Apollo Bay Hotel: Why visit this Great Ocean Road pub?
The Apollo Bay Hotel is a Great Ocean Road pub with interesting craft beers and a fab outdoor dining area.
The Apollo Bay Hotel is the main pub in the hugely attractive Great Ocean Road town of Apollo Bay, Victoria. And it’s a fine stop for a beer at the end of a day’s exploring.
Apollo Bay Hotel: Great Ocean Road pub heritage
This Great Ocean Road pub opened in 1885, originally going under the name of the Kambruk Public Hall. It houses a few relics from the past, too. These include parts of the SS Casino, a steamship which sank in the bay while trying to secure a mooring back in 1932.
But most people don’t come to the Apollo Bay to look at bits of a shipwreck. They come for food and drink.
This Great Ocean Road pub has a bistro, public bar, function room and pool lounge, but the star attraction is the outdoor dining area. There are fans in case it’s a ferociously hot day, but most of the time, the sea breeze should do the trick.
7 fantastic Great Ocean Road experiences
1. Crowd-beating reverse direction tour. 2. Surfing lessons in Anglesea. 3. Split Point Lighthouse climb. 4. Shockwave Zip-Coaster. 5. Guided wildlife walk. 6. Budj Bim National Park tour. 7. Great Ocean Road by motorbike.
Apollo Bay Hotel food and drink menus
If you’re just here for a drink, there are some interesting fruit-tinged beers from the Stomping Ground Brewery in Collingwood, Melbourne. There’s also the Feral Hop Hog Lager from the Swan Valley near Perth, Western Australia.
The Apollo Bay Hotel food menu largely sticks to Australian pub classics. These include burgers, fish and chips, chicken parmas and steaks. At the same time, however, you can get a vegan penang curry if you so wish. For a full menu, visit the pub website.
Pick the right Great Ocean Road tour from Melbourne
- For wildlife and nature focus: One day tour with koalas and guided forest walk.
- To beat the crowds: Reverse direction Great Ocean Road day tour.
- For adventure: Two day camping and surfing trip.
- For backpackers: One day highlights tour aimed at younger travellers.
- For exclusivity and flexibility: Private tour where you can pick the sights you want to see.
- For an extended trip: Three day Melbourne to Adelaide tour.
Other things to do in Apollo Bay include spotting platypus on Lake Elizabeth, kayaking with seals on the Marengo Reefs, walking to Hopetoun Falls and tackling the Otway Fly treetop adventure course.
Apollo Bay accommodation options include the affordable Apollo Bay Eco YHA, the in-town Dolphin Apartments and the romantic Beacon Point Ocean View Villas.
More Victoria travel
Where does the 109 tram in Melbourne go?
Stop at Cactus Country in Strathmerton on the drive from Cobram to Shepparton.
What are the best stops on the Albury to Wangaratta drive?
Visit Castlemaine on the drive from Bendigo to Kyneton.
Hit the surf in Jan Juc or at Anglesea Beach.