Hi friends! Last week, Benji, Luke, and I headed off to Rye (a 1.5-2 hour drive from Melbourne) for an end-of-winter getaway. Our plan was to relax and reset but I think we did more than we anticipated but that's okay because we wanted to see ALL the things and get all the content.
Throughout this blog post and a series of vlogs I'm currently editing, I plan to show you ALL the things we did down on the peninsula (we stayed in Rye but it's really the whole peninsula we explored).
I will add my YouTube videos to this post once they are all online (but for now, enjoy the first vlog - part 1). And if you come to the blog first, you'll see everything we did earlier than the vlogs woo!
The Ultimate Travel Guide to Rye (Things We Did + More!)
Where we stayed (AirBnB) - https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/13384023?source_impression_id=p3_1723428632_P3rmeDNzq9mYk9q3 - dog friendly, secure yard and epic bathrooms + there's currently a bonus night deal for 2024-2025 so check that out if you're heading to Rye any time soon! The host said she has a valhund but unfortunately, we didn't run into her on the beach. Benji had a great time - even getting the zoomies. Check out his zoomies video "here".
Other great Accommodation spots
I think I might need to sign up to some travel affiliate programmes LOL.
Check out the IG reel I took of the Air BnB we stayed in "here".
Beaches/Nature
Rye Beach (dog-friendly) + Rye Pier - this beach is dog friendly and epic place to watch both the sunrise and sunset! I also wanted to try do some astrophotography but because my body is feeling quite weak at the moment with my tooth issues, I decided that getting some sleep was much better for me than photos at the time. It's a great spot to walk along and relax. Benji loved the giant sandpit.
Tootgarook - I stayed here with my mum back in 2023 when she visited and looking back, I can't believe how lost I got around there, it's literally a straight road down to wherever you can go.
Sorrento - I feel like Sorrento is the place where rich people go (I wish I was rich, it would be epic to live down there with a massive property). There's heaps of beaches to explore around Sorrento - Luke and I didn't get much time there but I've been there with my mum and a cousin of mine. Thankfully, I'm not as scared of the creepy crawlies as I used to be LOL.
Millionaire's Walk Sorrento (dog-friendly) - I was worried this was going to be a really hard walk but it was cool to be able to head down to parts of the beach, look at the jetty and then do a relatively easy walk. I really wish I didn't wear my boots though because I got sooo many blisters - better always wear sneakers. I liked the views on this walk and I enjoyed looking at the rich people's houses (low-key jealous). Some of them even had their own private lifts down to the beach like wtf.
Cape Schnack Lighthouse - you can get organised tours to go up here and I believe this is a great spot for astro but you can only go into the lighthouse area between 6am and 6pm. I was sooo scared on the cliff edge up here and then we realised you could walk straight up to the lighthouse without doing the scary walk. If my tooth wasn't hurting, I think I would have found this a lot easier and probably would have walked the whole track down to the beachy area.
Mornington Peninsula National Park (no-dogs allowed) - sadly we didn't get to go here but apparently it's a cool spot for bird watching and if you go at dusk or dawn you might see koalas and kangaroos. Weirdly, one night we were driving back from the hot springs, we legit thought we saw a wombat down the street we were staying on, so we stopped and got out of the car but we couldn't see it so idk if he walked all the way to Rye or what. If it was a wombat, I hope he got home safely.
Flinders Jetty - This was a neat spot to go to but the parking was a major issue, like I get that we had to pay BUT it was sooo complicated because there was no metre and you had to download an app. It took forever and Luke and I aren't tech-noobs LOL.
Cool Things To Do
Enchanted Adventure - this place was pretty cool but the tree surfing looked terrifying (I dunno if I could have done that part considering how scared I got on the canopy walk). I do wish I did the tube slide thing cause that looked fun but I'm too much of a scaredy-cat. Luke did it lol so enjoy that video when it comes up. It was a great garden to walk around and there's plenty for every member of the family to do (no dogs allowed though). Lots of mazes and cool garden things to do, totally recommend at $40 PP for general admission.
Charlie's Auto Museum - we drove past this place and I thought it looked cool so just wanted to give it an honourable mention. Lmk in the comments below if you've been here before! I just had a look on their website and it asks you to call them before visiting which I find a bit odd but I guess if it works for them LOL.
Arthur's Seat Eagle - I think this could have been something I could have done (height wise) but I didn't know about it until Luke pointed it out. It looks like one of the longest gondala rides ever (like longer than the CHCH or Queenstown one).
Moonlit Sanctuary - a bit of a drive from Rye (40 minutes) but if you wanna see animals, this is a cool place. Luke and I have been here - we drove from Melbourne once and it was the first place I saw padamelons. I thought it was cool and I always like sanctuaries better than zoos.
Foodie Vibes
Pu17 - this place was delicious - I was going to order the Salmon but they didn't have any so I went with the pancakes and they were pretty soft on my teeth and I even got a matcha for a drink which isn't something I would normally get. Luke got a long black and the smashed avo with two poached eggs. So yum!
