The 7-Day Great Ocean Walk covers the full 104km trail from Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles — the same route as the 6-day walk, with one practical difference that makes a big impact on how the walk starts.
How Many Days Do You Need to Complete the whole Great Ocean Walk?
Most people complete the 104 km Great Ocean Walk in five to seven days, depending on their walking pace and how they prefer to structure their trip. All options cover the entire trail. None of them feel rushed — Walk91 is flexible with timing, and we know that every walker moves at a different pace.
The main difference between the 6-day and 7-day walks is simple: the 7-day itinerary splits the first day of the 6-day walk into two shorter days. After that, the daily stages are the same.
That one change opens up some practical advantages that many walkers really appreciate.
Great Ocean Walk in 7 Days – Key Facts
Total distance: 104 km
Start: Apollo Bay
Finish: Twelve Apostles
Typical daily distance: 8.5–19.5 km
Walking time each day: 2–7 hours, including breaks
Track type: Coastal trail with forest sections, beaches, cliff-top paths and river crossings
A six-day itinerary allows walkers to experience the full diversity of the Great Ocean Walk, from the tall forests near Apollo Bay to the dramatic cliffs of the Shipwreck Coast.
7-Day Great Ocean Walk Itinerary at a Glance
Day Section Distance Notes:
Day 1 Shelly Beach → Apollo Bay 8.5 km. Afternoon start — walk back into town at your own pace
Day 2 Shelly Beach → Blanket Bay 13.5 km. Rainforest, old logging country and a secluded beach
Day 3 Blanket Bay → Cape Otway 10.5 km. Shorter day with time to explore the lighthouse
Day 4 Cape Otway → Castle Cove 17.5 km or 11 km. Rainbow Falls, Aire River wildlife, wild beaches
Day 5 Castle Cove → Milanesia Gate 16 km or 13 km. Johanna Beach, farmland, wedge-tailed eagles
Day 6 Milanesia Gate → The Gables 18.5 km or 12 km. Dramatic Shipwreck Coast cliffs and the Lost Apostle
Day 7 The Gables → Twelve Apostles 19.5 km or 13.5 km. Wreck Beach anchors, Gibson Steps, and that final view
From Day 3 onwards, this itinerary is the same as the 6-day Great Ocean Walk. If any distances feel too long, we can adjust your pick-up and drop-off points before or during the walk.
Why the 7-Day Walk Starts at Shelly Beach — Walking Back Into Apollo Bay
If you’ve looked at the itinerary and wondered why Day 1 starts at Shelly Beach and finishes back in Apollo Bay — rather than the other way around — there’s a good reason.
There is no phone reception at Shelly Beach car park. We don’t like walkers waiting around at a spot where they can’t contact us, and we don’t know your personal walking pace on Day 1. So instead of dropping you in town and having you walk out to a place with no signal, we do it the other way around. We drive you to Shelly Beach after your briefing, and you walk back into Apollo Bay at your own pace. When you arrive, you text us to let us know you’re safely back, and then you’re free to enjoy the evening.
It’s a simple, practical approach — and it means there are no waiting times at the end of your first day. You just walk into town and you’re done.
The Practical Advantages of Choosing 7 Days
An Arrival-Day Walk That Saves You a Night’s Accommodation.
On the 6-day walk, Day 1 is a 22-kilometre stage. That means most walkers need to travel to Apollo Bay the day before and pay for a night’s accommodation so they can start early the next morning. (Or Walk91 will happily book this for you on request for an additional cost).
The 7-day walk works differently. We start with a short afternoon walk — just 8.5 kilometres — which means you can arrive in Apollo Bay around lunchtime and start walking the same day. The V/Line bus service from Melbourne arrives at approximately 12:30–1:00 pm, which fits the timing perfectly. We meet you, run through your walk briefing, drop you at Shelly Beach, and you’re walking by early afternoon.
This saves you a night’s accommodation in Apollo Bay that you don’t necessarily need to pay for. You can, of course, arrive the evening before if you prefer and add on an additional night’s accommodation— but it’s not required.
Dinner on your first night is not included in the catering, because Apollo Bay has a great selection of restaurants and places to eat. We’ll give you a locals’ food guide with our recommendations so you can explore the town.
