Disclaimer : I didn’t go on this tour. I booked it for my friends. But they haven’t stopped raving about it since. Proclaimed to be the ‘best part of their holiday in Australia’. I will definitely choose this company again in the future. I have done the great ocean road many times so I don’t really want to take people down there every time friends visit me from abroad. So great to have a company on hand to use. And bonus that the are gay friendly as a I have a lot of LGBTQ adversaries.

So we arrrived in Melbourne, like we normally do, with nothing booked, just a clear 2 weeks in our diary. That’s how we like to travel and everything always seems to work out. Except this time. There were no cars we could hire in Melbourne - the only car hire place left was charging exorbitant amount, almost akin to buying a new car outright. So we had to look at tour companies instead. We normally give these a wide berth. Not really ‘our thing’. But….based on all internet search algorithms of ‘tours’ and ‘gay bars’ and ‘Grampians National Park’ Google seemed to match us with a company called VIC Rainbow Tours. My partner called it fate. I called it selective marketing. Anyhow, a quick phone call set us on a path to booking a tour. A local friend of ours had also used their services before, so we knew we were in good hands. James was quick to point out that his specialist area was really the Great Ocean Road but he would happily take us on a custom made tour. It was quite refreshing to have someone actually declare, that where we wanted to go, wasn’t their main area of expertise, but this honesty ultimately led us to finally booking. And really, his knowledge of Grampians National Park was second to none it has to be said. He knew all the good lookouts, the time and effort needed for certain walks. He recommended a great place to stay and took us to a cracking restaurant which he had pre-booked in advance (they were turning people away at the door). He also had some good suggestions for dayselford in terms of boutique shops, cafes and a wonderful walk around lake Daysleford. Ballarat took our own direction, as we were keen to see sovereign hill and stop off to see some long lost friends for a quick brunch.

We have visited Melbourne before but never really discovered the centre of Melbourne. So we employed the services of VIC rainbow tours to do a walking tour. Easy to organise. James picked us up from our city centre hotel. Easy going. Nice pace. Not too much LGBT influenced content, but some interesting landmarks which we would have just wondered past on our own.

I'm not really one for reviews (reading yes, but writing no) but i just had say a few words as my husband and I had such a wonderful time in the company of James our guide. We choose the full day of the Great ocean road. Wowweeee. What an amazing feat of engineering. And we would have had no idea of the history and reasoning behind the road if James had not enlightened us to its rich colorful history. Only negative side, is that if you are a little of the car-sick side of things, then this probably isn't the tour for you. The road meanders around 101 bends in the road (its not called the ocean road for nothing) and you have to endure over 500 kilometers of road which is roughly about 8 hours sat in the car. James does a great job of breaking up the trip and we didn't quite feel like we had been stuck in the car for that long, but once you are on the road, its near impossible to stop if you start feeling sick (which we saw happen to many other tourists at what seemed to be the halfway point of the road).

James provided us with 2 rocking tours during our time in Melbourne. 1 tour to the Great Ocean Road #AMAZING and a trip down to see the penguins on phillip island #CUTENESSOVERLOAD. If you are looking for a friendly gay friendly company to tour with - hit up these guys, They were great. Love and hugs from Harry and the NYC boyz XXxxXX

Phillip island is a destination we have been trying to get to for many years. Finally we made it. Surprised to find a gay friendly operator taking tourists out to this region. Very welcome indeed. The Penguin Parade was a stand out and worth the effort to get down there. Just a warning though, the Penguin parade finishes late (based on sunset times) so we didn’t get back to our Melbourne hotel until gone midnight.

We weren’t sure which tour to choose at first, but after discussions with James via email (thanks for answering all those questions!) we decided to go for the 2 day. So glad we choose this one. The 1 day tour would have just been too long in the car, as there is just an incredible amount of kilometres you need to cover, in order to get from Melbourne to the end of the great ocean road (which is basically the 12 Apostles). And I fell in love with Apollo bay (our overnight stop). Thanks James, it was a special experience for us both.

