Sorrento Sunset 7:27 PM Case 02 is open · Play
Spring Insider · October 2026 Spring 2026
A local point of view.
A Peninsula worth knowing.
PlayWhere in the Peninsula is PI?
She’s out again.
Case 02: Took the long way to dinner. Ask the locals, read the land, find her before sunset. Find her and go in the draw for $250 to dine at Doot Doot Doot, Jackalope.
Free to play, no account.
St Andrews Beach is an ocean-coast settlement on the Mornington Peninsula between Rye Ocean Beach and Gunnamatta Surf Beach. The beach lies within Mornington Peninsula National Park and is an exposed, unpatrolled stretch of Bass Strait shore.
St Andrews Beach is a quiet back-beach settlement between Rye Ocean Beach and Gunnamatta Surf Beach. Its draw is the exposed Bass Strait coast: dunes, rock pools and long walks when conditions allow. Parks Victoria describes a short sandy path from the car park with a steep descent to the shore. The beach is unpatrolled, with dangerous rips, currents and reefs; swimming is not recommended. Keep to marked paths around the dunes and check park conditions before visiting. The St Andrews Beach Brewery and golf course share the place name but list their addresses in nearby Fingal, so allow a separate drive for either.
A wild Bass Strait beach, dunes and rock pools, with a quiet settlement behind the shore.
Is St Andrews Beach the right base?
Treating the unpatrolled ocean beach as a swimming spot; Parks Victoria advises against swimming here.
St Andrews Beach in brief
A perfect day here
Check Parks Victoria conditions, then take the marked path from the St Andrews Beach car park for a shore walk when conditions allow. Keep clear of signed Hooded Plover habitat; drive to Fingal for a brewery or golf stop if you want one.
The sandy access path drops steeply from the car park, and the coast is exposed. Choose a suitable weather window and keep the visit to shore walking and views.
- Editor's note
What's mapped here
Read this place properly
Long-form editorial that builds the picture of a place beyond any single visit.
10 September 2026
The Sunday roast at St Andrews Beach Brewery, the Greens Bush woodland loop as wattlebirds return, and one of the last Red Hill truffle hunts of 2026.
14 April 2026
If you want one golf story that explains the Peninsula properly, start here. Tom Doak architecture, genuine global ranking, and public-access bookings that turn prestige into a real weekend.
Planning guides
Long-form editorial that helps you build a weekend, not just a list of places.
Keep going
Because a Peninsula trip is always made up of two or three pockets, not one.
Ocean Coast · cape
Cape Schanck is where the Peninsula finally runs out of land, dropping off the plateau into Bass Strait with a drama that still takes first-timers by surprise. The 1859 lighthouse stands on the last headland, the boardwalk threads down through tea-tree to a basalt beach that disappears at high tide, and on a clear afternoon the horizon carries nothing but open ocean all the way to Tasmania. This is the Peninsula's most cinematic short walk, and the cleanest case for why the southern end is worth the drive beyond the vineyards. Come for the lighthouse and the lookout, stay for the Bushrangers Bay walk west along the coast, and time your arrival for the last two hours of daylight.
Ocean Coast · village
Fingal sits quietly between Rye and Cape Schanck on the Peninsula's ocean-coast flank, and it is the kind of place that earns its reputation through what happens there rather than through what it calls itself. Peninsula Hot Springs has made it a pilgrimage destination for a particular kind of weekend - thermal pools, early morning mist off the coast, a round at Moonah Links, and nothing much else demanding your attention. The Cape Schanck lighthouse is fifteen minutes south. The back beaches are wild and within reach. Fingal rewards the visitor who wants comfort rather than activity.
Bay Coast · town
Rye sits on the lower Peninsula between Tootgarook and Blairgowrie. The bay-facing front beach has a pier and sheltered water; the ocean-facing back beach is a separate outing with different conditions. Point Nepean Road gives visitors places to eat and shop, while the Fingal hot springs are a drive inland. Use Rye as a base for both coasts, and check beach conditions before swimming.
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On the map
Every editorially verified pin in St Andrews Beach on one screen - toggle a category, click any marker for the editor's note.
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