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Somers Dunescape on Western Port
Aerial view of Somers beach and the Merricks Creek mouth, with the village behind the dunesThe open living and dining room, lined in timber, with the deck beyondThe deck with a long outdoor table, among the gum treesA hammock strung between trees in the backyard, with the trampoline behindThe living room with its open fire and grey sofasThe fenced backyard with a Springfree trampoline on the lawn

Somers
Dunescape

A retro timber beach house for twelve, across the road and over the dunes from Somers beach on the Mornington Peninsula.

4 bedrooms2 bathroomsSleeps 124.86 from 129 Airbnb reviews

Over the dunes and you are on the beach

A short path crosses the dunes and the road. The beach is two minutes on foot, and Western Port opens out ahead with Phillip Island across the water.

Most of our guests come as a group. There are two living areas and a long deck table, so everyone has a place.

Sun setting over Western Port from the shore at Somers

Timber ceilings, an open fire and a pool table

Both living areas are lined in warm timber. One has an open wood fire. The games room has a three-quarter pool table. Split-system air conditioning keeps every room comfortable, and electric blankets are on the beds for cold nights.

The living room with an open fire, a long sofa and a low table

A fenced backyard with a trampoline and a hammock

The backyard is fenced. It has a Springfree trampoline, and a hammock under the trees. The deck has a barbecue and a long outdoor table.

The pool table, books and games are there for wet evenings.

A Springfree trampoline on the lawn of the fenced backyard

Perfect for

Most of our guests come as a group. These are the stays the house suits best.

Family holidays

A fenced backyard, a Springfree trampoline, items for children and a pool table for the teenagers. The guide tags the days out that suit children.

Friends and reunions

Sleeps twelve across four bedrooms. The long deck table and barbecue suit a group, and the pool table fills the evening.

Cosy winter breaks

An open wood fire, electric blankets, books and games. Split-system air conditioning is in every room.

Wine and weddings

Red Hill's wineries and cellar doors are about 20 minutes away. The guide lists them with their opening hours.

Beach and bush walks

Somers beach is two minutes on foot. The Somers Trail passes through the suburb, and the koala reserve is a five-minute drive.

Peninsula explorers

Balnarring is five minutes away, Flinders about 25 and Sorrento about 50. The guide has 108 places and ready-made days.

Sleeps twelve. Rated 4.86 from 129 Airbnb reviews.

Check dates and book

Our guide to the area

This is the list we send our own guests, with opening hours we checked in October 2026. Start with one of these days.

What our guests say

A selection from the 129 reviews on our Airbnb listing, copied word for word. Every review is on the Reviews page.

4.86from 129 Airbnb reviews
Grey Winter hath gone, like a wearisome guest,And, behold, for repayment,September comes in with the wind of the WestAnd the Spring in her raiment!
Henry Kendall, "September in Australia", 1869

62 of our 129 Airbnb reviews mention the beach. 52 name Marnie or Trevor.

Marnie is an Airbnb Superhost, and she and Trevor have been hosting for eight years. The house is rated 4.86 out of 5 (Airbnb, October 2026).

The front porch of Somers Dunescape, with a timber front door and a cane chair

The house

Perfect for

Family holidays

Family holidays
A fenced backyard, a Springfree trampoline, items for children and a pool table for the teenagers. The guide tags the days out that suit children.

Friends and reunions

Friends and reunions
Sleeps twelve across four bedrooms. The long deck table and barbecue suit a group, and the pool table fills the evening.

Cosy winter breaks

Cosy winter breaks
An open wood fire, electric blankets, books and games. Split-system air conditioning is in every room.

Wine and weddings

Wine and weddings
Red Hill's wineries and cellar doors are about 20 minutes away. The guide lists them with their opening hours.

Beach and bush walks

Beach and bush walks
Somers beach is two minutes on foot. The Somers Trail passes through the suburb, and the koala reserve is a five-minute drive.

Peninsula explorers

Peninsula explorers
Balnarring is five minutes away, Flinders about 25 and Sorrento about 50. The guide has 108 places and ready-made days.

