Surfing, skydiving and kayaking on the Great Ocean Road

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Visit Great Ocean Road calls Torquay Australia’s surf capital; the town also marks the start of the Great Ocean Road, about 100 kilometres and an hour and a half from central Melbourne. The park authority says its beaches have some of the best waves on the Surf Coast, and Torquay also has sheltered beaches for families. Bells Beach, home of the annual Rip Curl Pro, lies on the edge of the town. Further west the road reaches Anglesea, then Lorne after about 50 minutes and Apollo Bay after another 45, and there are surf schools in each of those towns.

Surf lessons for beginners

The lesson in Torquay starts at a surf shop, where you check in 15 minutes before the start and get a full-length wetsuit and a soft surfboard. After a safety briefing on the beach, a coach with a Level 1 qualification spends two hours with the group in waist-deep water on small waves. Sunscreen is provided and the shop has hot showers and changing rooms. Bring swimwear and a towel. Children must be at least 8. The same operator runs an identical lesson from its shop in Anglesea.

Torquay Surfing Academy works differently. Its group lessons, for up to 16 people aged 8 and over, move along the coast to whichever beach has the best conditions that day, using the school’s range of beach permits. Lockers and a hot shower are included. The academy also runs private lessons from 34A Bell Street in Torquay, tailored to the level of the people taking part, which suits anyone who has surfed before or wants the coach to themselves.

Lessons further along the coast are smaller operations. In Lorne the school teaches on Lorne Beach, which it describes as safe and sheltered and suitable for beginners and intermediates. The Apollo Bay school uses softboards and wetsuits and also keeps beginners in waist-deep water. Their tour pages give fewer details than the Torquay lessons. For the towns themselves, see Lorne and Apollo Bay.

Water safety

Lessons take place with an instructor, but the beaches themselves have strong currents. Surf Life Saving Australia advises swimming only at a patrolled beach between the red and yellow flags, and lifesavers are on duty only while those flags are flying. In Torquay, volunteers patrol on weekends and public holidays from November to April, and paid lifeguards on weekdays from December to February. The patrolled beaches there are Torquay Back Beach, Jan Juc, Cosy Corner and Fishermans Beach. Back Beach is meant for surfers and experienced swimmers.

A rip shows up as a patch of deeper, darker water with fewer breaking waves. If one carries you out, stay calm, raise an arm and call for help, and swim parallel to the beach rather than against the current. The emergency number is 000.

Not every beach along the road suits a first swim or a first wave. At Kennett River the park authority describes the surf as suitable for experienced surfers only, even though the beach is patrolled in peak season. Cosy Corner in Torquay has paid patrols on weekdays in December and January. If you are travelling with children who want to try surfing, the sheltered beaches in Torquay and the group lessons from age 8 are the place to start.

Tandem skydives over the coast

A skydive in Torquay begins with a scenic flight over the Great Ocean Road to jump height, followed by up to 60 seconds of freefall and five to seven minutes under the parachute. Training, a certificate and Australian Parachute Federation membership with personal accident insurance are included; photos and video can be added on the day. Pickup from Melbourne is optional, which turns a two-hour activity into about six hours.

Skydive Great Ocean Road jumps over Barwon Heads from up to 15,000 feet, again with up to 60 seconds of freefall. Optional return buses run from the Melbourne CBD. On these skydives you must be at least 16 and weigh no more than 110 kg, and this operator adds a charge above 94 kg. Pregnant women and people with heart problems cannot take part.

Kayaking by night in Anglesea

The night kayak tour starts from a riverbank in Anglesea. After a briefing on shore you paddle a double kayak with lights as dusk falls, look for animals by head torch, and stop for a hot drink or soup with a snack. Later the guide switches off the lights so you can drift under the stars. Wetsuit, booties, life jacket and head torch are provided, no kayaking experience is needed, and the trip takes 90 minutes.

Seasons on the Surf Coast

Lessons and skydives have no fixed season in their descriptions, so check the dates when you book. The weather on the coast is mild rather than hot: Cape Otway averages a high of 21.5 °C in January and 13.0 °C in July, with about 6 rain days in January and 15 in July. Summer brings the lifeguard patrols and the school holidays, from 21 December 2026 to 27 January 2027, when the beaches in Torquay are at their busiest.

The Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach has long been held around Easter, but in 2026 the event moved to the start of the world tour, so check the 2027 date before you plan around it. If you want to stay active for longer, the Great Ocean Walk runs more than 100 kilometres from Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles; see multi-day tours for a guided version. Families will find more ideas on the Great Ocean Road with kids.