Freaky Tiki - a taste of NZ, if you don't know what a tiki is, see "here". I wasn't sure at first whether it was run by kiwis or inspired by kiwis but once I saw the little tiki on the coffee machine, the barista started talking to us and turns out he's from Dunedin (and he's like we're both from the coldest parts of NZ - me being from CHCH). Haha so it's safe to say it was kiwi inspired.
Hector's Seafood - I have a feeling this place used to have different owners as when I looked it up on Google, it had bad reviews but then it had another site with good reviews so I was like well let's try it anyway and we ended up eating here twice (the second time was because no restaurants were open) but the fish and chips were delicious here! And bonus points, it was soft enough for me to eat. I'm a kiwi so you know I'ma be critical when it comes to fish and chips but honestly, this was so good! I was still sad the pinapple fritter was a dessert - like come on where can I get one that's savoury?
The Bakehouse Street Cafe - the lady in here was so kind and wanted us to keep buying stuff, she kept saying "and" "and" every time Luke ordered something. You could tell the couple who owned this place were genuinely happy to be there and wanted to make sure their customers were happy. Sidenote - this bakery has recently had new owners take over and apparently they do a lot better job than the old owners.
Soul Press Rye - I just wanted a smoothie and we walked past here so Luke went in and got me a smoothie and Benji and I stayed outside but a sign to another cafe fell on my leg and I just wanted to rant about it. The smoothie was okay, nothing special. It might be a bit more popular in summer though.
Mornington Peninsula Chocolatarie & Ice Creamery - this was a weird spot, like we went because I like chocolate and Luke wanted to go for the $4 tasting but then decided he wanted to do the free one but the first lady who served us made me feel so weird like she didn't really wanna interact with us at all and I was uncomfortable but we tried some ice cream and Luke ended up having to eat mine because it hurt my tooth and then we bought some chocolate and they had dog treats (not chocolate obvs) and the second lady who served us was much nicer, although at first she kept asking us which suburb we lived in Melbourne but then she told us this story of her stalking a celebrity in the suburb we live in and that she met his mum and she got embarrassed so that made me feel a bit better. I kinda wish we got her first. It also wasn't as big as I expected, the much better chocolataries are the Great Ocean Road one and the Barossa one - I'd go back to those ones over the Mornington one any day.
The Hive Loukoumades - so you'll see us talk about this place in the first vlog but we didn't realise it was only open Friday - Monday so we really should have gone here on the Monday if we knew because it looked soooo good. I'm sad about this one.
The Baths (Sorrento) - a place we didn't get to go to because it was closed for winter maintenance but I've heard it's good so maybe one day we can go back.
Penni Ave Distillery - this one comes up on all the touristy-sites so I thought I'd mention it. We didn't go here because of my tooth (can't really drink at the moment) but I am sad we missed it. However, it does look like I can buy things online so maybe I will do that when my tooth is fixed and add to my collection (and to anyone who says stuff about us having a lot of alcohol - clearly we're not alcoholics otherwise we wouldn't have any). LOL.
Relax/Rejuvenate
Alba Hot Springs - this was a really relaxing place but I felt sad that a lot of the pools were actually cold and it's winter (I wanna be in the hot ones not the cold ones) but it wasn't too busy. The only thing that made me feel really uncomfortable was some guy followed Luke and I into a specific pool and then followed us when we got out and stood behind me. I dunno what he was doing but I was clearly uncomfortable - and if you wanna look at attractive women, there are plenty of other woman there, don't follow me LOL. I also thought that the people who took their phones into the springs really ruined it for everyone else. Like leave it in your locker! GRR. But overall, the springs were nice and I did feel relaxed.
Peninsula Hot Springs - Luke and I didn't get to these ones this time but I have been here before. I really want to go glamping here one day. I do prefer these springs over Alba as they are a lot bigger and each pool tells you what minerals are in it and what the temperature is.
If you'd like to learn more, check out this blog post "91 Ways To Embrace Winter On The Mornington Peninsula".
Some more photos!
The first vlog - Rye Roadie PART 1!
Update 16/08/24 - the next vlog is out!
The second vlog - Rye Roadie PART 2!
Update 19/08/24 - the next vlog is out!
The third vlog - Rye Roadie PART 3!
Update 21/08/2024 - the final vlog of this series is out now!
The fourth and final vlog - Rye Roadie PART 4!
More vlogs will be added here as I upload them on YouTube so keep coming back for updates!
Much love,
Ash xoxo
Have you been to the Mornington Peninsula? What was your favourite thing to do there? Let me know in the comments below #travel #youtube #adventures
You little pup is adorable. I love finding new places where our fur babies are welcome.
Sorrento is such a gorgeous place and your photos really bring it to life. Love the corgi!
Oh my gosh the food looks AMAZING! Thanks for sharing!
This guide is a gem! Rye, Victoria, sounds like the perfect off-season getaway, especially with all the dog-friendly spots you've highlighted.
Hi there! It sounds like you had an incredible end-of-winter getaway to Rye. Sometimes those trips where you end up doing more than planned are the most memorable ones, especially when there’s so much to see and do. I’m really looking forward to your series of vlogs and blog posts detailing all your adventures across the peninsula.