Lower price
The dormitory 2-day
Adults only
- Length2 days
- BedsDormitory style
- CancelFree to 14 days
Pick-for-me guide
Great Ocean Road and Grampians tour: one day, two days or three
Small-group eco day tour to the Grampians from Melbourne
★ 4.9 · 816 reviews so far
Short answer
A Great Ocean Road and Grampians tour can be done in 2 days, or in 3 days one way to Adelaide, while a single day covers the Grampians alone.
Route essentials
Two questions, one pick
Which Grampians trip fits your days
Say how many days you can spare and what matters most, and a tour appears with its starting price.
Your match
The one-day Grampians tour
from $116
It runs 13 hours with a group of up to 24, and it has no coastal stop.
Your match
The 3-day tour to Adelaide
from $600
It runs one way through 3 national parks and names the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians lookouts.
Your match
The small-group 2-day tour
from $375
Its record says 1 night of accommodation with 3 meals and park fees are included.
Your match
The dormitory 2-day tour
from $363
It has the lower opening price, with basic dormitory-style beds for adults aged 18 and over.
A Great Ocean Road and Grampians tour joins a limestone coast to a sandstone range. This guide sets the 2-day and 3-day routes against a single Grampians day, with distances and from prices.
Editorial team, grampianstour.top · Updated November 7, 2026 · 6 min reading time
Basics
- One dayThe Viator Grampians day runs 13 hours and does not include the coast.
- Two daysThe 2-day tours start from $363 and name the 12 Apostles and the Grampians.
- Three daysA 3-day tour runs one way from Melbourne to Adelaide, from $600.
- The linkThe Twelve Apostles are 2 hours from Dunkeld by road.1
- CancellingThe multi-day tours allow free cancellation up to 14 days before.
Why the coast and the ranges get sold together
Two outings from Melbourne point in different directions. Port Campbell National Park holds the coast, a stretch of limestone cliffs, offshore stacks and sea caves where Parks Victoria calls the Twelve Apostles the best known landmark, rising from the sea and shifting in colour with the light.2 Grampians National Park holds the ranges, which Parks Victoria says are most famous for spring wildflowers, Aboriginal culture and waterfalls.3
Tour operators join them because the distances allow it. Grampians Tourism puts the Twelve Apostles at 2 hours from Dunkeld by road, and the same page gives Melbourne to Hamilton as 3.5 hours via Dunkeld.1 A route that visits both is a loop or a one-way line, and the listings below show both shapes. One keeps you in a loop from Melbourne, and the other lets you finish in Adelaide, so the shape of the route is the first thing to ask about.
The catch is time. A Great Ocean Road and Grampians tour packs two big landscapes into days that are mostly spent on the road, and the more you add the less time each place gets. The aim of this guide is to show what each length buys, so you can choose before you pay. It sticks to what the listings and the park managers say, and it leaves the stop-by-stop timings to the operators, who set them.
Four tours side by side
One day, two days or three
| Tour | Length | Cancel | From price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grampians one day | 13 hours | 24 hours | $116 |
| 2-day, dormitory style | 2 days | 14 days | $363 |
| 2-day, small group | 2 days | 14 days | $375 |
| 3-day, one way to Adelaide | 3 days | 14 days | $600 |
Prices are from prices, and cancel windows are how long before the start a full refund is available.
The 2-day tours side by side
A 2 day Great Ocean Road and Grampians tour is the shortest way to join the two. One GetYourGuide listing, a 2-day tour from Melbourne, starts from $363 and has 41 reviews averaging 4.6. It names the Great Ocean Road, the Great Otway National Park, the 12 Apostles and the Grampians National Park, and offers basic dormitory-style accommodation for adults aged 18 and over only. That makes it a budget-minded choice for solo travellers and friends, and an awkward one for a family with young children.
A second 2-day listing is a small-group tour from Melbourne to the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians, from $375, with 20 reviews averaging 4.4. Its record says 1 night of accommodation with 3 meals and park fees are included, which the first listing does not state.