At a glance

Sleeps 12Eight adults and four children across four bedrooms and seven beds.
The beachAbout two minutes on foot, over the dunes and across the road.
WifiIn the house. We will send you your network details in your welcome message before you arrive.
Heating and coolingAn open wood fire, electric blankets and split-system air conditioning in every room.
Washer and dryerIn the laundry.
Deck and barbecueA barbecue and a long outdoor table on the deck.
BackyardFenced, with a Springfree trampoline and a hammock.
Pool tableA three-quarter size table, plus books and games.
Self check-inA keypad lock, with the code in your welcome message. Check-in is from 3 pm and checkout is by 10 am.
Items for childrenIn the house.
PetsNot listed on our booking page, so please ask us before you book.

The house is a retro timber beach house with four bedrooms, seven beds and two bathrooms. Two living areas, a games room and a deck mean a group of twelve can spread out.

Bedrooms

Four bedrooms and seven beds, including bunks. We unlock the rooms your booking needs, based on the number of guests.

Bedroom 1

Bedroom 1

A bright bedroom with soft grey bedding.

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 2

Timber bedside tables and a window onto the garden.

Bunk room

Bunk room

Two sets of bunk beds.

Bedroom 3

Bedroom 3

A small bedroom with a white dresser.

Bedroom 4

Bedroom 4

A bedroom with a large framed print.

Bunk and single

Bunk and single

A bunk bed with a single bed beside it.

In the house

  • Open wood fire
  • Split-system air conditioning in each room
  • Electric blankets
  • Three-quarter size pool table
  • Books and games
  • Items for children
  • Deck with a long table and a barbecue
  • Fenced backyard
  • Springfree trampoline
  • Hammock
  • Washer and dryer
  • Self check-in with a keypad lock
The kitchen, with timber cabinets and a window onto the garden
The kitchen. Tap to zoom.

Stay your way

Choose a topic.

Where everyone sleeps

Four bedrooms and seven beds, including bunks. We unlock the rooms your booking needs, based on the number of guests.

In the house

  • Items for children
  • A fenced backyard with a Springfree trampoline
  • A three-quarter size pool table for the teenagers
  • Books and games

Good to know

  • Adults should supervise children on the trampoline.
  • We know of no lifesavers at Somers, so please supervise children at all times near the beach and the road. Read about the beach.
  • For a travel cot, high chair or other baby kit, ask us before you book and we will tell you what is in the house.
The bunk room

Pets are not listed on our booking page, so please ask us before you book. On the beach, dogs must be on a lead unless you are in a signed leash-free area. Somers has one at the eastern end, near the steps down from Miramar Road, and some times there are restricted, so read the signs on the day. Dogs are not allowed at Coolart. These places are tagged in the guide as welcoming dogs.

Sun setting over Western Port from the rocky shoreline at Somers on the Mornington Peninsula

The beach

Somers beach is a short walk from the house, over the dunes and across the road. It looks across Western Port to Phillip Island.

With short, sharp, violent lights made vivid,To southward far as the sight can roam,Only the swirl of the surges livid,The seas that climb and the surfs that comb
Adam Lindsay Gordon, "The Swimmer", 1870

Before you swim

The beach is about 3 km long. It runs from the eastern bluffs to the mouth of Merricks Creek, and looks across Western Port to Phillip Island. The Somers Yacht Club is in the middle section, at the Alexandra Avenue end.

Western Port is a large tidal bay. At Somers the beach is often narrow and steep, with deep water at high tide, and sand and reef flats show at low tide. About 40 per cent of the bay is exposed mud and seagrass at low tide, so check the tide times before you plan a swim.

Somers is not on the lists of patrolled peninsula beaches we checked, so do not count on lifesavers being there. Strong rips are reported at Point Leo even on calm days, which shows that conditions can differ along this coast.

