Your ultimate guide to the best time to visit Phillip Island

There are full-day and half-day tours of Phillip Island. The full-day tour takes about 10 hours and you can see a number of attractions — the Penguin Parade, the Koala Conservation Reserve and more. The half-day tours are shorter. Guided tours commence around 11:45am.

Combo tours usually combine two or more attractions in and near Phillip Island to give you a more comprehensive experience. The Penguin Parade is usually the constant, which you can enjoy alongside a number of other spots — Brighton Beach, the Puffing Billy Train or the Healesville Sanctuary. Typically, the schedule starts around 10am.

The park itself opens up around 4pm but the real attraction — the penguins returning to their sandy burrows — only starts after sundown. This can be as early as 5:15pm to as late as 8:45pm depending on the different seasons so make sure that you check the sundown time during your visit. Arrive an hour early to have the smoothest experience.

The best time to see penguins at the Penguin Parade is November through March. During this time, there is a boom in the number of penguins as the little chicks hatch and are fed and trained by their parent penguins. Even the Winter and Spring months are interesting, although the number of penguins is low — it is the mating and egg-laying time of the year.

The best time to visit Phillip Island is in the Summer. Not only is the weather pleasant and warm, but you can also enjoy the beaches, take a boat cruise and indulge in water sports like kayaking, snorkeling, etc. You can also catch sight of the largest number of Little Penguins as it is the chick feeding time in the summer. The baby Australian fur seals, too, learn how to swim during this season. As for the nature parks, they make for lovely walks and hikes in the Summer.

Crowds are high during the weekend because it is very common for locals to come on a one-day-one-night trip to Phillip Island. Mondays and Fridays may also be crowded because of the weekend. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are relatively less crowded because of school and work timings. Try to reach the island early so you can tick off as many spots as you can.

The best time to visit Phillip Island Nature Parks is in the Summer — December to February. This is the time when nature walks are at their best, the weather is nice and warm, and there are a ton of activities that you can enjoy. Watch the penguins tend to their chicks at the Penguin Parade and the baby fur seals learn to swim at The Nobbies. However, the crowds are high this time of the year, especially during public and school holidays.

Since most parks are open daily, choose a weekday instead of a weekend. The middle of the week is the best time to visit Phillip Island Nature Parks as local crowds are low and they are also school nights. Try to cover most of the parks in the morning since they all open around 10am, except for Penguin Parade, which is an evening activity.