Mornington Accommodation and the Mornington Peninsula

The areas of the Mornington Peninsula

We are often asked by International Visitors about Mornington Accommodation?  We thought we would clarify that Mornington is the main town on the Mornington Peninsula and is about 30 minutes away from where our properties are located.  If you are looking for Mornington Accommodation is that what your really want or do you just want accommodation somewhere on the Mornington Peninsula.  Here is a breakdown of the areas so you can make a better choice to help you find the right Mornington Accommodation.

Hinterland Region: This is serious food, wine and indulgence country,particularly around Red Hill and Main Ridge. Flourishing olive groves, vineyards, cafes, restaurants, gourmet produce stores, local markets, galleries and roadside signs for farm gates and pick-your-own produce gardens are found along almost every road in the Hinterland Region.

Chefs at many highly-rated restaurants match regional dishes to regional wines and, if you really want to explore the wine list, you can catch our local shuttle service from your boutique B&B or hinterland hotel instead of driving your car.

Here are five top tips for your stay:

• The Peninsula Hinterland has the largest number of wineries of any region on the Mornington Peninsula. The easiest way to plan your winery touring and tasting is to download the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association map from our home page.
• As you travel around wineries, restaurants, farms and produce stores, look for the Mornington Peninsula Gourmet brand. It means top local quality from proud Peninsula operators.
• Arthurs Seat is in the heart of a number of activities – it has one of the best lookouts on the Mornington Peninsula, a maze garden, a state park with peaceful bush walks, a scenic chairlift and luxury accommodation with simply sensational views.
• In summertime, pick your own strawberries at the southern hemisphere’s largest strawberry farm, then stop at a farm gate for the most luscious, sun-warmed cherries you’re ever likely to taste.
• Red Hill is the main village of this region, and has a small but well-stocked shopping centre and a number of art galleries nearby.

Southern Peninsula Region: There’s a new style and sophistication here, and an air of the Mediterranean that makes you feel you’re a world away from Melbourne.

Seaside villages such as Portsea, Sorrento, Rosebud and Rye started the love affair between Melburnians and the Mornington Peninsula a long time ago. Like many love affairs, this one has changed over the years – but fortunately for the better!

You can dine, wine, golf, shop and adventure – and at the end of the day just slip into a day spa for a soothing natural mineral water soak and a massage.

Choosing here for your Mornington Accommodation means that you are in the centre of the action and we can accommodate you in Rye Accommodation, St Andrews Beach Accommodation and Blairgowrie Accommodation.

Here are five top tips for your stay:

• Point Nepean, right at the tip of the Peninsula, is the best-known feature of the Mornington Peninsula National Park. It was closed to the public for more than 100 years, but you can now walk it, cycle it and delve into a remarkable military history that dates back to the 1880s.
• There’s seriously good golfing on the Southern Peninsula, with eight coastal and rural courses ready to challenge you. Our golfing tour operators can plan your stay and your play for you.
• There’s full-on adventure too, with beach and bush trail rides, dolphin swims, scuba diving, fishing, sea kayaking and fishing. At a more leisurely pace are guided bush and beach walks, and strolls through some of the Peninsula’s most beautiful gardens.
• The Sorrento Pier is the starting point for lots of tours and activities, including the Sorrento-Queenscliff ferry which can take you and your vehicle across to Queenscliff and the Great Ocean Road.
• Call into our villages: Portsea (multi-million dollar cliff-top mansions, a hotel right on the beach, golf, a busy front beach with pier, a turbulent back beach), Sorrento (great style, lovely old limestone buildings, noted eateries, shops and galleries); Rye, Blairgowrie, Rosebud and Dromana all have tranquil bays and a great variety of seaside accommodation.

Northern Peninsula Region: As the name suggests, you can meander through this very pretty part of the Peninsula, or you can step up the pace with golf courses, markets, galleries, gardens, cafes and restaurants. On the coastline are the busy village of Mornington and the exclusive enclaves of Mount Eliza and Mount Martha, while the countryside is home to the fine wineries of Moorooduc.

