Healesville Sanctuary From Melbourne: One Hour by Car, or Lilydale Train Plus Bus 685, With Prices and Access Details (VIC)

Healesville Sanctuary is, in Zoos Victoria’s words, “just a one hour drive from Melbourne CBD through the stunning Yarra Valley wine region”. It is also reachable by train and bus: a Lilydale line train to Lilydale station, then bus 685 to the Sanctuary. This guide sets out Zoos Victoria’s directions by car and public transport, the admission prices it lists as of 8 November 2026, and what it says about accessibility and stroller hire.

The Sanctuary is on Badger Creek Road, Healesville. Zoos Victoria says it is open 365 days a year, from 9am to 5pm.

How do I drive to Healesville Sanctuary?

Zoos Victoria gives two sets of directions on its Getting here page.

Starting point	Route, per Zoos Victoria
Melbourne CBD	Take the Eastern Freeway out of Melbourne, then drive east along Maroondah Highway through Ringwood and Lilydale to Healesville. Turn right into Badger Creek Road, just past the township centre. Road signs then guide you to the Sanctuary.
Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine)	Take the Tullamarine Freeway (M2), then the first major exit on the left, the M80 Western Ring Road (Hume Freeway/Greensborough direction). Continue on the Ring Road to Greensborough and take the left exit onto the Greensborough Highway. Take the exit for Kangaroo Ground-Wattle Glen Road, continue to the end, turn right and take the first left into Eltham-Yarra Glen Road. Then follow the road signs.

Is there parking, and what happens when it is busy?

Zoos Victoria says it has parking spaces for visitors. The page does not give a number of spaces or a fee. It does say that during peak times, such as school and public holidays, the Sanctuary does its best to get visitors parked and in quickly, and asks visitors to follow the instructions of the parking attendants when it is busy.

The accessibility page adds that there are eight accessible parking bays near the entrance, and a bus bay that can hold up to three buses.

Can I get to Healesville Sanctuary by train and bus?

Yes, in two steps, according to Zoos Victoria:

1. Catch a train from the Melbourne city centre to Lilydale, on the Lilydale line.
2. From Lilydale station, catch bus 685 to Healesville Sanctuary.

The page links to a bus timetable and says to see the timetables for current schedules. For train, tram and bus times it points to Public Transport Victoria, and notes that the Journey Planner accepts “Healesville Sanctuary” as a landmark in the “To” box. This guide does not give departure times, because the Zoos Victoria page does not.

Are there day tours from Melbourne?

Zoos Victoria says a range of companies offers day tours from Melbourne to the Sanctuary every day. It lists examples of what they combine with a morning or afternoon at the Sanctuary: Puffing Billy, wineries and galleries. The page names no operators and gives no prices.

How much does it cost to get in?

Zoos Victoria’s prices page for Healesville Sanctuary has a General Admission column and a Membership column. The figures below are from the General Admission column. They are marked “from” for adult, concession and seniors; the page carries asterisks on the child, concession and seniors lines, and their footnotes were not in the text we read.

Ticket	General admission
Adult	from $58.00
Child (4 to 15 years)	Free on weekends and holidays*; $29.00 on weekdays
Child (0 to 3 years)	Free
Concession**	from $44.00
Seniors**	from $52.50

Membership, which Zoos Victoria describes as unlimited entry to all four of its zoos, is listed as adult $12.42 per month or $149 per year; concession $9.33 per month or $112 per year; and seniors $11.17 per month or $134 per year. The page also lists discounts and exclusive member events and free entry to five interstate zoos as member benefits. For tickets and bookings, the number on the page is 1300 966 784.

What concessions apply for carers?

The accessibility page says entry is free for all carers accompanying a person with a disability who holds a Child Disability Allowance Health Care Card, a Disability Pension Card or a Companion Card. It also lists a 10 per cent discount for a holder of a WeCare Card who is not accompanying a person with a disability.

What is the access like inside the Sanctuary?

Zoos Victoria describes an easy-to-follow pathway system with access for people using wheelchairs and strollers. Other details on the accessibility page are below.

Item	What the page says
Quiet times	All four zoos will typically be quietest between 3:00pm and 4:30pm, Monday to Friday; during these times Zoos Victoria will endeavour to minimise high sensory auditory experiences such as vehicle movement, PA announcements and maintenance works
Single stroller hire	$17 for zoo members, $20 for non-members
Double stroller hire	$29.75 for members, $35 for non-members
Stroller hire conditions	A limited number of Baby Jogger strollers; photographic identification and a credit card are required
Wheelchair hire	Available for hire; photographic identification is required; bookings can be requested on the page
Changing Places	A facility with a tracking hoist and full-sized change table, accessed with a Master Locksmith Access Key (MLAK)
Accessible toilets	At the main visitor entrance, Harvest Café and the Reptile Precinct
Mobile guided tours	Volunteers carry visitors in an electric golf buggy (three passengers only); the tours cannot be booked in advance and do not run every day, so you ask about them on the day

Assistance animals certified by a registered authority are welcome, but are not permitted at the kangaroo walk-through, Koala Forest, the dingo habitat, all walk-through aviaries, flight arena shows and close-up encounters. The page also offers a Sensory Map, a Social Script created in consultation with Amaze, and an Access Key PDF covering the parking location, access in and around the venue, and public amenities.

What is still unknown?

The pages we read give no parking fee or space count, no bus 685 timetable and no named day-tour operators. The footnotes behind the asterisks on the prices page, which would explain the weekend and holiday child entry and who qualifies as a concession or senior, were not in the text we read.

Sources

• Zoos Victoria — Healesville Sanctuary: Getting here (checked 8 November 2026)
• Zoos Victoria — Healesville Sanctuary prices (checked 8 November 2026)
• Zoos Victoria — Healesville Sanctuary accessibility (checked 8 November 2026)

Featured image: a koala at Healesville Sanctuary (photo: Ymblanter / CC BY-SA 4.0, text added). Other photos are from Wikimedia Commons.

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Zoos Victoria.