Searoad Ferries

Searoad Ferries operates 2 all-weather car and passenger ferries on Melbourne’s spectacular Port Phillip Bay.

Sailing between Sorrento and Queenscliff 365 days a year and carrying more than 800,000 people annually, SEAROAD FERRIES is Australia’s favourite car and passenger ferry.

Operations began with a single vessel in 1987, capable of transporting up to 300 passengers and 30 cars. Just a few thousand visitors and vehicles then traveled each year between Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula and Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula.

The spectacular journey soon boosted the ferry’s popularity, and the 60-metre all-weather MV Queenscliff was introduced in 1994, carrying up to 700 passengers and 70 vehicles. In 2000, the new MV Sorrento doubled capacity and enabled hourly departures from both ports.

The bay crossing is now a ‘must do’ attraction and a highlight of the Victorian coastal travel experience, connecting the Great Ocean Road to the Mornington Peninsula and beyond to Phillip Island. The 40 minute crossing is a great alternative to the 200km drive around the bay, on toll roads, freeways and in city traffic.

Ferries depart both Queenscliff and Sorrento every hour, on the hour from 7am to 6pm daily. An extra twilight service operates at 7pm from 26 December to 31 January, every day; in February and March on weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sundays) and on Public Holidays as well as the Easter Long Weekend (Friday – Monday).

This family owned tourism business, Peninsula Searoad Transport Ltd., operates without any government funding and employs more than 70 full time and part time staff.