Both allow free cancellation up to 14 days before for a full refund, which is a much longer window than the 24 hours on the single-day trips. Read the accommodation line twice before booking: one of these is dormitory-style and limited to adults, and that rules out a family at once.
How the four are rated
Average rating of each tour
- One-day Grampians4.8
- 2-day, dormitory4.6
- 3-day to Adelaide4.6
- 2-day, small group4.4
Averages are as the Viator and GetYourGuide records give them, from 816, 41, 49 and 20 ratings in that order.
The 3-day route that ends in Adelaide
The longest listing here is a 3-day overland tour from Melbourne to Adelaide through 3 national parks, from $600, with 49 reviews averaging 4.6. It is a one-way route, which means you finish in a different city from the one you started in, and your bags go with you. That suits a traveller who is heading west anyway and would otherwise spend a day getting back, and it is a poor fit for anyone with a return flight booked from Melbourne.
The listing names the Great Ocean Road, the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, Razorback, Tower Hill Conservation Reserve, the Reed's, Boroka and Pinnacles lookouts and MacKenzie Falls. Parks Victoria has closed the Mackenzie Falls precinct from 9 February 2026 to the end of 2026, so ask the operator what replaces that stop on a 2026 departure.4 That is a fuller list of Grampians stops than either 2-day tour names, and it includes the Pinnacle area and the falls that the Viator one-day itinerary leaves out.
Be honest about fitness. The record says walks can be up to 3 km long, often over steep and rocky sections, and a moderate to advanced level of fitness is required. Parks Victoria puts Adelaide at a 5-hour (460 km) drive from the park, so a one-way finish saves the long drive back to Melbourne.5
Three multi-day options
Which long tour fits you
Meals and fees
The small-group 2-day
Meals included
- Length2 days
- Included1 night, 3 meals
- CancelFree to 14 days
Longest
The 3-day to Adelaide
One way
- Length3 days
- Parks3 national parks
- CancelFree to 14 days
What one day in the ranges buys instead
If the coast can wait, a single day in the Grampians is a smaller commitment. The Viator day is 13 hours from Melbourne for a group of up to 24, from $116, and it visits Silverband Falls, the Grand Canyon, Reed Lookout, The Balconies and Boroka Lookout.
One day cannot cover both landscapes. The itinerary has no coastal stop, and the Pinnacle and MacKenzie Falls are not on it either. That makes it a good sampler of the central Grampians for a traveller who is also booking the Great Ocean Road as a separate trip on another day.
The price gap is large, but so is the content gap. A single day has the lowest opening price of the listings here, and a 2-day tour adds a night of accommodation and the coast. The right comparison is not dollars per day but what you are allowed to skip.
Work out the bill
One day to three days compared
Pick the party size and see the from price of each length.
Compare all 4 options
One day to three days compared
Pick the party size and see the from price of each length.
- Grampians one day13 hours · for one person from $116
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View - Dormitory 2-day2 days · for one person from $363
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View - Small-group 2-day2 days · for one person from $375
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View - 3-day to Adelaide3 days · for one person from $600
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View
Starting prices as on the booking platform, converted at the ECB reference rate. You see the exact price at booking.
Three lengths
From one day to three
1 day
The Grampians alone
A 13-hour small-group day with no coast, from $116.
2 days
Coast plus ranges, rushed
Two listings name both, from $363 and $375.
3 days
The one-way line to Adelaide
Three national parks, ending in a different city, from $600.
On the road
Dunkeld as the hinge
The Twelve Apostles are 2 hours from Dunkeld by road.1
In the ranges
Halls Gap as the base
Melbourne to Halls Gap is 3 hours by road.1
The distances that decide the order
Grampians Tourism lists the road times that shape every route here. Melbourne to Halls Gap is 3 hours, Melbourne to Ararat 2 hours, Melbourne to Hamilton via Dunkeld 3.5 hours, and the Twelve Apostles to Dunkeld 2 hours.1 Adelaide to Horsham is 4.5 hours.1 Put those on a map and the ranges sit inland between the two cities, with the coast to the south, so a route that ends in Adelaide keeps moving in one direction.