Relaxed Start to Day 2
Because Day 2 is only 13.5 kilometres — and it’s not a hard walk — there’s no need for an early start. Check-in at the destination accommodation usually isn’t until approximately 3:00 pm anyway.
So on the morning of Day 2, you can take your time. Have a leisurely breakfast at one of Apollo Bay’s cafes. Walk down to the main beach. Go for a quick swim if you feel like it. Spend a little more time enjoying the town before you set off.
If you’ve been travelling the day before, this makes a real difference. Rather than waking up to a 22-kilometre first day, you ease into the walk properly — rested, well-fed, and with your legs already loosened up from the afternoon before.
We generally start Day 2 around 9:30–10:00 am, and you’re walking by mid-morning.
The Same Trail, Just a Gentler Beginning
From Day 3 onwards, the 7-day and 6-day itineraries follow exactly the same stages. The terrain is the same, the highlights are the same, and the daily distances are the same.
The only difference is how the walk starts. Instead of a long first day, you get two shorter ones — and with them, a midday arrival and a relaxed morning in Apollo Bay before the walk begins in earnest.
For many walkers, that gentler start sets the tone for the whole week.
Walking Country That Has Been Walked for Thousands of Years
The Great Ocean Walk follows the coast of Gadubanud country.
The Gadubanud people — sometimes called the King Parrot people — lived along this coastline for thousands of years before European settlement. Their knowledge of the land, the seasons, the marine life and the forests shaped this place long before any walking trail existed.
When you cross Aire River, you’re crossing a waterway that was a significant meeting and food-gathering place. When you walk through the tall eucalypt forests near Cape Otway, you’re moving through country that supported a rich and complex way of life. The middens along the coast — layers of shell, bone and charcoal built up over generations — are quiet evidence of a deep, sustained connection to this land.
Walk91 acknowledges the Gadubanud and Girai wurrung as the traditional owners of the country on which we live and walk. Understanding whose country you’re walking through changes how you experience the trail. fresh.
A Track Built by the People Who Know It Best
Mark Kininmonth, Walk91’s co-founder, is a former Parks Victoria ranger who spent years helping to build and maintain the Great Ocean Walk track.
He knows where the trail was routed and why. He knows which sections were re-aligned, where the original routes ran, and where the old logging tracks that now form parts of the walking trail were first cut. When you receive your walk briefing before setting out, the information comes from locals who have helped to build, maintain and walk this trail since its creation, for over two decades.
That local knowledge shapes everything Walk91 does — from how we space the daily distances, to which sections we suggest shortening if the weather turns, to the stories and details in your walk notes. It’s the kind of understanding you can only get from a team that lives and works on this coast.
The Food Story
On Walk91’s catered walks, food is yet another highlight of your day — and walkers tell us so regularly.
We grow what we can in our garden in Apollo Bay — tomatoes, basil, leafy greens, zucchini, herbs — and source the rest from local Otway farms and producers where we can. Our cooking is generous and seasonal, inspired by cookbooks like Ottolenghi but adapted for feeding hungry walkers at the end of a long day on the trail.
Think chicken cacciatore with fresh Otway pasta. Moroccan vegetable tagine with couscous. Hearty beef stew with roasted seasonal vegetables. Homemade almond and orange cake for dessert. All made from scratch, packed into your accommodation, and ready when you arrive.
Menus change with the seasons, so every walk is a little different. We can accommodate vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets (though we cannot cater for coeliac disease or severe allergies due to cross-contamination risks — please contact us if you have specific needs).
For more about how we approach food, read Food on the Great Ocean Walk – Grown, Cooked and Carried with Care.
Who Usually Chooses the 7-Day Walk?
Walkers who want a gentler start
The split first day and relaxed morning on Day 2 appeal to walkers who’d rather ease into a multi-day walk than launch straight into a long stage.
First-time multi-day walkers
If this is your first long-distance walk, seven days is a forgiving way to discover what multi-day hiking is about. The distances build gradually, and if something doesn’t feel right, we can adjust as you go.
People travelling by public transport
The V/Line timing works perfectly with the Day 1 afternoon start. You don’t need a car, and you don’t need to arrive the day before.
