Need to escape your routine and spend some quality time with the besties? Grab your mates and explore regional Victoria. Discover weekend getaways fit for culinary queens, avid explorers and ardent relaxers. Find your feet on a mountain or in a day spa. Hang ten in the surf or in a hammock. Sleep under five stars or five million. Whatever your idea of a great getaway, we have just the place for it.
Stop. Pamper time.
Combine champagne with your spa bubbles. Top spots for serious pampering and treatments include the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa and The Mineral Spa in Hepburn Springs spa country, and Peninsula Hot Springs on the Mornington Peninsula. Beachside, add some 'aah' to your R&R at Mud Day Spa and Queenscliff Day Spa on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Food and wine
Sip your way through Victoria's 14 wine regions. Take a winery tour along the Mornington Peninsula and laze over a long lunch, or get up with the sparrows and float above the Yarra Valley in a hot air balloon, coming back down for a champagne breakfast.
Plenty of regional wineries are equipped with boutique accommodation, perfect for weekend sleep-eat-drink trifectas.
Back to school
Check out cooking classes attached to restaurants, wineries and accommodation in villages across Victoria.
Do nonna proud at Italian classes at A Tavola at Pizzini Wines and Green Olive at Red Hill. Bake bread at RedBeard Historic Bakery in Trentham. Check out classes at Georgie Bass Cafe & Cookery, and plan to Go French farmhouse at Annie Smithers' du Fermier, also in Trentham.
Throw your own set of bowls on the wheel at Bendigo Pottery.
Art attacks
Victoria's regional villages have many public and private galleries, open studios and exhibitions. Head to events at big-ticket galleries in Bendigo and Ballarat, browse TarraWarra, and explore exhibits big and small in Daylesford.
Outdoors, look for extraordinary street art in Benalla, venture to the Wimmera to see incredible silo murals in Brim, and follow the silo art trail through the Grampians and High Country.
Adrenaline activities
Sign up for surf camp. It's a swell way to hang with the gang. Surf spots on the Great Ocean Road (start in Torquay) and Phillip Island have plenty of surf schools and places to hire boards. Some outfits offer full-weekend surf-and-stay packages.
On the Mornington Peninsula, there's stand-up paddle boarding to test your core, ways to get under sail or snorkelling tours to meet new aquatic pals. On the Murray, paddle at your own pace on a canoe or kayak trip.
Land lovers can lace up for the summit in the Grampians or hit the beach on the Great Ocean Walk. In the High Country, saddle up for a horse riding tour, or pedal your way around local wineries.
In winter, shred it on the snowfields: Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buller offer ski school programs, including the Mim Sodergren Womens Program.
Road trips
Ready your favourite playlists and explore Victoria's favourite trips. Take in the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians on the Great Southern Touring Route, or breathe mountain air on the High Country's Great Alpine Road. From day trips to multi-day adventures, Victoria has a region for your next girls' getaway.