Read together, those figures show that the coast and the ranges are separate halves of a loop and not neighbours. The ranges sit inland, with Halls Gap as the base for the central park, and the drive from Halls Gap to Melbourne is 3 hours.8,1 A tour that goes one way round saves a lot of backtracking, and one that returns to Melbourne has to spend its last hours on the road home.
Rail does not help much. The Overland train between Melbourne and Adelaide stops at Horsham and Stawell, and a rail service runs to Ararat, but none of those reaches the coast.9 For this combination, a guided tour or a car is the practical choice, and the tour handles the long legs for you. If you are driving, plan the coast first and the ranges second, or the reverse, but avoid zigzagging between them.
Video
A guide to the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians National Park
Matt and Danielle on YouTube · Video data is requested only when you tap play.
The Twelve Apostles are the best known landmark, rising dramatically from the ocean and changing colour with the light.
Before you book
A checklist for a long tour
Read the listing3
- Check the accommodation type and the age limit
- Check what meals and park fees are included
- Note the 14-day free cancellation window
Plan the legs3
- Know where the tour ends, as one runs to Adelaide
- Allow for 3 hours between Melbourne and Halls Gap1
- Ask for the daily plan before you pay
Deciding: nights, money and fire season
Decide on nights first. One night, as in the 2-day tours, gives you the coast and the ranges at a rushed pace. Three days, as on the Adelaide route, gives each place room. A single day gives you one place done well. None of the listings gives a time for each stop, so ask the operator for the daily plan before you pay, and ask how long you will spend at the coast on the first day compared with the second.
Then weigh money. The from prices run from $116 for the single day, $363 and $375 for the 2-day tours and $600 for the 3-day tour. Those are opening prices, and the listing shows the live price for your date. The free-cancellation windows are 24 hours on the single day and 14 days on the longer tours.
Finally, think about fire season. Parks Victoria says the Mackenzie Falls precinct closes when the fire danger is rated Extreme or Catastrophic, and that the park is closed on Catastrophic days.10,11 A multi-day tour has more exposure to a closed day than a single trip, so check how the operator handles one and read the guide on seasons before you commit. Fire danger ratings are published by the state, and a good operator will tell you what its plan B is.
FAQ
The short answers to your questions.
Can you do the Great Ocean Road and Grampians in 2 days?
Yes, on a 2-day tour.
Two listings from Melbourne name both, from $363 and $375.
How long is the 3-day tour?
3 days, Melbourne to Adelaide.
The listing runs one way through 3 national parks, from $600.
How far is the Twelve Apostles from Dunkeld?
About 2 hours by road.
Grampians Tourism lists the road time between the two as 2 hours.1
Is the accommodation included on the 2-day tour?
On one listing, yes.
One record says 1 night of accommodation with 3 meals and park fees are included.
Can children join the dormitory tour?
No, adults aged 18 and over.
The listing says the dormitory-style accommodation is for adults only.
Can I cancel a multi-day tour for free?
Yes, up to 14 days before.
Both 2-day listings and the 3-day listing give a full refund in that window.
Does one Grampians day include the coast?
No.
The Viator itinerary has no coastal stop and no Pinnacle or MacKenzie Falls.
How fit do I need to be on the 3-day tour?
Moderate to advanced.
The record says walks can reach 3 km over steep and rocky ground.
Sources
- Grampians Tourism (visitgrampians.com.au, the regional tourism organisation) · Getting Here ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Port Campbell National Park ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Central Grampians ↩
- Parks Victoria · The Pinnacle Walk ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Central Grampians ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park Visitor Guide (June 2026 edition, PDF) ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park Visitor Guide (June 2026 edition, PDF) ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Central Grampians ↩
- Grampians Tourism (visitgrampians.com.au, the regional tourism organisation) · Getting Here ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park ↩
- Parks Victoria (parks.vic.gov.au) · Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park Visitor Guide (June 2026 edition, PDF) ↩
Further reading