Check conditions on the Beachsafe site or app before you swim, and swim between the flags where a beach is patrolled.
Merricks Beach on an overcast day, with a narrow strip of sand

The dunes and the foreshore

Keep to the formed path over the dunes. Walking on dunes kills the plants that hold the sand together, and steep dunes can collapse. Storm tides badly eroded the dunes near Merricks Creek in 2011.

  • Somers beach sits in the Somers Foreshore Reserve, a strip of Crown land with bush, picnic areas and walking paths.
  • The state department DEECA manages it.
  • The Somers Yacht Club is a volunteer-run club on the bush foreshore.
  • It runs a sailing school for juniors, youth and adults, social sailing, and about 45 club races a season from October to April.
  • The club invites visitors to drop in.
  • Merricks Creek enters Western Port at the Balnarring end of the beach, where a rock wall replaced the old wooden wall in 2012 and a sand groyne was added in 2015.
  • The Somers Trail is part of the Western Port Bay Trail.
  • It runs from Bittern through Somers and along Sandy Point Road to Balnarring, and finishes at a playground with barbecues and public toilets.
  • Balnarring has cafes and restaurants near the finish.
A sandy path through dune heath at Blairgowrie, on the same coast

Dogs, fires, alcohol and fishing

Dogs must be on a lead unless you are in a signed leash-free area. Somers has a leash-free area at the eastern end, near the steps down from Miramar Road, and some times there are restricted. Read the signs on the day and check the Mornington Peninsula Shire leash-free page. Dogs are not allowed at Coolart.

Do not light fires on the foreshore. All fires are banned on Total Fire Ban days, and burning on land managed by a public authority needs a written permit. Check the signs for alcohol rules. The Shire's liquor local law restricts drinking in some public places, and from 11 pm to 7 am on council land where no other rule applies. Fishing in Victoria needs a recreational fishing licence for most people aged 18 to 69, and boaters should carry a lifejacket for everyone on board and check the Boating Vic app for tide, weather and ramp information.

Walks, paddling and birdwatching

All of these are in the guide, with hours and directions. Check the tide before you swim or paddle, and read Before you swim above. Western Port is a Ramsar wetland, and surveys have recorded 115 species of waterbirds, waders and seabirds.

On the water

On foot

Birds and wildlife

Beaches nearby

Three more Western Port beaches, within a short drive.

Balnarring Beach

Calm water with the Merricks Creek mouth and a 70-hectare nature reserve behind it. There are barbecues, a picnic area, public toilets and boating facilities. Racehorses are trained on the sand early each morning, six days a week.

Merricks Beach

A narrow, steep strip of sand over two kilometres long, with low wind waves and rare ocean swell. Sand and reef flats show at low tide, and you can walk to Balnarring Beach. Picnic tables and a toilet block are at the Merricks Yacht Club, about halfway along.

Point Leo

A 500-metre beach facing almost due south, with rock platforms at each end. It is a surf beach with waves for beginners, and strong rips occur even on calm days. Lifesavers patrol in the season, so swim between the flags.

Quiet sandy shoreline backed by coastal bush at Balnarring Beach on the Mornington PeninsulaA koala clings to a eucalypt trunk among gum leaves at Somers on the Mornington PeninsulaRed brick Coolart Homestead with its tower behind bare winter trees and a lawn near Somers, VictoriaMangroves and a walking path beside the tidal flats of Western Port at Hastings, Victoria

Out of season

Out of season the beach is quiet and the path to Balnarring is easy to have to yourself. Coolart's woodland loops of 30 minutes to two hours start at its visitor centre, and its wetland hides are good for watching birds on a still day.

Cape Schanck lighthouse on its cliff under dramatic clouds and shafts of evening light, Mornington Peninsula

Explore the Mornington Peninsula

These are the places we recommend, from the Somers foreshore to the Red Hill vineyards and the Cape Schanck coast, with some days out further afield. We checked opening hours on 12 October 2026. Hours change with the season, so check before you go and book ahead for lunch.

