Ballarat is Victoria's goldfields city, north-west of Melbourne. Most visitors come for Sovereign Hill, the open-air museum built on a genuine gold-rush site, and pair it with the botanical gardens or the art gallery. It works well as a single unhurried day.
North-west of Melbourne, roughly 115 kilometres each way.
Choose the ones you want. We build the day around your list, drive you to each and wait while you visit. Entry tickets are yours to book.
Sovereign Hill
Open-air goldfields museum. Entry is ticketed and bought by you.
Ballarat Botanical Gardens
Beside Lake Wendouree, with the Prime Ministers Avenue.
Art Gallery of Ballarat
Australia's oldest regional gallery.
Eureka Centre
The Eureka Stockade story, on the site itself.
Lake Wendouree
A flat lakeside loop if you want a walk between stops.
Who this suits: Families with school-age children, and anyone interested in Australian history. Less suited to a group wanting several regions in one day.
The drive out is roughly 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, most of it on the Western Freeway, and the quote covers the vehicle and your driver for the whole reserved time, with parking and road tolls on the agreed route included. We wait at each stop while you visit. Entry tickets are yours to book, and your pickup time is set for your date in writing rather than promised as a fixed number.
No. Sovereign Hill is ticketed and you book your own entry, which also lets you pick the sessions you want to be there for. The written quote covers the vehicle and your driver for the reserved time, with parking and road tolls on the agreed route included.
Often yes. The botanical gardens, Lake Wendouree, the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Eureka Centre are all close to each other in town. Send us the list and we will say honestly what fits alongside Sovereign Hill in the time you reserve, because that site fills most of a day on its own.
Your driver is your guide for the day. They take you to the places you have chosen, know the routes and the stops, and will tell you about what you are seeing along the way. What they are not is a badged guide reading a script at each attraction — and most people booking a private day prefer it that way, because you set the pace instead of following one. If your group specifically wants a licensed guide, say so with your enquiry and we will tell you plainly whether it can be arranged for your date.
Your written quote confirms the reserved time and agreed route. Within that plan, your group sets the pace at each stop. Extra stops or longer travel can affect timing and the final total, so ask and we will confirm what fits before travel.
Later than most people expect. Bookings have been confirmed with a few days' notice and sometimes less, subject to a vehicle and driver being free. Ask — the worst answer is that the date is taken.
From A$849 for the whole vehicle
Starting rates for the private group, up to 4 guests. Longer reserved time, larger parties, added regions and peak dates are quoted higher, and the written total is confirmed after the route, vehicle fit and availability are checked.