Mentone Beach vs Mordialloc Beach: Which Melbourne beach is best?
On the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay, Mordialloc Beach and Mentone Beach run onto each other. Of these Melbourne beaches, Mordialloc Beach has more to offer, but Mentone Beach is less busy.
Melbourne’s most famous beach is at St Kilda, although there are better options such as Sandringham Beach further round Port Phillip Bay. Generally, the further you travel away from the Melbourne Free Tram Zone, the better the beaches get.
Go beyond Sandringham, and you get two lesser-known options lining up next to each other. Mentone Beach and Mordialloc Beach are more or less the same thing, and both of them are part of a barely broken 20km stretch going down as far as Frankston. Nevertheless, they are officially separated by Mordialloc-Mentone Beach and Parkdale Beach. The uninitiated would have trouble spotting the joins.
14 fantastic experiences that make the most of your free time in Melbourne
- Get the very best views – on a hot air balloon flight over the city.
- See the changing colours of the river – on a sunset kayaking tour – with dinner. (Highly recommended ✅)
- Feast and see the sights at the same time – on a four course dinner cruise along the Yarra River.
- A genuinely excellent street art tour, led by prominent street artists. (Highly recommended ✅)
- The also superb Aboriginal heritage, plants and bush food tour in the Botanic Gardens. (💲 Great value 💲)
- Best of Melbourne bike tour – you can see more on two wheels than walking.
- Hidden laneways bar crawl OR foodie discovery tour OR chocolate and dessert tour.
- Combo ticket for Australian Sports Museum and MCG tour.
- Hassle-dodging advance tickets for the Melbourne Skydeck, Melbourne Zoo, the Ice Bar (with cocktails) and Sea Life Aquarium.
Mordialloc Beach attractions
Mordialloc Beach tends to be the busier section of this long coastal strip along the 903 bus route. That’s largely because there’s a bit more to it than just sand and sea. There’s a playground, a pier and a few restaurants and cafés behind the beach. The picnic areas and barbecues make Mordialloc Beach popular with families, too.
Mordialloc Beach is not great for surfing, but swimming is fine especially in the shallow sections protected by the inner sand bar. People also love fishing off the pier.
Swimming and surfing at Mentone Beach
Despite being closer to Melbourne CBD, Mentone Beach is quieter than Mordialloc Beach. It is around 1.5km long and faces the south-west. Forget about surfing here – even when the swells are big, waves break inconsistently. The northern end of the beach, outside the Mentone Surf Lifesaving Club, is protected from Port Phillip Bay somewhat. Waves are usually small here, and swimming between the flags is pretty safe. Watch out for water quality at Mentone Beach, however – it can be iffy after storms.
If you’re choosing between Mordialloc Beach and Mentone Beach, then preference will largely depend on how busy you like things. Mordialloc has more to it, but is busier.
👇 7 great day trips while you’re in Melbourne 👇
- Great Ocean Road tour – with koalas 🐨.
- Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary and Phillip Island tour – with penguins 🐧.
- Yarra Valley wine tour – with gin, cider and cheese 🍷.
- Grampians National Park tour – with bushwalks and LOADS of kangaroos 🦘.
- Mornington Peninsula tour – with hot springs bathing 🛀.
- Wilsons Promontory tour – with all manner of native wildlife 🦘🐨.
- Dandenong Ranges steam train ride – plus wildlife at Healesville Sanctuary and chocolate-tasting in the Yarra Valley.
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Mentone to Mordialloc Foreshore Reserve
Of course, you don’t necessarily have to pick one or the other. The Mentone to Mordialloc Foreshore Reserve stretches 4.5km behind the beaches. Use the Mentone to Mordialloc Foreshore Reserve as a leisurely walking track, and have a swim at both beaches…
More lesser-known Melbourne
The Maribyrnong River parks.
Karkarook Park in Heatherton.
The Melbourne to Portarlington ferry.
Grazing at Prahran Market.
Helicopter flights from Moorabbin Airport.