.jpg){kind=link}
The Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne
According to Visit Yarra Valley, Healesville is 65 km from Melbourne, about an hour’s drive via the Eastern Freeway, EastLink and the Maroondah Highway; the valley opens up once you are past Lilydale.
The Wine Yarra Valley association describes it as Victoria’s oldest winegrowing region: the Ryrie brothers planted vines at Yering Station as early as 1838. Today more than eighty vineyards are spread across Healesville, Coldstream, Yarra Glen, Seville and Lilydale, on around 2,500 hectares. The climate is cool; the region is known for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and traditional-method sparkling wine.
Wineries, without taking the wheel
At Coldstream, Domaine Chandon, the LVMH group’s sparkling wine house, was established in 1986 on a former property called Green Point; it offers a self-guided tour and a restaurant with vineyard views.
With a chauffeur, nobody has to drive between wineries or on the way back. Book your visits with the wineries and send us the times: we plan the journeys around them. For a day devoted to wine, see wine tour chauffeur.
Healesville Sanctuary and the valley from above
At Healesville, Healesville Sanctuary shows Australian wildlife, from koalas to kangaroos; it makes a good morning before lunch in the valley.
Visit Victoria also mentions hot air balloon flights over the vineyards. The flight is booked with the company that runs it, which sets the meeting time and place; your chauffeur takes you there, however early, then collects you at the agreed spot.
Planning a day in the Yarra Valley
Two or three stops leave time to taste, have lunch and head back without hurrying. A few combinations that work:
- Coldstream and Yarra Glen: two wineries in the morning, lunch, then one more visit if the pace allows.
- Healesville: Healesville Sanctuary in the morning, then lunch and a winery in the afternoon.
- Ballooning: the flight, breakfast, then a winery before heading back to Melbourne.
- Arrival day: a transfer from Melbourne Airport can take you straight to a hotel in the valley.
Your chauffeur collects you from your hotel in Melbourne and stays with you for the duration agreed in the quote. Vehicles are provided by the Federation’s members according to their availability. To keep a chauffeur for several days, see chauffeur by the hour; for another day out, see the Great Ocean Road. Let’s talk about your visit.