Main Ridge. With a large outdoor piazza, wine tastings and a menu full of classic provincial-style dishes including Roman style wood-fired pizza, it’s the perfect place to gaze and graze and enjoy a taste of la dolce vita on the Mornington Peninsula.
Red Hill Estate – Established in 1989, the property sits in an internationally recognised “Cool Climate” region on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and currently encompasses 46 acres with 23 acres under vine.
CIDER & BREWERIES
Mock Cider – A Cider Lounge that offers a unique tasting experience set up in the original wooden cool store built on the Orchard in 1945.
Red Hill Brewery – An award winning, independent craft brewery located amongst its own hop garden on top of Red Hill.
St Andrews Brewery – The centre of the old horse training facility is where you’ll find the brewery and beer garden. The stables, that were once home to some incredible racing pedigree have been converted into sitting areas.
Jetty Road Brewery – Their aim is to create an educational environment that takes people inside the craft beer experience and makes the enjoyment of a fine ale accessible to all.
Bass and Flinders Distillery – Using a traditional alembic pot still and a passion for adventure Bass & Flinders set out to create a range of handcrafted spirits including brandies, gins and liqueurs.
Mornington Brewery – The Brewery Bar has a casual relaxed atmosphere where you can watch the brewers creating your favourite beer. Complemented by a rustic beer garden and a viewing mezzanine overlooking the industry of the brew house.
Harts Farm – Occupies 10 Hectares with Manton’s Creek flowing through. Perfect for cider and olives.
The Old Apple Shed, Boneo – Rustically relaxed cellar door within a working winery. Decadent wine, divine cider, delectable ginger beer and delicious food.
SPA & WELLBEING
Peninsula Hot Springs – Peninsula Hot Springs is an award-winning natural hot springs and day spa. Natural thermal mineral waters flow into the pools and private baths at the coastal oasis, providing an idyllic setting for relaxation and rejuvenation.
Endota Day Spay, Red Hill – Treat yourself to a range of treatments from massage, facials, and beauty services.
Hot Hut Yoga – The Hot Hut is a small boutique yoga studio, immersed deeply into the natural environment of Red Hill. Classes are gently heated to 30 degrees using FIR.
Silver Leaf Yoga – Located at Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula, yoga is offered 7 days a week in their beautiful, purpose-built facility.
GOLF
Moonah Links, Fingal
Portsea Golf Club, Portsea
RACV Cape Schanck Resort, Cape Schanck
Rosebud Country Club, Rosebud
SHOPPING
Sorrento Main Street – Sorrento Village shopping centre offers all the ambience and charm of an historical seaside village with the sophistication & style of a city shopping strip.
Mornington Main Street – With over 370 fashion, dining and wellness destinations Mornington Main Street is the ultimate place to shop, eat, play and stay on the Mornington Peninsula.
Dromana, Rye, Rosebud Foreshore and Dromana Industrial Estate – A range of homewares, clothing and surf ware.
Tyabb – Home to a range of hand selected antiques and collectables. Be sure to visit the Tyabb Packing House and Vintage Emporium.
LOCAL MARKETS
The people and the produce are what makes our region such a special place to live and visit. A great way to discover the Peninsula’s finest artisanal products, freshest local produce, artists, local makers and performers is to head to one of our many celebrated community markets. We have listed some of our favourites below or please follow this web address for a calendar overview.
https://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Activities/Whats-On/Markets
Red Hill Community Market
184 Arthurs Seat Road
Red Hill Victoria, 3937
Emu Plains Market – Balnarring
Emu Plains Reserve, Coolart Road
Balnarring, 3926
Mornington Racecourse Market
320 Racecourse Road
Mornington 3931
Mornington Main Street Market – Every Wednesday
Main Street
Mornington, 3931
Sorrento Makers Market
Sorrento Village, Ocean Beach Road
Sorrento, 3943