Sorrento – No, not the beautiful Italian coastal town near Naples.
 The Australian Sorrento, just a short drive of an hour and a half from Melbourne, is equally beautiful and is the perfect weekend getaway from Melbourne.
History tells us Sorrento was originally founded on Sulliway Bay, which was Victoria’s first mainland European settlement. Sullivan Bay – a beautiful spot – has the graves of the first settlers. The historic houses and buildings that were built in 1877 with the local limestone are still intact today, protected and looked after by the National Trust of Australia.
 The weather here is mild all through the year. Winter – June to August in Australia – can be a bit cold. The best time to visit would be around September or October.
 We drove into Sorrento while returning from Sydney and it was our last stop before Melbourne. It is situated at the tip of the popular Mornington Peninsula.  This small, rather quiet city has the sea and pier on one end and a one-street downtown area on the other.
 Lovely beaches with pristine turquoise water are one the town’s best attractions. The main street and the beachfront are lined by fashion shops, nice restaurants, art galleries and cafés. Sorrento pier and foreshore area are perfect for long walks.
The long pier in Sorrento ends in a ferry terminal. An interesting 40-minute ferry service provided by Searoad Ferries takes in the best views of the Port Phillip Bay and links Sorrento to Queenscliff, another seaside town in Bellarine Peninsula. This ferry service runs almost every hour every day and is more convenient than struggling through the slow traffic in Mornington Peninsula.Â
These ferries take in vehicles and passengers, and have large open decks and windows for lovely views of the coasts. Oftentimes, dolphins have been spotted.Â
You could do a one-way journey and spend a day in Queenscliff. Then you could continue on the other side of Victoria and do the Great Ocean Road drive.Â
Here are the highlights of what we did in and around Sorrento.
Millionaire’s Walk
Just a 5-min drive from Sorrento town is one of the best places to do a 5 km walking trail en route to Portsea. We enjoyed this absolutely brilliant walk going around the cliffs above the Port Phillip Bay coastline and passing beyond some of the luxurious holiday homes. A great workout!
London Bridge Lookout
A bit beyond, on the road towards Portsea, is the side-road leading to a grand view of unique rock formations like arches and a panoramic view of the sea. We stood at the view-point admiring this marvel – totally unique sandstone formations and a sweeping view of the sea and coast.
Point Nepean National Park
We drove further on towards Point Nepean National Park, which is well protected. Private cars are not allowed to go beyond a certain point. There are shuttles provided for the visitors’ convenience to explore this historical and scenic area.
Point Nepean had a key role in shaping the early European settlement and the defence of Australia. It was used to quarantine all arriving at Victoria, and for military training.
There is a lot of history to be explored here – from military forts and tunnels to information about the people who passed through the Quarantine Station – and some interesting artefacts spanning back over 150 years.Â
Gunner’s Cottage
This is the furthest point for private cars visiting the park. There is ample parking space and you have the choice whether to walk or cycle or take the hop-on hop-off shuttle.
Tip: No restaurants in this area. If you decide to hike or walk, take food and water.
Gunner’s cottage has some maps and pamphlets for self-guided tours from this point. There is little information about the history of this cottage apart from that it housed several military personnel and their families.
Quarantine Station
We spent an hour at this place. There are old gun emplacements and block houses and tunnels. There are impressive audio presentations and a lot of signage about the history and the role these installations played in WW1 and WW2.
On the way to the Point at the tip of this peninsula, we could view the Chevoit Beach and the memorial for Australia’s 17th PM Harold Holt who went missing in this beach in the 1960s.
Fort Nepean at the end of the walk is the largest fortification here. It is set atop a ridge with guns, gun pits, et al.
We spent 3-4 hours exploring and taking in the history and the great views here. We used the shuttle. If you are planning to hike or cycle and explore more, you can easily spend half a day here. Two popular hikes/ walks are the Coles Track and the Walter Pisterman Heritage Walk.
Sorrento has a number of decent accommodation options from motels to nice hotels.
We took off after two days in this beautiful town and headed to Melbourne – our final destination of our long Sydney-Melbourne drive.
If you are visiting Melbourne, do not miss out on Sorrento!
What a magical landscape, I have never seen anything like it!
I would love to travel around Australia, maybe in a campervan đŸ™‚
I saw the title of this and imagined the Amalfi Coast in Italy. And then realized it was in Melbourne! So had to see how different it was from one of my favourite spots. We certainly would love the beautiful coastline views. And all the great hiking spots. Even if we did have to pack our own food! Looks lovely.
