marine activities beach coast ocean
The beaches packed with people enjoying Summertime on the Mornington Peninsula.
The Beach
Summer on the Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula makes for the ideal destination to soak up everything there is to love about summer. We're talking long days spent at the beach, exploring the great outdoors and kicking back alongside friends and family with some delicious food and refreshments. This season, we invite you to explore more with new openings and experiences, trending tours and epic summer things to do across the region.
Mount Martha Beach is home to some of the most beautiful bathing boxes on the Mornington Peninsula. This beach is two kilometres long, with Balcombe Creek mouth dividing it into two equal halves: Mount Martha (South) and Mount Martha North.
Mt Martha Beach
Swimming Journeys
Victoria offers a range of cold water swimming opportunities throughout winter with a range of both freshwater and saltwater bodies of water.
Diving Journeys
Discover Mornington Peninsula from a different angle as you dive down deep into the Octopus' Garden, old shipwrecks, bottomless holes and stunning living reefs.
Dromana is a safe swimming beach with life savers patrolling the beach over summer weekends.
Colourful bathing boxes line the beach with a playground near the pier for family fun and several BBQ’s and gazebos dot the foreshore area which makes it a lovely picnic area. Several restaurants and coffee shops are conveniently located across the road from the pier area.
Fishing is popular from Dromana Pier and amazing sunsets views to McCrae can be enjoyed from the pier. Paddle boarding and canoeing is popular due to the calm water and clear water. The foreshore Bay trail for walkers and cyclists continues past Dromana.
Special Features: Parking facilities, BBQ’s and gazebo for picnics. A rinse off shower available at the toilet block. Pier for fishing or strolling
Dromana Beach
Cast a line into the productive fishing grounds around the Mornington Peninsula, either independently or with a fishing charter.
Try your luck, day or night, on the dozens of piers dotting the shores of Port Phillip and Westernport bays. For surf fishing, cast a line at Rye Back Beach, Gunnamatta and Point Leo.
Fish of the day
Port Phillip and Westernport bays are best for whiting, gummy and school shark, squid, salmon, garfish, rock cod, flathead and elephant fish. Nab a snapper year round, but the fishing really hots up over the warmer months, when snapper up to 10 kilograms are running.
Fly fishing
Be lured by large schools of salmon and tailor in the cooler months and strive for the yellowtail kingfish, triumphantly returned to these waters.
Fish with the best
Head to the hot spots with expert fishing operators, which will quickly have you fishing for your supper. Sport, reef and shark fishing can also be arranged.
Hire a charter boat and fish further offshore in the ocean waters of Bass Strait for larger sharks, southern bluefin tuna and smaller mackerel tuna.
Fishing
The cliff is a 10 m exposure of Baxter Sandstone, the upper terrestrial unit of the Mornington Peninsula Tertiary sedimentary formations. It is a hard, coarse-grained, cross-bedded rock, stained red and yellow and cemented by iron. There are two distinct groups of beds at this outcrop, the upper 5 m being harder, more ferruginous and darker in colour, while the lower units display strong cross-bedding. This outcrop has a gentle dip to the south. A broad scree slope has built up around the base of the cliff partly covering an irregular boulder and gravel veneered platform. Near the mouth of Tanti Creek, there is a clear exposure of a higher level platform overlain by rounded gravels and shells. The same feature appears on the south western side of Red Bluff.
Mornington Red Bluff
Strap on your lifejacket and head off on a kayaking tour to explore the ever-changing coastline, diverse marine life and rich history of the Mornington Peninsula.
Coast and wildlife wonders
Explore the stunning coastline, paddling past historic seaside towns and clifftop mansions. Further out on the protected waters of the bay, glide around with dolphins, seals and penguins at Point Nepean National Park
Kayaking
Polperro Dolphin Swims provides amazing marine animal experiences with wild Bottlenose dolphins and Australian Fur seals in Port Phillip Bay. The unique adventure sets sail from Sorrento Pier on the stunning Mornington Peninsula, which is only a 90-minute drive from Melbourne.
