Experience the best of Phillip Island

Phillip Island lies at the mouth of Western Port Bay, joined to the mainland at San Remo by a road bridge. Cowes, the main town, has a long foreshore and shops, and the rest of the island is farmland, wetland and rugged coast with granite headlands and surf beaches.

Each evening little penguins, the smallest penguins in the world, come ashore on Summerlands Beach and waddle to their burrows. At the Nobbies, rock stacks, a blowhole and boardwalks overlook the sea, and nearby Seal Rocks hold a big colony of Australian fur seals. Cape Woolamai, a granite headland, has coastal walks and shearwater colonies in summer, Churchill Island is a heritage farm linked by a short bridge, and the island's racing circuit has hosted a motorcycle Grand Prix.

Menus in Cowes run to fish and chips, local seafood and farm produce. Summers are mild and breezy and the island is busy, while winter brings cold winds and big seas on the south coast.