Couples and groups with mixed fitness levels
From Day 4 onwards, there are shorter and longer route options each day. Faster walkers can take the longer route while others take the shorter option, and everyone ends up at the same accommodation. This flexibility exists on the 6-day walk too, but the gentler start on the 7-day makes it particularly appealing for groups where not everyone has the same experience level.
People who want to save a night’s accommodation cost
If you’d otherwise need to book a night in Apollo Bay before starting a 6-day walk, the 7-day option effectively replaces that with a walking day instead.
How Fit Do You Need to Be?
Walking the Great Ocean Walk in 7 days involves covering between 8.5 and 19.5 kilometres per day, depending on the stage.
Most walkers who choose this option comfortably walk for 4–7 hours a day on mixed terrain. You don’t need to be an elite athlete. It helps if you walk regularly, are comfortable on uneven trails and hills, and can manage consecutive days of walking.
If you’re unsure whether the 7-day or 6-day walk is right for you, get in touch and we’ll talk you through it honestly. We’d rather help you choose the right itinerary upfront than have you struggling halfway through the wrong one.
A Memorable Finish at the Twelve Apostles
However many days you walk, the finish is the same — and it never gets old.
Walking into the Twelve Apostles from the trail feels completely different from arriving by car. After days on the track, you see the limestone stacks from a distance before reaching the viewing platforms where most visitors arrive. Finishing the walk on foot, knowing what you’ve covered to get there, is one of those moments walkers talk about long after they’ve returned home.
Choosing the Right Number of Days
There is no single “correct” way to walk the Great Ocean Walk.
Some walkers prefer completing the walk in five days, covering longer distances each day and finishing the journey more quickly. Others prefer six days because the distances feel slightly more relaxed and allow time to enjoy places like Cape Otway without feeling rushed. Or if you have lots of time, why not consider 10 days for a really relaxed holiday.
Frequently Asked Questions About Walking the Great Ocean Walk in 7 Days:
No. The 7-day itinerary follows the same route as the 6-day walk. The only difference is that the 6-day walk’s first stage — 22 kilometres from Apollo Bay to Blanket Bay — is split into two shorter days on the 7-day itinerary. From Day 3 onwards, the stages are identical.
Because there’s no phone reception at Shelly Beach car park. Rather than having you walk out to a spot where we can’t contact each other, we drop you at Shelly Beach and you walk back into town. You text us when you arrive safely, and then you’re free to enjoy the evening. It also means no shuttle waiting times at the end of your first day.
Not necessarily. The Day 1 afternoon start is timed so that walkers arriving by V/Line bus (approximately 12:30–1:00 pm) can start walking the same day. This can save you a night’s accommodation. If you prefer to arrive the evening before, that’s also fine — just let us know.
You should be comfortable walking 12–18 kilometres in a day on mixed terrain. Regular walking and some experience on uneven trails is helpful. The 7-day option suits a wide range of fitness levels, and we can adjust distances on several days if needed.
Yes. On Days 4 through 7, there are shorter and longer route options. We can also adjust pick-up and drop-off points. View the full 7-Day tour details →
Breakfasts include muesli, yoghurt, fruit, bacon and eggs, porridge and locally baked bread. Lunches feature sourdough sandwiches with local produce, salad, fruit and a sweet treat. Dinners are home-cooked meals — chicken cacciatore, beef stew, tagine, roasted vegetable lasagne — with seasonal salad and homemade dessert. Much of the produce comes from our garden in Apollo Bay and local Otway farms. No evening meal is included on Apollo Bay nights, as there’s a great selection of restaurants in town. Read more about Walk91’s food →
Absolutely. Solo walking does involve higher costs for accommodation, but we’re happy to discuss options.
CONTACT US to start planning your Great Ocean Walk Adventure!
T: +61 3 5237 1189 Or BOOK A CALL Email: info@walk91.com.au
About the Author
Walk91 is a locally owned Great Ocean Walk operator based in Apollo Bay, Victoria. Our team lives and works on the Great Ocean Road and provides self-guided Great Ocean Walk support throughout the walking season, drawing on first-hand knowledge of trail conditions, logistics, and safety planning.
