903 bus route: Which Melbourne suburbs does it connect?

The 903 bus route through the Melbourne suburbs takes 4h15m to travel from Altona to Mordialloc. That’s because it takes the long route via Sunshine, Essendon, Heidelberg, Box Hill and Chadstone.

The 903 bus route in Melbourne is one of the strangest bus routes in Australia. Unlike most bus routes, it doesn’t pass through the city centre, instead doing a big semi-loop around the outer suburbs of Melbourne.

The 903 bus route starts in Altona, outside Altona Station. It finishes at Mordialloc on the other side of Port Phillip Bay. But the 903 bus doesn’t exactly take the shortest path.

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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.

903 bus route in Melbourne

From Altona, the 903 bus route heads north through the Melbourne suburbs of Brooklyn, Tottenham and Sunshine. It then joins the Western Ring Road and cuts across Brimbank Park and the Maribyrnong River toward Keilor East.

The 903 bus then continues west across Melbourne’s northern suburbs, through Essendon, Strathmore, Pascoe Vale South and Preston. Heidelberg West, Heidelberg Heights and Heidelberg are next, then Bulleen and Templestowe Lower.

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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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The 903 bus route finally turns towards the south in Doncaster and largely follows Station Street through Box Hill. It doglegs into Surrey Hills before continuing south down Warrigal Road through Burwood, Ashwood and Chadstone. There’s a stop at the Chadstone Shopping Centre, but the 903 bus route ploughs on relentlessly down Warrigal Road through Oakleigh, Hughesdale and Cheltenham.

The epic journey through suburban Melbourne finally hits Port Phillip Bay in Mentone, and flanks Mentone Beach on the way to Parkdale and Mordialloc.

Mordialloc Beach pier in Melbourne — Mordialloc Beach is at the end of the epic 903 bus route through Melbourne. Photo courtesy of Parks Victoria.

903 bus timetable

Obviously, this isn’t a bus route designed for travelling the full journey on. It connects suburbs, and most travellers will pass through a suburb or two before getting off. There is a map of the full route at the Public Transport Victoria site. This is where you’ll also find the 903 bus timetable.

903 buses depart roughly every 15 minutes during the day. The full journey from Altona to Mordialloc takes around four hours and 15 minutes, although that varies slightly by time of day. Obviously, you’d have to be insane or extremely bored to want to sit on the bus for that long.