My partner and I had a great day out with James on the ocean road. It was a lot of driving, but although the day was long it wasn’t too taxing. James fed and watered us, gave us lots of photo and toilet stops along the way. Some of the stops we visited were just jaw dropping. And plenty of wildlife which made my hubby happy. Thanks James, I hope business picks up for you in 2022 once covid has disappeared. Cobi & Steve x

We took a gay friendly private tour with VIC rainbow tours to the 12 apostles via the great ocean road. Really fun day out. Lots of laughs, sites, food and sun burn. Don’t forget to Slip, slop, slap!

Two friends and I took a private tour along the great ocean road with James as our guide. He was responsive pre-tour and really fun to spend the day with. A really nice chilled out experience. Nice not to have to do the driving and planning for once. Also nice not to be crammed in like sardines with other randoms (although that is how I like my clubs lol)

A friend put us onto this company. We would never have found them otherwise. Nice relaxed tour and we saw some pretty special stuff over the course of the day. I’m normally a pretty hectic person, rushing from one place to another, but I immediately felt tranquility on the island, especially at the bird hide, while we just sat and watched black swans and their chicks gliding up and down peacefully, and then later, wild wallabies frolicking in their natural habitat. Thee were many other beautiful spots we visited on the island. Sometimes it’s not until you are forced to stop, you suddenly realise we take certain things for granted.

Enjoyed this gay friendly tour of what is billed by most people as one of Australias must visit areas. I would have to agree. The area is diverse and has so many different layers to experience- not just the view! Slightly irritating that we had to wear covid masks (or as my partner calls them - face nappy’s) but we went along with it as didn’t want our guide to get in trouble. I had heard about some of the air watering fines the police have been giving people in Victoria for not wearing a mask. Pretty incredible. We would love to come back and do another tour (perhaps Phillip Island) but not until the face mask restrictions have been relaxed.

Wow! This is a mammoth tour, be warned, there is a fair bit of driving, especially on day 2 as the Great Ocean Road leg is very long. You can counteract this by doing the same tour over 3 days which might cut your driving down. But this would have pushed up the price so we opted for the shorter 2 day option. There were so many great parts to this trip I wouldn’t know where to begin. Our guide James was great. He was so well organised wherever we went, as especially on Philip island, we required ticket entry to everywhere, but he had already pre-booked everything so we skipped the queue wherever we went. He advised us a few weeks before booking to upgrade our Penguin parade ticket, which he did for us. Such a good move, as it gained us entry into a limited entry area. Really great! And the Great Ocean Road is just mind blowing , but perhaps best done by staying overnight along the road. As mentioned, it was an option we did consider but didn’t go for in the end.

If you are looking to take a gay tour of Melbourne or the outer reaches of the city, vic rainbow tours are probably you’re go-to guys. I searched and searched online and I kept on coming back to them. So I ended up booking my partner and I onto a one day tour to Phillip island. James was my guide, and he was a great ambassador for the area. He knew all the hidden spots and we managed to really connect with the wildlife in some pretty special and remote parts of the island, away from the larger groups. The highlight was the Penguin parade. There is an incredible array of options to choose from at the penguin parade. So many ticket types it’s mind boggling at times . We left it in their capable hands and I was amazed at the difference of our ticket (which included an underground bunker where we stayed warm and dry) compared to other people’s ticket - who looked cold, wet and miserable (they didn’t have the fortune of a cover over their heads). All in all, a great day out. Thank you for a brilliant time, Dan & luke.

I had the pleasure of touring the Great Ocean Road earlier this year for the first time with James. I hadn’t been before, but James was very knowledgeable of the area, a safe driver, and great company too. I am quite tall, but the car itself was very comfortable which was pretty important as it turns out the road itself is incredibly winding and curvy. If you are looking at touring across Victoria for a reasonable and fair price, I couldn’t recommend James enough. :)