A Yarra Valley Day Trip from Melbourne, Hour by Hour

A day in the Yarra Valley runs to a timetable, and knowing it helps you pick the right tour. Here is how a full day, a half day and a late start fall hour by hour, from the kerb in Melbourne to the last tasting. The valley is about an hour's drive from the city centre, and every Yarra Valley tour from Melbourne works around that hour.

How does a Yarra Valley day run?

Every guided day has the same shape. You meet in central Melbourne, ride for about an hour, and spend the middle of the day moving between cellar doors. Lunch comes in the middle of the day. You head back in the late afternoon.

What changes is the number of stops and how long you get at each. A full day fits four or five stops of 30 minutes to an hour. A half day fits three. The table near the end sets the three day shapes side by side.

Leaving Melbourne

Most full-day tours leave between 8:00 and 9:30. The wine, gin, whisky and chocolate tour leaves the Ian Potter Centre on Flinders Street at 9:00, and asks you to arrive by 8:35. The Spring Street bus leaves opposite the Hotel Windsor at 9:00, with arrival by 8:45. The full-day tour with a winery lunch leaves the Immigration Museum at 9:30.

If you would rather be collected, the grazing tour picks up at six central hotels between 8:00 and 9:00. The 9:00 buses leave on time, so be at the kerb early. The map of meeting points puts every start on one screen.

The first cellar door

You reach the first stop about an hour after you leave. On the full-day tour with lunch, it is Greenstone Vineyards for 30 minutes. On the most-reviewed day, it is Soumah in Gruyere for 45 minutes. Soumah opens at 10am seven days a week and pours Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and northern Italian varieties.

Eat breakfast before you go. A morning tasting on an empty stomach makes for a long afternoon.

Lunch in the valley

Lunch comes after one or two stops. On the full-day tour with lunch, you get an hour at Balgownie Estate for lunch and a tasting, with a one-course meal and a glass of wine in the fare. On the most-reviewed day, you get 75 minutes at Hubert Estate or Chandon, and you pay for your own meal.

Chandon opens its cellar door from 11am to 4:30pm daily, so a lunch stop there sits well in the middle of the day. If lunch is not in your fare, one tour puts a winery lunch at about A$25 to A$35.

The afternoon stops

After lunch, most tours visit two or three more places. The full-day tour with a winery lunch goes on to Yering Farm for 45 minutes and Soumah for an hour. The most-reviewed day adds the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie in Yarra Glen for 45 minutes and Balgownie Estate for 45 more.

The Chocolaterie is open 9am to 5pm every day except Christmas Day, and entry is free. Yering Station, where Victoria's first vineyard was planted in 1838, pours from 10am to 5pm. Several tours end the day at one or the other.

Getting back

A full-day tour runs about eight hours, so a 9:00 start is back in Melbourne around 5pm. The grazing tour gives its return as 17:00 to 17:30. Tours do not always finish where they started. The most-reviewed day finishes at 30 Flinders Street, and the lunch-and-gin tour at 111 Flinders Street.

If you have dinner booked, allow for city traffic on the way back. Plan the evening from 6pm, not 5pm.

How long is a half day?

The half-day winery tour from Melbourne runs five hours. You board at Arts Centre Melbourne or in Lilydale, then spend about 45 minutes at each of Helen & Joey Estate, Payten & Jones and Soumah. It finishes at Federation Square. It costs $90, and you pick a morning or an afternoon run.

There is no lunch stop, so eat before a morning run or after an afternoon one. A barista coffee comes before you leave. The Yarra Valley half-day wine tours compare every short option.

A late start from Federation Square

The Chandon and kangaroo tour leaves Federation Square at 11:30 and runs seven hours. It stops at a strawberry farm first, then gives an hour each to Chandon, Yering Station and the Chocolaterie. The last hour is spent at a kangaroo spot at sunset.

That puts you back in Melbourne in the evening. It suits you if you want a slow morning in the city, or you are arriving on an early flight. Sightings are common, but wildlife is never guaranteed.

Can you add the redwoods or the sanctuary?

Yes, on the Redwoods day. It leaves Arts Centre Melbourne for 45 minutes in Warburton village and a 45-minute walk in the Cement Creek redwood forest. Over 1,470 Californian redwoods grow there, planted in the 1930s, and some now stand above 55 metres.

You then choose two hours at Soumah for lunch and a tasting, or two hours at Healesville Sanctuary with entry included. The day ends with 30 minutes at the Chocolaterie. It costs $127.

How many wineries fit in one day?

Three on a half day and four on a full day, if wine is all you want. The full-day tours with lunch visit Greenstone, Balgownie Estate, Yering Farm and Soumah. The food days trade a winery or two for chocolate, cheese, fruit or gin.

More stops is not always better. At 30 minutes a stop you taste quickly and move on. At an hour a stop you can sit with a glass and ask questions. Decide which pace you want before you compare the itineraries.

Morning or afternoon on the half day?

Both runs visit the same three wineries, so choose by the rest of your day. A morning run leaves your afternoon free in Melbourne. An afternoon run lets you sleep in, and you taste later in the day.

Neither run stops for lunch. On a morning run, eat a proper breakfast. On an afternoon run, have lunch in the city first. If you are staying east of the city, board in Lilydale and save yourself the ride in.

Where do you eat if lunch is not included?

At a winery, usually. Soumah in Gruyere runs Ai Fiori Trattoria beside its cellar door. Helen & Joey Estate serves lunch at Re'em from Friday to Monday. Tokar Estate's restaurant opens from Thursday to Sunday, 11:30am to 5pm. Rochford Wines has two restaurants, one of them a pizzeria.

Your tour chooses the stop, so check where it pauses for lunch. One tour puts a winery lunch at about A$25 to A$35. Bring a card, and ask your guide what the kitchen serves quickly.

What is the valley like in each season?

Summer days are warm. At Coldstream, January averages a maximum of 28.2 °C, so bring a hat and water. Vintage runs from mid-February to the end of April, when grapes are picked across the valley. February also has the fewest rain days of the year.

Winter is cool. July averages a maximum of 13.5 °C and a minimum of 3.9 °C, and August is the wettest month by rain days. Tours run all year, so pack a warm layer from May to September. The weather by month has every figure.

Three day shapes compared

Here are the three ways to spend your day, side by side.

What should you do after the tour?

Most tours return to central Melbourne by early evening, which leaves the night free. If you stay in the valley instead, Helen & Joey Estate in Gruyere has a 16-room hotel, and its restaurant serves lunch from Friday to Monday.

If you want a second day, the things to do in the Yarra Valley include Four Pillars gin in Healesville and Healesville Sanctuary. Four Pillars stays open until 9pm on Friday and Saturday.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fit this day

Yarra Valley Half-Day Winery Tour from Melbourne with Small Group

Three wineries in five hours, morning or afternoon, from Arts Centre Melbourne or Lilydale, for adults.

From $90 per person

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Melbourne: Full-Day Yarra Valley Wine Experience with Lunch

Greenstone, Balgownie Estate, Yering Farm and Soumah, with a one-course winery lunch, from the Immigration Museum at 9:30.

From $131 per person

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Melbourne: Yarra Valley Redwoods Tour with Wine or Wildlife

Warburton and the Cement Creek redwoods, then a winery lunch or Healesville Sanctuary entry.

From $127 per person

Check Availability