Apollo Bay

Introduction

Apollo Bay is a popular coastal town along the Great Ocean Road in south-west Victoria. With a population of under 2,000, Apollo Bay is not quite as busy as nearby Lorne, but still has plenty to offer visitors. Besides the beach, people are attracted by the town's numerous festivals, particularly the Apollo Bay Music Festival and the Great Ocean Sports Festival.

Sights and Activities

You can get up-to-the-minute travel information on the sights and activities of Apollo Bay at the Great Ocean Road Visitor Information Centre. The tourist information officers live locally and know the area very well.

Apollo Bay is a great base from which to explore the spectacular scenery of the surrounding Great Otway National Park. The new 91-kilometre-long Great Ocean Walk features some of the most remarkable coast and forest scenery in the country. You can also visit the Cape Otway Lightstation and the Otway Fly Treetop Walk.

Events and Festivals

• Apollo Bay Music Festival - One of the most popular music festivals in regional Victoria, the Apollo Bay Music Festival is held each April. Read more about this and other Outdoor music festivals in Victoria (Australia).
• Great Ocean Sports Festival - A 2-day festival held in February every year.

Getting There

By Train

Apollo Bay does not have a train line running to it, but there are V/Line buses from Warrnambool and Geelong, which are both on V/Line train lines. If you're coming from Melbourne, the quickest approach is to catch a train to Geelong and then take the coach from there, a journey that takes about 3:50 (shorter in peak time) and costs $19.40.

By Car

Apollo Bay is located along the Great Ocean Road, which is a slow, scenic route. If you're coming from Melbourne and want to get there in a hurry, the faster option is to go along the Princess Highway, turn off on the C119, follow it through Birregurra down to the coastal town of Skenes Creek, and head west to Apollo Bay from there.

If you're coming from Adelaide, follow along the Princess Highway in an easterly direction and turn south at Colac. Follow the C154 down to Forrest, where it links up with the C119.

By Bus

V/Line has coaches to Apollo Bay from Warrnambool, Geelong and other coastal towns along the Great Ocean Road, including Lorne.

Sleep

Upscale

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafés are very common in the larger Australian cities and popular tourist destinations. However, once you leave the major population centres, you might have trouble finding somewhere to log on. Free wifi is getting more and more common (either with or without a code) in places like restaurants, some bars and coffee places and hotels. Sometimes a fee is required.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Australia is on a GSM 900/1800 network, so if you have an unlocked phone that works on those frequencies, you will be able to buy a prepaid SIM-card and stick into your phone when you're in Australia. You will receive a new Australian phone number with the SIM-card.

To dial out of Australia use the prefix 0011, followed by the calling code of the country you are trying to reach, followed by the area code of the city/town (without the 0!) and finally the phone number.

Within Australia, it is necessary to add an area code to the phone numbers if you are calling from outside the area. Below are Australia's area codes:

• 02 - New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory (Sydney, Canberra)
• 03 - Victoria & Tasmania (Melbourne, Hobart)
• 07 - Queensland (Brisbane)
• 08 - Western Australia, South Australia & Northern Territory (Perth, Adelaide, Darwin)

000 is the emergency telephone number in Australia, but the international GSM mobile emergency telephone number 112 also works on mobile phones.

Post

Australia Post is the government's postal service. Most suburbs will have at least one post office. Opening times are mostly from around 8:00 or 9:00am to 5:00pm though larger ones keep longer hours sometimes. A standard letter or postcard sent within Australia will cost $0.60. Internationally, it costs $1.70 to send postcards anywhere in the world. Letters cost $1.85 to send within the Asia Pacific region and $2.60 to anywhere else in the world.^[1]. It is also possible to send things as parcels or by express mail. You can also use use private courier companies like TNT, UPS or DHL as they are competitive and reliable.

External Links

• Official Website