Top things to do in Regional Victoria

Things to do in Regional Victoria include rock climbing and abseiling in the Grampians, wine tasting in the King Valley, history tours in Bendigo, guided rides beside the Murray River at Echuca and Moama, and race car driving at Wodonga. The experiences are spread across the state, so the sections below group them by area and help you pick one to build a trip around. The driving experiences have their own page, driving and motorsports in Regional Victoria.

Rock climbing, abseiling and canoeing in the Grampians

Absolute Outdoors runs its Grampians experiences from Halls Gap, in Gariwerd (Grampians National Park), around a three-hour drive from Melbourne. The 3-hour Grampians rock climbing adventure starts with a guide assessing your experience, then heads to a climbing site matched to it, with walls reaching 25 metres high. No experience is needed.

If the descent appeals more than the climb, the guided abseiling adventure covers descents from 8 to 30 metres. The climb and abseil combination splits a 3-hour session between both, with routes tailored on site. For something different, abseiling under the stars runs at sunset and after dark, with head torches and hot chocolate afterwards.

On the water, the guided canoe tour on Lake Fyans is a 2-hour paddle from the Stawell Yacht Club with views of the Grampians range and wildlife along the shoreline. The climbing, abseiling and canoe sessions start at 9am and 1pm, so a morning on the rock and an afternoon on the lake fit into one day.

Wine and food in the King Valley

Pizzini Wines is a family-owned winery with Italian heritage in the King Valley, in Victoria's High Country, and it's known for its Italian wine varietals. The 2.5-hour guided tasting covers current and back vintage wines, with a tutored host and an Italian-style grazing platter and a glass of wine to finish.

For a shorter visit, the 45-minute Prosecco and food matching session starts in Pizzini's original tobacco kiln, now a light-filled tasting space, and includes five wine samples and three to four food matches.

Bendigo history and heritage tours

Bendigo Guided Tours departs from the Bendigo Visitor Centre on Pall Mall. The 3.5-hour Chinese heritage tour runs on Sundays for a small group and takes in the 1850s Chinese Diggings, gold panning with real gold-bearing paydirt, the 1871 Chinese Joss House Temple, a 19th century Chinese cemetery and the Golden Dragon Museum, with morning tea at Omari Cafe.

The 2-hour historic walking tour covers 2.5 kilometres of Bendigo's gold rush landmarks and grand architecture, with a look inside the Shamrock Hotel. It runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10am. More guided experiences in the area are on the Ballarat region page.

Murray River rides and gardens around Echuca and Moama

The 90-minute guided eBike tour of Echuca Moama meets near the Port of Echuca Discovery Centre on Murray Esplanade and follows the Murray and Campaspe rivers, crossing the old and new Echuca Moama bridges and stopping at Horseshoe Lagoon and Moama Beach. It runs Monday to Saturday at 10.30am or 1.30pm, and the guide covers the paddlesteamer era along the way.

Further along the Murray Valley Highway at Strathmerton, Cactus Country has eight garden trails, more than 4000 plant varieties and a cafe serving cactus cake and cactus ice cream. The operator says October and November are the best months to visit, when the garden is in flower. The Murray region page lists more experiences along the river.

Race car and stunt driving

Wodonga, near the New South Wales border, is home to F1-style Formula Ford driving on a real track, from short drives to longer sessions such as the 10-lap F1-style drive. Stunt driving and defensive driving courses run at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne's south-east. The driving experiences page compares them all.

Planning a trip around Regional Victoria

Most of these experiences are best treated as the anchor for a short trip to one area. The Grampians, Bendigo, the Murray at Echuca, and the King Valley and Wodonga in the north-east each suit a weekend, and the sessions are timed to fit around each other: Grampians activities at 9am and 1pm, and the eBike tour at 10.30am or 1.30pm.

Session days and times can change, so check each product page before you lock in an itinerary. Experiences in Melbourne itself sit on the Melbourne page.

Pick the area you're heading to and book your Regional Victoria experience online, from a Grampians climb to a Murray River ride.