• Cities
• Other destina...
• Understand
• Talk
• Get around
• Do
• Eat
• Drink
• Stay safe
• Get out

The Yarra Valley is a wine-growing area with many wineries, near Melbourne in Victoria. One advantage of the valley is that it is literally on Melbourne's doorstep. From the center of the city, you can be there in approximately an hour, simply by driving down the Eastern Freeway and the Maroondah Highway, which runs through the middle of the valley. The wineries are clearly signposted, and many of them are directly accessible from the highway.

[edit] Cities

• Yarra Glen
• Healesville
• Warburton

[edit] Other destinations

[edit] Understand

[edit] Talk

Scruffy bunch Tours is a Melbourne based business that offers Winery and Microbrewery Tours to the Yarra-Valley. They have been operating for 2 years and are accredited by Better Business Victoria.

[edit] Get around

• Great cycling country all around the Yarra Valley; catch the train to Hurstbridge then climb up to Kinglake via St.Andrews (great Saturday market) then along the ridge to Toolangi; down to Healsville for lunch. Great food at Healsville; fine coffee at Yarra Glen.
• Or try the mountain bike routes through Smiths Gully (fine coffee and cake at the store)and Sugarloaf areas; or climb up past Mt Everard to Kinglake (steep in places) and then down into Dixons Creek and then onto Yarra Glen.

[edit] See

[edit] Itineraries

[edit] Do

Things to do

• Hot air balloon flights
• Browse the Yarra Glen Sunday market
• Lilydale Airfield offers light plane sightseeing trips, flying experience, and flying lessons.
• Nearby Coldstream Airfield, operated by the Royal Victorian Aero Club, offers similar services.
• Take a ride on the Yarra Valley Tourist Railway from Healesville
• Have a BBQ at Sugarloaf Reservoir

[edit] Eat

• Great coffee and muffins/croissants (or real hamburgers) at Smiths Gully store.

[edit] Drink

• visit the wineries

[edit] Stay safe

Crime in Yarra Valley is almost non-existent, but care should still be taken such as lock your car doors and make sure that valuables inside the car are not visible to outside. If you follow these precaution, everything should be fine and your day would be an enjoyable one.

Since you are likely to be on a wine tasting tour, it is advisable to be aware of how high your B.A.C (Blood Alcohol Content) if you are driving. The legal limit is 0.05%. Police regularly set up check points around Yarra Valley to test the motorists' alcohol level (often referred by locals and police alike as the "Booze Bus" due to the use of a police bus to detain the drivers over the B.A.C limit), make sure you are not over the limit, otherwise the police would issue you a large fine and ban you from driving in Australia if you are a foreigner.

When driving, be careful of wildlife during sunset as this is the time when animals like kangaroos tend to be active during this period.

[edit] Get out