Culture

Long timber Flinders pier stretching into Western Port with moored boats, seen from the headlandRow of colourful striped bathing boxes on the sand at Mornington Beach, Mornington Peninsula
Rows of grape vines in fresh spring growth under tall gums in a vineyard at Red Hill, Mornington PeninsulaWhite Cape Schanck lighthouse on a green headland above blue sea on the Mornington Peninsula
A koala sits in a eucalypt fork against blue sky on French Island in Western Port, VictoriaCalm blue water and Norfolk pines along the Sorrento foreshore on Port Phillip Bay, Mornington Peninsula
And, softer than slumber, and sweeter than singing,The notes of the bell-birds are running and ringing.The silver-voiced bell-birds, the darlings of day-time,They sing in September their songs of the May-time.
Henry Kendall, "Bell-Birds", 1869

Ready-made days

Half-day trips

Each of these fills a morning or an afternoon, 10 minutes to an hour from the house. Drive times are approximate. Seasons were checked on 12 October 2026, and several places change their hours over summer.

Further afield

Days out of about an hour and a quarter or more from the house, in Melbourne, on Phillip Island and beyond. Drive times are approximate, and hours are marked to check before you travel. Each has a dashed ring on the Plan your day map where it fits.

Through the year

What the house offers and what is on nearby. Spring is September to November, summer is December to February, autumn is March to May and winter is June to August. Dates and hours were checked on 12 October 2026, and several places change their hours over summer.

Rows of grape vines in fresh spring growth under tall gums in a vineyard at Red Hill

Spring

At the house

  • An open wood fire and electric blankets for cool evenings
  • A fenced backyard with a trampoline and a hammock

Nearby

  • Moonraker Dolphin Swims says its spring dolphin season has started
  • Peninsula Studio Trail open studios on 21 to 22 and 28 to 29 November 2026
  • Somers Yacht Club races from October to April, and visitors are invited to drop in
Sun setting over Western Port from the shore at Somers

Summer

At the house

  • The beach, two minutes on foot
  • A barbecue and a long table on the deck
  • Split-system air conditioning in every room

Nearby

  • Somers Yacht Club has a Friday night social through the sailing season
  • Western Port Ferries to French Island and Phillip Island. Book ahead
  • Summer is busy, so book ahead for lunch, tours and the Penguin Parade
Stone steps leading up through the garden to the front porch

Autumn

At the house

  • An open wood fire and air conditioning, so the house suits any day
  • Books, games and a pool table

Nearby

  • Out of season the beach is quiet and the path to Balnarring is easy to have to yourself
  • Coolart's woodland loops of 30 minutes to two hours start at its visitor centre
  • Red Hill's wineries and cellar doors are about 20 minutes away
Red brick Coolart Homestead with its tower behind bare winter trees and a lawn near Somers

Winter

At the house

  • An open wood fire in the living room
  • Electric blankets on the beds
  • A pool table, books and games for wet evenings

Nearby

  • Peninsula Hot Springs at Fingal is open every day of the year, and its site recommends booking ahead
  • Coolart's wetland hides are good for watching birds on a still day
  • Red Hill's cellar doors are about 20 minutes away

Plan your day

Tap the places you would like to see and we will draw you a route from the house, then work out roughly how long it takes. You can save the result as a picture for your phone.

Drag the map sideways. Tap a pin for details.

Drawn by hand and not to scale. Pins close together are spread apart so you can tap them. A dashed ring means further afield. Place positions come from OpenStreetMap, and the coastlines are approximate.

Your day

Nothing chosen yet. Tap a place on the map, or pick from the list below it.

All the places

The same places as the map, as a list. Choose any of them.

Rocky headland with eucalypt and tea-tree bush above blue sea on the Mornington Peninsula coast

Local secrets

Things you may not know about Somers, Western Port and the Mornington Peninsula.

How Somers got its name

Somers began life as Balnarring East. Around 1930 it was renamed after Lord Somers, Governor of Victoria from 1926 to 1931, who founded the boys' camp on the edge of the village. The name has stayed ever since.

The camp that mixed the classes

Lord Somers held his first camp at Anglesea in January 1929. The first camp on the purpose-built Somers site ran in 1931. It put boys from public schools and from working-class families together for a week, and the Big Camps have run here every year since, apart from a break in World War II.

