By Jarrod McCabe
With the holiday season upon us, many Melburnians are making their annual pilgrimage to the coast. And for most, that means choosing a side: Bellarine or Mornington.
In my experience, beachside allegiances work much like football teams. Once you’ve picked one, you tend to stick with it. Families return to the same stretch of sand for generations, and switching peninsulas feels vaguely treasonous.
I’ll declare my hand upfront: I’ve been heading down to the Bellarine peninsula – otherwise known as the Surf Coast – to the Barwon Heads area for close to 30 years. But in the spirit of the season, I’ll attempt an even-handed comparison across six categories that matter most to coastal holiday-makers. A point for each winner, half-points where it’s too close to call.
A brief history
Both peninsulas were home to Indigenous Australians for tens of thousands of years before European settlement. The Mornington Peninsula was occupied by the Boonwurrung people, while the Bellarine was home to the Bengalat Balug clan of the Wadawurrung.
European settlers arrived at both locations around 1802. Sorrento began as a convict settlement, with its post office opening in the 1870s. A paddle steamer service from Port Melbourne to Sorrento and on to Queenscliff helped establish Sorrento as a holiday destination for Melburnians.
Queenscliff started as a fishing village, with permanent European occupation from 1836 and land sales beginning in 1853. A train line from Geelong opened in the late 1800s, but Queenscliff initially drew more visitors from the Western Districts than from Melbourne – farmers heading to Geelong and continuing to the coast.
Those origins still echo today. The Mornington Peninsula retains its eastern-suburbs orientation; the Bellarine its connection to Geelong and regional Victoria.
Beaches
The Mornington Peninsula offers calm, family-friendly bay beaches with white sand and clear blue water. There’s excellent boat ramp access throughout, and the bay side is far enough from Melbourne to avoid the murkier waters closer to the city. The back beaches – the ocean side – deliver surf but can be wild and less suited to young families.
The Bellarine Peninsula is also known as the Surf Coast for a reason: the angle of the coastline and the arrangement of reefs and coves produce some of the best surfing not just in Australia but worldwide. Bells Beach needs no introduction. But what’s often overlooked is the variety. The same coastline offers protected coves for families who want a little wave action without the full ocean swell.
Verdict: Bellarine takes it for the quality of surf beaches and the flexibility to choose your conditions.
Running tally: Bellarine 1, Mornington 0.
Fishing
This is genuinely difficult to separate. Both peninsulas offer excellent pier fishing and beach casting. From a boat, it hardly matters which side you launch from – plenty of boaties cross the bay depending on where the fish are running.
Barwon Heads offers a point of difference with river fishing where the Barwon meets the ocean. The Mornington Peninsula counters with superior boat ramp access for those who prefer to fish from a tinny.
Verdict: Too close to call. Half a point each.
Running tally: Bellarine 1.5, Mornington 0.5.
Wineries and restaurants
Both regions are well serviced, but this is where the Mornington Peninsula pulls ahead. The concentration of quality around Red Hill is difficult to match: Montalto, Paringa Estate, Yabby Lake, and dozens more. The dining attached to these estates has evolved well beyond the standard winery lunch.
The Bellarine has strong offerings – Jack Rabbit, Scotchmans Hill, Oakdene – but lacks the depth and density of the Mornington Peninsula’s wine country.
Verdict: Mornington Peninsula wins on weight of numbers and quality.
Running tally: Bellarine 1.5, Mornington 1.5.
Golf
The Bellarine has quality courses: Barwon Heads, 13th Beach, The Sands at Torquay, and the RACV Torquay course all offer excellent golf with coastal views.
But the Mornington Peninsula operates on another level entirely. The National (with its three courses including Moonah Links and The Dunes), Cape Schanck, Portsea, and St Andrews Beach represent some of the finest golf in the country. The combination of links-style layouts, sand dunes, and ocean views is hard to replicate.
Verdict: Mornington Peninsula by a comfortable margin.
Running tally: Bellarine 1.5, Mornington 2.5.
Camping
The Mornington Peninsula has legendary foreshore camping – families who’ve been booking the same site for generations. Rosebud and Rye foreshore in particular have a devoted following. But it can feel crowded, and for those seeking a more traditional camping experience, options are limited.
The Bellarine and Surf Coast offer more variety. Beyond the caravan parks around Ocean Grove, you can head inland to Lorne or the Otways for genuine off-grid camping with space around you.
Verdict: Bellarine takes it for flexibility and variety.
Running tally: Bellarine 2.5, Mornington 2.5.
Accessibility
For eastern suburbs residents, the Mornington Peninsula has always been the logical choice. EastLink and Peninsula Link have improved access significantly, and you never have to cross the city.
But there’s a catch. The freeway gets you to Dromana or Rosebud efficiently enough. After that, if you’re heading to Blairgowrie, Rye, Sorrento or Portsea, the single-lane road becomes a bottleneck. Pick the wrong time and you can spend longer crawling from Rosebud to Sorrento than you did getting from Melbourne to Rosebud.
Getting to the Bellarine requires crossing the city – a significant barrier for eastern suburbs residents. But the six-lane freeway to Geelong and the bypass around to the Surf Coast Highway means that once you’re through the city, it’s largely uninterrupted. The West Gate Tunnel, opening, should ease the initial hurdle even further.
Verdict: A narrow win to Bellarine – the Mornington Peninsula’s end-of-peninsula congestion tips the balance.
Running tally: Bellarine 3.5, Mornington 2.5.
Property
Entry points are similar. On the Mornington Peninsula, Hastings offers a median house price around $675,000. On the Bellarine, Curlewis sits around $650,000. Both provide an accessible pathway into coastal property ownership.
At the premium end, the gap widens. Sorrento’s median sits around $1.75 million; Barwon Heads at approximately $1.45 million.
The Mornington Peninsula benefits from genuine scarcity. It’s effectively landlocked, limiting development opportunities. The topography – hills rising from the bay with north-facing aspects and views to the back beaches or across the bay – creates properties that simply can’t be replicated. The Bellarine, by contrast, is flatter and more development-friendly, with new estates continuing to emerge.
We wouldn’t recommend treating either peninsula as an investment-first proposition – beachside property rarely stacks up against well-located Melbourne metro homes on pure returns. But if long-term capital growth matters alongside lifestyle, the Mornington Peninsula’s supply constraints give it an edge.
Verdict: Mornington Peninsula for scarcity value and premium positioning.
Final score: Bellarine 3.5, Mornington 3.5.
Take home message
A draw, which, if I’m honest, is a fair result. Both peninsulas offer outstanding coastal escapes within 90 minutes of Melbourne. The ‘right’ choice depends entirely on what you value: world-class surf versus calm bay beaches, winery density versus camping flexibility, golf prestige versus ease of access.
I’ll be heading to the Surf Coast again this summer – three decades of memories with family and friends have made that decision for me. But whichever direction you head, the important thing is to get there, unwind, and enjoy the break.
From all of us at Wakelin, have a safe and relaxing holiday season. We look forward to speaking with you in 2026.
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