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Sorrento

Sorrento is located 91km south-west of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Famous for being the first settlement in Victoria, it is now a popular seaside retreat for city slickers. Property prices in Sorrento have gone up with the boom of the Melbourne property market and a three bedroom weatherboard house can go for upwards of half a million dollars.

Sorrento holidays

There are approximately 1500 people settled here during the year, and the population explodes during the summer periods. The main strip of Ocean Beach Road has literally hundreds of shops, with food, clothing, a pharmacy, post office and supermarket – everything to stock up your holiday house.

Sorrento is situated on a strip of land between Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay. On the bay side, the water is calm and warmer, suitable for the family and swimming. The back beach is part of the Mornington Peninsula National Park and for vehicle entry, costs $5 per day. This is a popular destination for surfers and body boarders and there is a rock pool for bathing and a diving into. There are a lot of rock pools in and around the cliffs which house various aquatic creatures, which is good when you want to get rid of the annoying people who are restless at the beach, be it the kids, friends or your partner.

Things to do in Sorrento

Apart from the beach, there are a number of other things to do in and around Sorrento. There are several heritage walks around Sorrento. You can visit the Nepean Museum and Heritage Gallery, housed in the National Trust-listed Mechanics' Institute. Here, you can read about the surrounding area’s past.

Down the street, there is Portsea – approximately a five minute drive. The Portsea Pub is famous for the beachfront location and the multimillionaire neighbours with their holiday compounds. This is a more inexpensive way to get the same view as Lindsay Fox (okay, probably not the same, but close), while keeping it real and staying true to your blue blood roots. You can also take a tour of the Quarantine Station, which quarantined boat passengers in a previous century.

Feel like some aqua action? Join a tour and swin with the local bottlenose dolphins or set sail on Port Phillip Bay.

Sorrento Queenscliff Ferry

One popular activity is to travel to the ‘other side’ – the Bellarine Peninsula. If you want to see the Bellarine Peninsula and don’t want to drive around Port Phillip Bay, you can catch the ferry across to Queenscliff. There are similar things to do in Queenscliff, but just relax, you don’t want to overdo it. Go to the beach or look out into the bay from a café – think about peace in the Middle East while munching on your organic bran.

The Sorrento Queenscliff ferry can take vehicles or individual passengers and leaves every hour, on the hour from Sorrento pier, starting from 7am and ending at 6pm. The Sorrento Queenscliff ferry operates every day of the year, regardless of the weather conditions, as it is purposely built for the bay conditions. Rough costs are:

• adult one way AUD9
• a car with two adults and two children during peak times (school holidays and public holidays) AUD134 return AUD67 one way (more info)

On the trip across, dolphins can be seen riding the bow waves of the vessel, and other boats in the bay. If you are interested in seeing dolphins and seals, you can take a special cruise in the bay or go to Pope’s Eye Marine Reserve, which is a popular dive site.

Getting to Sorrento

Sorrento is a relatively short drive from the centre of Melbourne, approximately 1.5hrs. With two completely different beaches within walking distance of one another, and a strip of shops joining them, it provides an idyllic location for a day trip or to spend a long weekend.