The Best Walks and Coastal Tracks Near Sorrento Village

September to November is the best stretch of the year to walk the coast west of Sorrento. The crowds that fill the car parks over summer haven’t arrived yet, the temperature sits comfortably below 20 degrees most mornings, and the tail end of the whale migration season means there’s still a reasonable chance of a sighting from the clifftop tracks.

The walking here runs from short, flat loops suitable for before-work exercise to a full day’s hike out to Point Nepean. Here’s where to start, depending on how much time you’ve got.

Four routes, one stretch of coast.

Ocean Beach to Diamond Bay (5km return, moderate). Start at the Sorrento Ocean Beach car park at the end of Ocean Beach Road and head west along the clifftop track. The path has a reasonable amount of elevation change as it drops toward the smaller coves, but it’s well formed and clearly marked. Bass Strait sits on one side, banksia woodland on the other.

The back beach loop (2.5km, easy). Starts at the back beach car park and follows the clifftop from the Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club to the lookout rotunda and back. It’s the loop most locals do before work or with a dog. The rotunda is also the free vantage point for whale watching through spring.

Diamond Bay is worth the staircase.

At the far end of the Ocean Beach to Diamond Bay walk, a timber staircase drops down to a cove of white sand enclosed by cliffs on both sides. It’s worth the walk down even if you don’t plan to swim, and it photographs better than the car park at the top suggests it will.

Point Nepean, if you’ve got the time.

Point Nepean National Park continues west of Portsea, passing the old quarantine station buildings and fort gun emplacements before reaching London Bridge and the Point Nepean lookout, where you can watch shipping traffic move through the Rip into Port Phillip Bay. The track is flat but has little shade, so spring is a considerably more comfortable time to walk it than summer. A shuttle bus runs from the visitor centre for anyone who doesn’t want the full 12km return distance on foot.

The wildflower tracks, inland.

Less obvious than the coastal routes are the bushland tracks inland from Diggers Track, threading through tea-tree and coastal banksia behind the village. Correas, grevilleas and the occasional orchid come into flower through September and October. It’s a good alternative on a day when the wind off the strait makes the exposed clifftop tracks unpleasant.

Bass Strait on one side, banksia woodland on the other, and barely another set of footprints on the track until October.

Morning beats afternoon, every time.

The wind, which tends to pick up through the peninsula by early afternoon, is usually calmer in the morning, and the light is clearer for photos. Wear proper walking shoes, as the clifftop tracks are uneven in places, and check the Parks Victoria website before you go, since sections can close after storms. Ocean Beach Road is close enough to all of these walks that a coffee or breakfast is rarely more than a ten-minute drive from wherever you finish.