Timboon has all the ingredients for you to entertain your significant other/s while you and your bestie get down to some serious fun and catching up together. Come sample our picturesque little taste haven perched just 17 km north of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. How you put your holiday recipe together is up to you. We suggest plenty of tasting, a pinch of salt and if it suits your palate reach for the spice-rack. Here you will find options that will send your short break itinerary into the stratosphere!
Rest assured if you need another day, we won’t tell the boss. Down this way Monday is the new Sunday and sneaky mid – weekies are all the rage. Arrive the night before or stay another day to fully decompress and remember to really feel the rush, you need to slow down!
Timboon is located 217 km and 2 hours 40 mins from Melbourne via the Princes Hwy and 291 km and 4 hours 20 mins from Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road.
Travel responsibly – travel safe. Why not travel together to share the drive load and the fuel? Wherever you are travelling from in Victoria, plan to pull over and take a break from driving every 2 hours.
All the best adventures start, and end, with a soundtrack. Tune into our Songs in the key of Timboon playlist to get you in the mood and set your body clock to Timboon time.
If you haven’t eaten on the way down meet your bestie and co at the Fat Cow Food co for a chat, chew, and brew to kick start the day The Fat Cow has been a tasty Timboon Breakfast institution for over a decade and is popular with visitors and locals alike. Try not to be startled by the life size cow that greets you at the door.
Weekend contingency Timboon Provedore.
Tip: Get in early and grab a table before the Timboon parkrun crew descend around 9 am.
Today we got you up early with the promise of something extraordinary. Get ready for a one on two introduction to blacksmithing workshop for you and your bestie with Beach & Forest. Don’t worry, your significant others will be pointed in the right direction with explicit directions to keep riding on the newly opened Timboon Port Campbell Trail (official name to be confirmed) until they reach the Southern Ocean, then turn around and meet you for lunch on their 33 km round trip. If they complain about the distance, they can hire an e-bike from Ride With Us.
An institution at Melbourne farmers markets and trailblazer in dairy sustainability. Schulz Organic Dairy products are decadent, biodynamic, and brought to life brilliantly by the delicate touch of Hila Perry (Vue de Monde, Dinner by Heston, Fat Duck, Bibelot) at Schulz Organic Creamery and Café. Enjoy your lunch in the delightful gardens, inside or in the hexagonal rotunda. Why not pick up some options for an after dinner tasting platter to remember?
It’s back to the fire, forge hammer and tongs for you two as you put together the skills learned in the morning session to belt, shape, heat, cool and finesse your take home pieces into works of art. Your loving partner/partners will be enjoying a downhill roll back to Timboon 7 km where they can rack their bike for the day and sample some nearby, and ride right up choices on the 12 Apostles Food Artisan Trail.
Welcome back to town. The first thing you will notice about Timboon is that smiles are genuine and frequent. Locals love the increasing interest in their little town and can’t wait to share it with you. The main commercial precinct is small and full of surprises with some businesses taking advantage of the village green that runs behind the shops. Plenty of time to go and meet the extras, browse the shops, check out your accommodation and reflect on the day.
What do you get when you cross a wonderful little PYO berry farm Berryworld with a yummy Thai restaurant? Tonight, you will be strolling to the outskirts of town. Via the unfortunately named Snake Track Road to dine overlooking a strawberry field at Berry Good Thai. If their expansive menu is a little overwhelming the daily chef’s selections are sure to delight. Carry a torch or stroll by moon and phone-light if visiting from April to September.
With a little encouragement we hope the extras were busy this afternoon foraging for additions to your local tasting platter. Perhaps Schulz Organic Dairy, Great Ocean Ducks, Bouchier Butchers, Apostle Whey Cheese and products accompanied by a bottle of Timboon’s very own Babche Wines. If they haven’t already been consumed, you might be lucky enough to discover cameo sweet appearances from Dairylicious Farm Fudge and GORGE chocolates.
Now it’s time to unwind and stage a celestial intervention.……If the skies are clear take the platter on the balcony, rug up, switch out the lights and get ready to explore the wonders of our southern skies.
Throw open the windows and listen! The birdsong of every destination is unique. Timboon’s is a sweet reminder of the tall forest and rural valley surrounds amplified by the lack of traffic and background noise. Listen for Magpie, Kookaburra, Rosella, Currawong, Grey shrike thrush, Eastern yellow robin, and Corella.
Will you start the day with breakfast in town as planned or sneak in and wake up your bestie to eat ice cream before the others rise? After all you are in Timboon. Let’s just assume the ice cream tubs are empty and there is still plenty of time for a bit of fresh air a stroll and chat before the day’s activities begin.
Taking it easier, had breakfast in and need a brew to start the day? Grab your keep cups and head to Wylde Home Timboon to enjoy an eclectic little homeware store and hole in the wall coffee stop before your morning adventure.
Many roads lead to Timboon but today it will be the Camperdown-Timboon Rail Trail that captures your heart. If you don’t have bikes for everyone we suggest booking an e-bike with Ride With Us who offer bike hire, transport and gourmet picnic solutions to trail users. You can book by phone or online and pick up your bikes from the iconic restored Timboon Station Ticket Office just a short walk from the heart of town.
5 km down the trail the Curdies River (Timboon) Trestle Bridge is a community restored 200 metre wooden trestle bridge that spans the Curdies River valley. If you close your eyes and take a moment you can almost smell the coal and steam of the old engines that used to carry timber and tourists from the main line at Camperdown to Timboon to meet horse drawn carriages to the coast.
The next few kilometres are particularly spectacular, we suggest you get off your bikes and take your time to fully enjoy the ruined bridges covered in ferns and moss. If you are patient, feeling lucky and at the right time of day you may even spot a platypus. At this point we suggest heading back to Timboon to complete your 15 km round trip.
Time for a sweet treat or an aperitif. Non drivers may like to have a tasting of whisky, gin or liqueurs at Timboon Railway Shed Distillery while the drivers stretch out on the ample lawns or sit under the trees at Timboon Fine Ice Cream. For those that are undecided, try a cone of whisky cream ice-cream. It is rumoured that the whisky for this tasty collaboration is transported by horseback to a midnight exchange of products on the bridge that connects the two establishments.
Our lunch choice for you today is Timboon Provedore. If the weather is fine we suggest you soak up the view from the deck overlooking the village green behind the shopping precinct. If it isn’t you can’t go past the cosy window cubicles either side of the entrance.
A little time to finalise the purchases, bid farewell to your favourite shopkeepers and plan a tasty 12 Apostles Food Artisan Trail stop depending on your direction of homeward travel.
If you are travelling home via Great Ocean Road and Melbourne we recommend stops at the farm gate doors of Apostle Whey Cheese, GORGE chocolates, Great Ocean Road Wildlife Park and Clean Cravings Eatery.
If travelling home via Camperdown – Melbourne or Ballarat be sure to stop at Dairylicious Farm Fudge, Lake Bullen Merri and Mount Leura and Mount Sugarloaf.
Heading north? Don’t miss Keayang Maar Vineyard, Terang and Mount Noorat.
This itinerary is a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. If you really want to set your socials ablaze when you arrive check out our photographic tips and hacks before you leave.
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Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Great Ocean Road region the Wadawurrung, Eastern Maar & Gunditjmara. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage and the connection to their traditional lands. We commit to building genuine and lasting partnerships that recognise, embrace and support the spirit of reconciliation, working towards self-determination, equity of outcomes and an equal voice for Australia’s first people.