Here are five top tips for your stay:

• The Mornington Peninsula has a maritime climate, but there are quite different micro-climates at our inland wineries compared to the coast. Moorooduc is a noted inland winemaking area, and its wineries feature some magnificent gardens and equally memorable restaurants.
• The Briars Park is known for its 1840s homestead, bushland and wetland trails, koalas, wallabies, kangaroos and native birds you can view from bird hides. There’s viewing of another kind at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, the premier art gallery on the Peninsula.
• Stroll along endless beaches, book a luxury sailing trip and see the splendid Mt Martha and Mt Eliza cliff-top homes, or travel on the historic Mornington Railway steam train.
• Two excellent golf courses give you the choice of coastal play or rural play amid a peaceful flora and fauna reserve.
• Call into our villages: Mornington (weekly main street market, monthly racecourse market, galleries, cafes and restaurants), Mt Eliza (it was a setting for the Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner movie ‘On the Beach’ and has good shopping), Mt Martha (another exclusive village with good shopping, a foreshore reserve and a very enjoyable boardwalk through Balcombe Creek Wetlands).

Frankston and Surrounds: Let’s start with a couple of very appealing figures about Frankston: 10km of sweeping foreshore and coastal habitat, and a 17km art and cultural drive. The foreshore features two restaurants right on the beach, while the drive takes in some of the Peninsula’s best heritage attractions.

Here are five top tips for your stay:

• The self-drive cultural tour visits the American-colonial style Mulberry Hill, once the home of noted artist Sir Daryl Lindsay and his wife Lady Joan Lindsay, the famed author of ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. It also takes in the highly regarded McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, with its exhibitions of Australian art and outdoor sculpture walk.
• On the Frankston waterfront you’ll find a coastal boardwalk leading to Sweetwater Creek Reserve, where waterfalls, bridges, walking tracks and seats under shady trees make this a beautiful place for a quiet stroll. In the evening, dine on the beach then walk along Frankston pier and watch the ingenious wind-vane illuminations that dance in time to the waves below.
• Explore the Seaford Wetlands, listed on the National Estate for their towering 300 year old River Red Gums and rare or endangered migratory birds. The Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve is also a fine example of Frankston’s natural heritage, with 214 hectares of bushlands and walking tracks.
• Hire a bike and cycle along the Frankston-Baxter Bike Path, stopping at a café for lunch. Or hire a canoe and paddle up Kananook Creek – there’s a boathouse that’s perfectly positioned for afternoon tea.
• Frankston boasts one of the biggest shopping precincts outside the Melbourne CBD, and shops trade seven days a week. If you’re heading on down the Peninsula, this is a good place to stock up on all your holiday needs.

Westerenport Region: Let’s start with a couple of very appealing figures about Frankston: 10km of sweeping foreshore and coastal habitat, and a 17km art and cultural drive. The foreshore features two restaurants right on the beach, while the drive takes in some of the Peninsula’s best heritage attractions.

Here are five top tips for your stay:

• Passenger ferries run from Stony Point to French Island and Phillip Island. Phillip Island has those famous fairy penguins, while French Island has Australia’s largest koala population. Take an eco-tour to French Island, and you’re guaranteed to see koalas in the wild. Or hire a bike and enjoy riding where two wheels rule (no vehicles allowed).
• Cape Schanck is right at the tip of Western Port Bay, and its cliffs are pounded by huge Bass Strait breakers. Visit the Lightstation museum, take the walk to Bushrangers Bay and picnic perched on a rock. What views!
• There’s a cluster of excellent wineries from Hastings to just south of Merricks, so set aside a tasting day. A number of wineries have outstanding restaurants and cafes too.
• Play golf on a cliff-top course at Cape Schanck or Flinders – the play is matched by extraordinary views out over the ocean.
• Call into our villages including: Balnarring (a good spot to stock up on Mornington Peninsula produce), Flinders (cafes, restaurants and antique shops), Merricks (another excellent spot for Mornington Peninsula produce) and Tyabb (home of Australia’s biggest antique barn, with lots of individual dealers).

So, you can see that although the Mornington Peninsula itself is not vast there are distinct regions so for Mornington Accommodation then we are located in the Southern Region about 30 – 40 minutes drive from Mornington township.

Happy travelling!