Scenic Yarra Valley Tour: Puffing Billy Train Ride & Healesville Sanctuary Visit

399 Ratings

Emerald

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Experience the beauty of the Yarra Valley on a scenic tour that includes a ride on the iconic Puffing Billy train and a visit to Healesville Sanctuary. Indulge in Yarra Valley chocolate and enjoy a relaxing day of exploration.

Duration: 8 hours, 15 minutes

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Emerald Lake - Enjoy a leisurely stroll around beautiful Emerald Lake.
Puffing Billy Playground - Hop aboard the Puffing Billy steam train for a scenic ride from Belgrave to Emerald Lake.
Healesville Sanctuary - Explore the world-renowned Healesville Sanctuary where you can wander at your leisure. You can also purchase your lunch here….

What's Included

Entry to ride Puffing Billy (Belgrave to Emerald Lake)
Entry to Emerald Lake
In-vehicle air conditioning
Entry to Healesville Sanctuary
Entry to Yarra Valley Chocolaterie

What's Not Included

Bottled water

Additional Information

Take a trip to the prime attractions of Yarra Valley, starting from the scenic Dandenong Ranges, extending up to the globally acclaimed Healesville Sanctuary. Enjoy a ride on the legendary Puffing Billy and taste some of the most exquisite Yarra Valley chocolates. This delightful day-long tour offers thrilling experiences while maintaining a leisurely…

Location

Emerald Lake

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.6

(399 Ratings)

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Roland_a

Jul 12, 2025

Great and enjoyable tour! - One of the best experience while in Melbourne is this Puffing Billy ride. I hope to stay longer for at least another 30mins at Emerald to enjoy my food. But over-all experienced is great and highly recommended if you have kids and young at heart like me.

Review provided by Viator

Taylorak8285mw

Jul 5, 2025

Puff, Wildlife & Chocolate - A Picture-Perfect Day - A charming day trip with a ride on Puffing Billy, up-close animal encounters at Healesville Sanctuary, and a sweet stop at Yarra Valley Chocolateries. Fun, Scenic, and Well-paced. Highly recommend for wildlife fans and scenic-lovers alike!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Kristen_s

Jun 30, 2025

Beautiful, Fun, Memorable Day - What a fun experience! We loved the train ride. We sat on the bench that allowed us to hang our legs over the side of the train. And, even on a cold winter’s day it wasn’t too windy or too cold. The scenery was beautiful as it takes you through a temperate rainforest. Community people stopped on the roads or sat on their front porches to wave to us along the way. The Great Ocean Road provided beautiful scenery for some spectacular photos! Our tour guide pointed out kangaroo in field or on golf courses along the way which was really cool. Our time at the animal sanctuary was fun too. We saw animals that we had only ever seen in pictures or on TV before. We were really impressed with this little zoo. The chocolate factory was something a little different than everything else we had seen and done. It was a fun way to sample Australian made chocolate and gave us an opportunity to buy some gifts for family and friends. Towards the end of the day our guide drove us through a reserve that was known for having kangaroo hopping around, and we were not disappointed! We were able to get some really great pictures. All in all we had a great day and would recommend this tour to anyone!

Review provided by Viator

Elizabeth_m

Jun 16, 2025

Excellent Day Out - This was a great experience. Our driver was very friendly and knowledgeable and did a great job of letting us know everything we needed to know. The Puffing Billy was so much fun, the Healesville Sanctuary is huge and amazing, and the little stop off at the chocolate factory is a great way to end the day. The only down side is the day isn't long enough to fit everything in at the sanctuary. I would highly recommend.

Review provided by Viator

Nurdianaerma_a

Jun 12, 2025

Great and fun tour - Bonnie, our tour guide is very friendly and cheerful. Makes the entire tour fun and joyful for me and my kid. Our most favourite part on this tour is the puffing billy. It’s a really cool train ride, and we get to enjoy beautiful scenery. It’s also calming and fun. Bonnie shared with us some historical facts, which is really helpful. Would love to do this tour again next time we come.

Review provided by Viator

Kc_c

Jun 5, 2025

We had a great time - Lorraine is a wonderful and helpful guide and made our trip really enjoyable. Our kids had a lot of fun on the Puffing Billy as well as at the Healsville Sanctuary.

Review provided by Viator

2nzq2q5wmv

Jun 4, 2025

Everything is great!! The... - Everything is great!! The guide Lorraine introduced the history and culture of Melbourne. It is good to know more about the city. She helped us to take pics for the puffing billy. The train is fascinated!! It just looks like the Hogwarts Express. I enjoyed it a lot except for it is a bit cold to ride on it winter. And the coal dusts can get on your clothes while riding so better not to wear white clothes. Sit by the right hand side you will enjoy the view of the train getting across the bridge. I also had a good time in the zoo. The zookeepers will introduce the animals in the specific time, and it will be interesting if you are an animal lover. The birds show is the best. It is how amazed that they can do many tricks and follow the zookeepers command. The chocolates however, is a little bit too sweet for me. You can enjoy the tasty ice cream there. I’ve tried pistachios, it’s great. The whole trip is satisfying, however it’s a little bit rush considering there are many places to visit. Better to bring your own lunch like sandwiches, so you can skip the queuing, and it is cheaper.

Review provided by Viator

Marimcali

Jun 2, 2025

Go! This tour was worth it! - Our tour guide Katereena (I hope I spelled it correctly) was super friendly and answered all of our questions. I was running a few minutes late and she was thoughtful enough to call to see if I was close. Additionally, I came from a different country and was reluctant to drive on the other side of the road. So, having a reliable and safe tour was important to me. Our guide was an excellent driver and made the group feel safe, and played great music! The day was filled with information and great insight to Melbourne. We expected rain on that day, and I almost cancelled the trip. I am so glad that the area's rain was mild and intermittent. Oh! The train ride was so neat! The neighborhood we road through on the train ride were so friendly! Everyone we seen on the side streets waved at us! It was so welcoming! I thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would go again regardless of the forecast.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Nadhirah_a

Jun 20, 2025

Rough itinerary - There wasn’t a clear itinerary given prior so let me give you one: ~1 hour bus ride to Puffing Billy ~30 min wait for train ~1 hour ride on Puffing Billy (our train stopped twice, not sure if that’s normal) ~30 min refreshment/toilet break at Victoria station ~40 min bus ride to Healesville Animal Sanctuary ~1.5 hours at Healesville Animal Sanctuary (go watch the 20 min bird show at 3 pm!) ~15 min bus ride to Yarra Valley Chocolaterie ~45 min at chocolaterie ~1 hr 15 min bus ride to Melbourne

Review provided by Viator

Vanessatw1280ao

Jul 3, 2025

Disappointed - So disappointed. We booked, we paid. Pick up was for 9:40am, we were really looking forward to it. Get a missed call while we were getting ready at 8am. Bus is leaving in 10 mins. We couldn’t get to the stop but we had received no call or confirmation advising of the time change. Tried to call them because we were wanting to know what harkened. No response. We are still trying to get a refund 1 month later. Because you know we would spend over $400 to just throw it away.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Check Availability

From $145

up to 15 guests

1 - Adult