Great Ocean Road Helicopter Tour Review 2026: Melbourne Day Trip Guide

The Magnificent Great Ocean Road

My Real Review: An Unforgettable Helicopter Tour

Melbourne Day Tour: Your Complete Guide to Booking & Costs

✅My Money, My Review✅

Filling each day to the brim, suddenly it was already Day 3.

This day was our final tour,

the Great Ocean Road Day Tour.

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Melbourne, Australia's Essential Journey

Great Ocean Road Tour

👉 Book your tour here!

Perhaps because the days are long in this country, even waking up early in the morning,

Melbourne outside the window was already bright.

I quickly got dressed and headed to the meeting point.

Booking Costs & Itinerary for the Great Ocean Road Tour from Melbourne

While planning this Melbourne trip,

the **Great Ocean Road tour program**

was booked in advance with the help of Mimi.

The Great Ocean Road tour itself sounds amazing just by its name, but

the round trip distance is enormous, so

it's genuinely difficult for individuals to drive there themselves,

Most people, like us, opt for a day group tour

to visit.

The Great Ocean Road tour cost is

usually around ~$37 + separate helicopter tour (in my case, AUD $175).

Who MUST experience the Great Ocean Road Tour? (feat. Helicopter Tour)

- If you prefer nature-focused travel...

- If you want a fulfilling day trip during a short itinerary...

- If you've ever thought, 'I'd love to try a helicopter ride sometime!'...

I wholeheartedly recommend it.

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Since many people visit and it operates daily,

it seems they divide the schedule into Mon/Wed/Fri and Tue/Thu/Sat,

with slightly different routes.

On the day we booked,

the **Twelve Apostles Lookout + Helicopter option** was the very first part of our itinerary.

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The tour meeting point in front of RMIT University, now quite familiar.

(325 Russell St, Melbourne)

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Even with an intimidating meeting time of 6:50 AM,

not a single person among our day tour companions was late...

It made me wonder if this is the attitude of Koreans traveling abroad.

There seemed to be many families with young children on vacation, and

it was astonishing to think how early they must have started preparing and moving.

📌

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Great Ocean Road Tour: Essential Packing Checklist

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The bus we boarded was

a large coach equipped with reclining seats and USB chargers at every seat.

Thanks to that, I didn't get motion sickness once

and almost slept soundly throughout the journey.

After sleeping for a while, we stopped at a rest area,

and I also saw this vibrant blue sky

It had been ages since I last saw a rainbow, and I was lucky enough to spot one!

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Helicopter Tour Near the Twelve Apostles Lookout and Costs

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The Twelve Apostles are a series of magnificent sea stacks located along Australia's Great Ocean Road,

a stunning example of marine erosion.

Originally, there were twelve of these towering rock formations,

but today, only about eight remain, forming dramatic island-like pillars.

They are said to be named the Twelve Apostles because their formation resembles praying apostles.

They are nestled within Port Campbell National Park.

And finally, we arrived at the Twelve Apostles Lookout.

However, because it was the Australia Day long weekend,

our guide kindly adjusted the schedule to avoid delays,

allowing those taking the helicopter tour to disembark first.

You can choose and pay for the helicopter tour on the day itself.

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Honestly, I hadn't really planned on taking the tour,

but thanks to our guide's amazing persuasion skills (?),

I became convinced I wouldn't regret it on such a clear day,

and found myself magically joining the group heading for the helicopter ride!

(Sorry, Mimi unnie!)

For the day-tour guests who might not know anything,

our guide showed us his nametag

and asked us to take a photo in case we needed to contact him later... so I snapped a shot.

Our guide, Joon, truly was the best of the best!

(Just a reminder, this review is based on my own expenses!)

If you walk straight ahead a little from where our guide dropped us off,

you'll spot a small, unassuming building,

and behind it, several helicopters parked and ready for action.

The helicopter ride cost 175 AUD (for approximately 15 minutes of flight time).

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I paid by card on the spot and received my ticket and receipt.

It turns out the pilot crew members handle both payments and operations – quite impressive!

Since there are so many package tours,

the safety rules were written in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Before boarding, passengers receive a brief safety briefing from the crew.

However, it's conducted in English,

and honestly, the helicopter noise made it a bit hard to hear... haha.

Thanks to our guide's impeccable timing,

I was almost among the first to board the helicopter!

While our tour group was getting boarding passes and

listening to the safety briefing, other tour groups started arriving one after another,

so it looked like those behind us would have quite a long wait.

These photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy's default camera, completely unedited.....

and look how incredibly blue the sky was!

After seeing the perpetually hazy skies in Hanoi,

gazing up at this vibrant blue Australian sky truly

made any lingering frustrations just melt away.

Review of the Great Ocean Road Twelve Apostles Helicopter Tour

Can you believe that for my first-ever helicopter ride,

I got to sit right next to the pilot...?!

I figured it was due to weight distribution,

and with two men on either side of me, it seemed like the perfect spot for balance!

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Although there's no specific seat assignment on the boarding pass,

if you can, I highly recommend snagging a front row or window seat!

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I was ready to take five hundred photos even before the helicopter took off... haha!

But honestly, how could you NOT take pictures with a view like this?!

Before we took off, we donned our noise-canceling headsets,

and watching the pilot conduct the pre-flight checks

right before my eyes, live and in person,

And then, finally, we were off!!!!!

During the flight, the pilot was explaining things,

mentioning the Twelve Apostles and the distant horizon...

But honestly, when you're soaring above the sky and the sea,

it's hard to focus on anything but the breathtaking views!

The ocean's colors shifting with the depths were absolutely mesmerizing,

and it was truly amazing to see the sky's hues change

depending on how the sunlight hit them.

To be honest, I never thought a helicopter ride was a 'must-do' in life,

but if you're traveling in Australia on a truly beautiful day,

especially if you're doing the Great Ocean Road tour,

I absolutely!!!! recommend you try it!

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As I was completely lost in the stunning views,

and the helicopter swooped around to change direction,

before I knew it, 15 minutes had flown by,

and we were right next to the Twelve Apostles.

It was so different from the emerald waters of Southeast Asia—

seeing Australia's raw, majestic nature in its purest form

honestly felt like stepping straight into a nature documentary.

They say those who skip the helicopter tour

get to take things a bit slower from the coastal lookouts,

but honestly? Catching it all from the sky was so much more exciting!

I mean, when else in my life

am I going to get a bird's-eye view of the Twelve Apostles lined up like this? haha

After soaking it all in, we finally touched down~~

Since the number of choppers is limited

and there are so many passengers waiting,

it seemed like they did a quick check and took off again almost immediately.

It looked so cool, I had to grab one last shot~~~

After finishing the helicopter tour,

we walked over to the nearby Twelve Apostles Lookout,

just as our guide had instructed us beforehand.

I'll share that part in my next post!!

✈️

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👉 Book the exact Twelve Apostles Helicopter Tour I took here!

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