Western Port is a Ramsar wetland

Western Port was listed as a wetland of international importance on 15 December 1982. The listed area is 59,297 hectares. Surveys have recorded 115 species of waterbirds, waders and seabirds, and more than 30 of them are migratory.

Navy training next door

The navy base at Crib Point opened in September 1920 and was commissioned as HMAS Cerberus on 1 April 1921. Its main job has always been training sailors, and the Recruit School is where they begin. That is why graduation families fill the local guest houses.

First shots of two world wars

On 5 August 1914 a gun at Fort Nepean fired across the bow of the German steamer Pfalz as she tried to leave Port Phillip. On 4 September 1939 it fired a warning shot at the freighter Woniora, which had not identified itself. Fort Nepean is credited with the first British shot of each war.

Cape Schanck lighthouse

The tower was built between 1857 and 1859 from local limestone and stands 21 metres tall. Its light has a range of 26 nautical miles, about 48 km. It is on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Victoria's first settlement, at Sorrento

In October 1803 more than 450 people landed at Sullivans Bay, now Sorrento, under Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins. The settlement lasted about seven months. The last party left in May 1804 for Van Diemen's Land, and 30 people had died there.

Pinot noir country

More than 50 wineries on the peninsula have cellar doors, among more than 200 vineyards. Pinot noir is the region's signature red. The modern wine industry grew from vineyards planted in the 1970s, including Elgee Park in 1972.

A koala corridor in the making

The Somers Koala Reserve was a farmer's paddock until volunteers replanted it with manna gum and swamp gum over about 12 years. A local planting project aims to link Coolart Wetlands, the Koala Reserve and HMAS Cerberus, and to extend a wildlife corridor from Somers towards Red Hill.

Dolphin distances are rules

In Victoria, boats must stay at least 100 metres from dolphins and swimmers at least 30 metres. Jet skis must keep 300 metres away and drones 500 metres. Swimming with dolphins is allowed only on a licensed tour.

French Island and its koalas

French Island sits in Western Port, reached by passenger ferry from Stony Point. Parks Victoria says its national park has the most significant population of koalas in Victoria. The crossing to Tankerton Jetty takes 10 to 12 minutes.

Bunurong Country

The Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation is the Registered Aboriginal Party for the Mornington Peninsula, Westernport and part of South-West Gippsland. It describes the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners. Visit Mornington Peninsula acknowledges the Bunurong / BoonWurrung people as Traditional Custodians of these lands and waters.

Sources include Victorian Places, Wikipedia, the Victorian Heritage Database, rsis.ramsar.org, portphillipwesternport.rcs.vic.gov.au, mornpen.vic.gov.au, seapower.navy.gov.au, navyhistory.au, checked October 2026.

Stone-clad entrance of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery with its vaulted roof, gallery banners hung either side of the doors

Peninsula culture

The strongest local connections are Nevil Shute, who farmed at Langwarrin in the 1950s, and Joan Lindsay, who wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock at Mulberry Hill nearby. Sorrento is the setting of Hannie Rayson's play Hotel Sorrento, and painters including Arthur Streeton and Arthur Boyd worked at Sorrento, Portsea and Rosebud.

Books set here

On the Beach

Nevil Shute · 1957

Shute farmed at Langwarrin, on the northern edge of the peninsula, in the 1950s, and the 1959 film of the novel was shot partly at Frankston and Mount Eliza.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Joan Lindsay · 1967

Lindsay wrote it in about four weeks at Mulberry Hill, her home at Langwarrin South, which the National Trust now manages as a house museum.

Hotel Sorrento

Hannie Rayson · 1990

This play follows three sisters who meet again in the seaside town of Sorrento, and it was first staged in Melbourne in July 1990.

The Dragon Man

Garry Disher · 1999

The first of the Peninsula Crimes novels is a police story set in a Mornington Peninsula summer, with Inspector Hal Challis on the case.

