We decided to go to Phillip Island for a long weekend. We left on Friday afternoon, boy let me tell you, worse timing to leave to Phillip island, there was too much traffic, so tip number 1: DO NOT leave at noon. we were stuck in the car for about a good 3 hours, it normally would have only taken 1 and half hour drive from my house.
I decided to get out of my comfort zone and do glamping. Now let’s be honest, I am definitely not going to do camping, so at least I thought I would go glamping. Please note this review is based on my personal preferences and I have a huge OCD when it comes to washrooms and toilets, so as I discovered glamping is not for me either 
But the place we stayed and the experience was amazing.
Day 1
We arrived at our glamping destination at 3 p.m. we booked The sheltered glamping
This place has a small communal kitchen and a mini cooler fridge, but honestly, the fridge is not that cold, because everyone opens and closes it all the time. I had a few charcuterie, dips and bread packed from Melbourne that was packed in ice. Decided we will have cheese, charcuterie and a wine night the first day. There are a Washroom and toilet that two camps share. this is what was hard for me.
The toilet was a compostable toilet and the shower was an outdoor shower, very nature friendly and I love the design and architecture of it. But as I said before it’s my OCD problem that I was not quite comfortable with. there is light inside the tent but not outside, you will hear the animals and kangaroos jumping around in the night and it is so beautiful early in the morning. I really connected with nature and I just loved the whole experience.
Another tip: please book the penguin parade online. I didn’t know that this needs to be purchased in advanced, so when I got there, there was a huge line of vehicles and it was fully booked, so the first day was not a great start. I decided to jump online and book it straight away, it cost $ 26.60 per person
So we came back to our little glamp and spent a quiet night
Day 2
Well, this was a better day, we went to have breakfast at Nordic canteen amazing little cafe, got my coffee fix and we were ready to go on a great adventure. First, we went to the koala reserve centre to see all the koalas, it was a nice experience, you have to walk through the forest and spot the koalas. they are very high up on the trees.
What wineries to visit in Phillip island?
One of my favourite thing to do is to, visit wineries in the region. so we headed towards Purple hen cellar door, this little spot had some of the best wines, I was truly amazed that Phillip island had a few good wineries, I definitely had to spend a few bucks to get a few cases of wines, because they are not sold in any retailers. my biggest recommendation is to go to this winery, it is truly amazing.
then we headed towards wild goose chase winery, the service was quite poor, and the sommelier who was doing the wine tasting didn’t want to educate people about the wine. she was too busy polishing glasses. so I wouldn’t recommend going to this winery, as the wines were not quite good as well.
Lunch at Cowes beach?
We headed to Cowes beach and had a fish and chips lunch. my other recommendation is to head to the beach because it’s beautiful and there are a few cafes around that are quite trendy and has good beech view.
Penguin Parade in Phillip island?what to expect?
In the evening we went to the penguin’s parade finally. we had to arrive at the destination around 4.15 p.m to find parking and to get a good spot to see the penguins. Once you enter there is a small gallery and museum. We spent an hour or so inside the gallery because it was too cold to go and sit outside in the viewing spot, make sure to take a jacket as it will be very cold. There is a cafe and a photo booth as well inside.
Now the trick is, no one knows what time penguins will reach the shore, so we have to sit and wait for hours until they appear. but while waiting, the staff educated us about the process. We cannot shout, because it will scare off the penguins and you cant see the penguins much, because it is dark and the penguins are dark as well. There were many times, we suspected that the seagulls were penguins hahahhaha
Phillip Island
But all in all, it was a good experience and it s an iconic activity that everone should do at least once in a life time. so highly recommend it.
Then we headed to a local supermarket and bought some meat to cook on the BBQ with some salads and opened up a good bottle of wine from the Purple hen cellar door.
Its the best time to travel local and support local businesses, so what are you waiting for? did you visit Phillip island? comment below, let me know what did do in phillip island?
You can also check my other Travel destinations