A One Day Itinerary and Planning Guide for French Island, Vic
As a budget backpacker in Australia, I’m always on the lookout for my next adventure-without breaking the bank. I was settled in Melbourne with no car and looking for a day trip I could access via Melbourne’s public transportation. This is when I discovered French Island. This often overlooked Island can be reached from the Melbourne CBD via a combination of train and ferry. The Island is relatively untouched with well under 200 full time residents making it the perfect retreat from city life.
The Island is also home to a huge Koala population. It’s estimated that the island houses between 5,000 to 7,000 koalas. This is the largest and healthiest koala population in Victoria and the second largest koala population in Australia.
Getting to French Island
If you want to reach French Island via public transportation it is a long(but worthwhile) journey.
My friend and I left our accommodation at 9am to reach the Flinders Street train station for the 9:27 am train to Frankston. We switched trains once taking the train from Frankston to Stoney Point. We made it to the 11:45 ferry and took the 15 minute journey across the bay arriving at 12pm exactly.
Both the train from Frankston to Stony Point and the ferry run at limited times. Be sure to plan your trip in advance. Prepare to leave early in order to make it at a reasonable time.
If you have a car simply drive to the Stony Point Ferry Terminal. You can purchase ferry tickets online or in person. The ferry costs 16 dollars each way or 32 dollars round-trip. The ferry is relatively small so if you are going on a weekend or public holiday it would be best to buy tickets in advance.
First Impressions of French Island
French Island is not a very developed tourist area. It is the perfect place for a rustic wildlife excursion. Don’t expect a bustling boardwalk with shops. There is a public toilet located just off the jetty. The only store is a 3km walk from the ferry. We were lucky enough to go on a Sunday when the general store offered a complimentary shuttle service to the general store sparing us the 3 km uphill walk. This service is only offered on weekends and public holidays and a booking in advance is recommended. You can make one via the general store website
Make sure you are prepared for a successful trip to French Island. Bring plenty of water, weather appropriate clothing, bug spray, and food for your journey. Aside from the general store there is nowhere to purchase anything.
Finding Koalas
The easiest place to find Koalas is conveniently near the general store. After catching the shuttle we walked further up the road looking in the branches of the eucalyptus trees. It only took about 10 minutes of looking before we saw our first koala. It was my first time spotting a wild koala in Australia. This was one of the happiest moments I have had while traveling. We were lucky this koala was fairly active and put on a show for us. He climbed further up the branches munching on some eucalyptus leaves.
After watching that guy for a bit we found another Eucalyptus tree with THREE koalas!!! These guys were more keen to nap than entertain us. One of them was on a low branch close to the road and didn’t seem to mind us coming up to take some pictures. Of course with any wild animals it’s important to remain a respectful distance and absolutely don’t touch the koalas (as much as you might want to)
Lunch and Echidna sighting
After a bit of a hike up the road we stopped for a picnic lunch on school road. While we were eating in a shady spot we were lucky enough to spot an echidna wandering along the fence of a nearby farm. It did hide it’s face when we approached to take a picture so we left it alone. It was a cool example of how easy it is to spot wildlife on French Island.
Heading back
There were no more shuttles by the time we turned around. We left early to make sure we could walk back to the ferry in time. We headed back around 3 to make sure we were on time for the 4:25 ferry. The last ferry was at 6:30 pm but we had about two hours left of train travel so we didn’t want to stay too late. On our way back we were fortunate enough to see one more koala. He was running down the street towards a eucalyptus tree.
Although at first we didn’t know if he was running in for a hug.
We made it to the ferry with time to spare. We were able to do some birdwatching on the jetty before our ferry arrived.
Trip Advice
- French Island is not a developed tourist area so make sure to bring everything you need especially drinking water
- If you are traveling via public transport the trip can be quite long. Plan your trip in advance because train and ferry times are limited.
- There is so much more to see on French Island than you can reasonably do in one day on foot. If you want to see more you can hire a car or bike, take a guided tour, or stay overnight
- There is a FREE campground on the Island called Fairhaven Campground.
- Watch your step and be careful of wildlife, especially snakes that inhabit the island.