There seems to be quite a bit of history attached to Sorrento, I had no idea. It’s gorgeous even without that, but now I have that extra bit of fascination…
Wow, this Sorrento seems to be at least as beautiful as the ‘original’. Truly fascinating history, too – but what impresses me most are the deep-blue waters; it shows that I didn’t have a proper vacation for months…. đŸ˜‰
I was prepared to read about the Italian coast and maybe about icecream and pizza. So that was a surprise, another Sorrento on the other side of the world. It looks lovely though with a spectacular coastline and also some history to explore. I would definitely try to see it, when I am in Australia.
I have been to Melbourne numerous times & driven the Great Ocean Road but never visited Sorrento so I was really interested to read this. It looks like a great place to spend a couple of days with a mix of history & walking. Thanks for highlighting & I’ll add it to my list for my next visit to Australia!
Wow I can’t believe I missed this during my visit to Melbourne and the state of Victoria.
I never knew about Sorrento when I lived in Melbourne for approximately one year. This really looks amazing and now when I plan again then I would surely visit this. At first I also thought Italian Sorrento when I read the title of post but good to know about Australian Sorrento.
Love the bright and vast landscape! Looks like a fantastic place to visit during the summer months.! Adding it to my bucket list, so that hopefully one day I travel to Australia, I can put it to good use đŸ™‚
Millionaire’s Walk sounds easy and beautiful. I also like the views from the London Bridge Lookout. Sorrento is kind of small town that I like to visit.
Well, that’s altogether different from the Sorrento in Italy. But it looks absolutely lovely. And just an hour and a half from Melbourne is seems like a perfect day trip.
I’m definitely keeping this in mind next time I’m in Australia! Thank you!
This landscape is so beautiful. I cannot wait for the moment I can explore Australia and Sorrento will definitely be on my itinerary.
I visited Sorrento when I was in Melbourne a few years back, and it was such a great experiences. It’s such a beautiful region! I had great fish and chips and even tried surfing. Great guide, it brought back nice memories for me!
I’m glad you clarified that because I was wondering if I had missed a placed called Melbourne while I was in the Naples area of Italy! Sorrento looks like a lovely place to head to for the weekend – I love coastal areas!
I would love to be able to do this one day. Especially go to London bridge! Thanks for the very detailed guide!
This place looks amazing! And your article is very informative, well done! Good job! đŸ™‚
Thank you for the tips on things to see. My group has a few properties booked in Sorrento, carried over to next March from March 2021. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the border will be open by then. Nevertheless, I’ve made a note of your suggestions for when we can finally get together.
I wish I had known about Sorrento when I was in Melbourne. Millionaire’s Walk and the London Bridge Lookout seem like the perfect place to have morning coffee while exploring. So much history at Point Nepean National Park and it looks so well preserved.
Basing it on the photos, it looks like you can really do a lot of outdoor activities around the area. That Millionaire’s Walk is fascinating. The Point Nepean conveys mystery.
This brought back my memories from my days in Melbourne. I visited Sorrento a very long time ago and I loved that town. I will definitely plan to go back and stay at the town sometime. It has such amazing views and the London bridge lookout is amazing.
Sorrento is such a charming and beautiful place to visit. Its name surely reminds me of Italy’s coastline, not somewhere in Australia! I love the view from the London bridge with sandstone formations. It’s interesting to learn that Point Nepean National Park is related to the early European settlement and the defense of Australia.
So beautiful! I did indeed think of Italy when you said Sorrento, but it was fun to notice that this was about Australia. I didn’t know about this place. The national park seems very interesting with that much history behind it. Looks like you guys had wonderful time!
At first, I too thought Sorrento was from Italy haha. Didn’t knew there’s a namesake in Australia. This place looks cool! Very detailed post. Insightful, Interesting and Informative.
Wow what an absolutely breathtaking spot! I’m seriously thinking about taking a New Zealand and Australia trip next year to go visit a friend of mine in New Zealand. I’ll keep this spot in mind if we end up going to Melbourne.
Sorrento seems to be the perfect weekend getaway from Melbourne. It’s impressive that the historic houses and buildings built in 1877 with the local limestone are still intact today. It’s great that it is possible to get there by ferry. I would love to visit Point Nepean National Park and explore military forts and tunnels.
Your article hooked me in, I was expecting to read about Italy’s Sorrento. This Australian twin city looks like a hidden gem too. I love the view from the London bridge to see those sandstone formations. And it would be interesting to learn more by the visit to Point Nepean National Park. Such a great weekend getaway destination.
I smiled as I saw the town name Sorrento as the one I have visited in Italy is so beautiful but here in Australia, you have found an equally beautiful Sorrento! I love the coastal views and the historic houses. I hadn’t heard of this destination when I visited OZ but if I had it would definitely have been on my trip list.