You can explore the underwater world with a dolphin and seal swim, snorkelling in the pristine waters of Port Phillip Bay. For those who would prefer to stay dry, you can sightsee from aboard Polperro while learning about marine conservation.
Polperro Dolphin Swims is a multi-award winning eco tourism operation and we purposely limit the size of our trips to guarantee a high standard of customer and environmental care. Our experienced crew of dolphin experts will ensure you enjoy an unforgettable marine adventure.
Polperro Dolphin Swims
Portsea Surf Life Saving Club
Since 1949 Portsea SLSC has played a vital role in the implementation & administration of surf life saving on Portsea & adjacent beaches.
Sailing
Established in 1961, McCrae Yacht Club is an off the beach sailing club located at McCrae, at the southern end of Port Philip Bay on a beautiful sandy beach.
Stand Up Paddle Boarding
The Mornington Peninsula is one of Victoria’s best stand up paddle board playgrounds. Off the coast of Mornington a stand up paddle boarder is enjoying the stillness of Port Phillip Bay in spring.
Rye Pier offers beautiful underwater vistas and some of the warmest water in Port Phillip Bay. The water is approximately 6m maximum in depth. Diving at high tide with calm waters offers the best scenery. Underwater it is predominantly sandy around the pier, with small patches of sea grass and once out from the pier it is pure sand bed.
Under the pier keep your eyes on the pylons for bottom feeding stingrays, seahorses, spider crabs and octopus, through to a range of fish species. There is also a trail of photographs (known as the Octopuses Garden) attached to the pylons, explaining the various marine life present.
Night diving is popular where you are likely to see a plethora of squid, octopus, seahorses and nudibranch. Fishing from the pier is also popular.
Public berthing is available for a maximum of 48 hours (vessels to be attended at all times) Other restrictions are detailed on Parks Victoria signage.
There is a boat ramp nearby, a terrific playground for the children and calm waters with wide beaches for families to enjoy. Opposite is a shopping area with many eateries, Hotel and boutique shops
Rye Pier
Dog Friendly Mornington Peninsula
Pack your pup for a coastal road trip with endless sand, surf and sunset views. It's easy to combine the region's top wineries and cellar doors, gourmet food stores and foodie treats, comfy stays and stunning waterside scenery in the company of your four-legged friend. No need to wonder how, what or where.
Surfing
Celebrate Mornington Peninsula's spectacular beaches by hitting the surf. Tackle the waves on your own if you have the skills or with an instructor if you're a grommet.
Each summer in Victoria, thousands of people of all ages take to the beaches around Port Phillip and Westernport bays and the ocean beaches to participate in the fantastic sport of Open Water Swimming.
For some, it's just a great way to combine their love of swimming and the freedom of swimming in the open water.
For others, it's what they train through the cold winter months for, swimming hundreds of kilometres up and down the pool or in the Bay or ocean.
And for some, they just love the excitement and atmosphere of the events.
Why not give it a try - there are shorter novice races at some of the events if you're not sure if you're ready for the full distance. Have a look at the Victorian Open Water Swim Calendar to find an event that suits you
Open Water Swimming
Who knew that there was a “mini Greece” just one hour’s drive from Melbournes CBD! The Pillars at Mount Martha are a slice of European paradise. Beautiful sandstone cliffs, with crystal clear water. But of course there’s a catch, The Pillars are also know as Melbourne hidden beach, no signage, no parking and no view from the road
The Pillars
Far out in the southern oceans, crystal blue waves form as if from an artists paint brush and splash relentlessly upon the white and yellow canvas that are the beaches of the Mornington Peninsula
Waves
As the wind comes up, many leave the beaches to seek refuge, however, this is the perfect time for kitesurfers and windsurfers to hit the water. There is a huge expanse of beach from which to choose. As they speed along the shallows, at times taking flight, shrieks of elation and excitement can be heard