Chain of Evidence

Garry Disher · 2007

The fourth Peninsula Crimes novel won a Ned Kelly Award for best crime novel.

Signal Loss

Garry Disher · 2016

The seventh Peninsula Crimes novel returns to Inspector Challis and the police of the Mornington Peninsula.

The Devil's Caress

June Wright · 1952

This psychological thriller is set on the wild southern coast of the Mornington Peninsula, and a Dark Passage reissue came out in 2019.

Fresh Air and Foul Play

S G Bryant · 2024

A historical mystery set over 17 summer days in 1898 in the seaside town of Sorrento.

Cruden Farm Garden Diaries

Michael Morrison and Lisa Clausen · 2017

A gardener's account of working in Cruden Farm, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch's garden at Langwarrin.

A Never Ending Journey

Malcolm Gordon · 2022

A history of the Mornington Peninsula covering its geology, natural systems and cultural landscapes, launched in March 2022.

Writers and painters who lived and worked here

Nevil Shute
Moved to Australia in 1950 and farmed at Langwarrin, near Frankston, until about 1960. Several of his books were written in the study at the property, then known as Devon Park.
Joan Lindsay and Daryl Lindsay
Lived at Mulberry Hill, Langwarrin South, from the late 1920s. Joan wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock there, and Daryl was a painter and the director of the National Gallery of Victoria from 1941 to 1956.
Garry Disher
Crime writer who lives on the Mornington Peninsula and set his Peninsula Crimes series here. He received the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Hannie Rayson
Playwright whose Hotel Sorrento premiered in Melbourne in 1990 and became a 1995 feature film shot at Sorrento. The play is set in the town, and she is not recorded as a local resident.
Arthur Boyd
Lived at Rosebud in the 1930s with his grandfather, the painter Arthur Merric Boyd, and painted landscapes and family portraits there. A studio was built for him at the family's Open Country property.
Penleigh Boyd
Landscape painter who painted Portsea in 1921 and 1922. The paintings are marked on the Sorrento Portsea Artists' Trail.
Arthur Streeton
Painted at Point King, Sorrento in 1920 and 1921 and at Barrett's Point, Portsea in 1921. Reproductions stand where he painted on the Sorrento Portsea Artists' Trail.
E. Phillips Fox
Painted At Sorrento in 1915, the year he died. The work is shown on the Sorrento Portsea Artists' Trail.
John Perceval
Painted Quarantine Boundary, Portsea and Ocean Beach Sorrento in 1957. Both are marked on the Sorrento Portsea Artists' Trail.
Albert Tucker
Painted Sorrento in 1942. The painting is marked on the Sorrento Portsea Artists' Trail near Websters Corner.
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch
Lived at Cruden Farm, Langwarrin, and looked after its garden for more than eighty years. The McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery at Langwarrin is run with the Elisabeth Murdoch Sculpture Foundation.
The Bunurong people
The Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation are the Traditional Owners of the Mornington Peninsula and Western Port. The Bunurong Land Council is the Registered Aboriginal Party for the area.

Artists and makers

Painters have worked on this coast for more than a century, and the studios and sculpture parks of today carry that on.

Harry and Nan McClelland
Harry McClelland, a painter, bought 16 hectares of bush at Langwarrin in the 1930s and built a studio there. After his sister Nan died in 1961, the land became a gallery, built in 1971 and now a sculpture park.
Arthur Merric Boyd
Landscape painter who moved to Rosebud after his wife died and encouraged his grandson Arthur Boyd to paint there in the 1930s.
The Hattam family at Shoreham
Hal Hattam, Katherine Hattam and William Mackinnon, three generations of one family, painted and drew at their holiday house in Shoreham between 1950 and 2012. Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery showed the work in 2013.
Daryl Lindsay at Mulberry Hill
The painter designed the main house at Mulberry Hill with advice from the architect Harold Desbrowe Annear, built studios there with Joan, and made the garden himself.
Sorrento Portsea Artists' Trail
Reproductions of paintings by Streeton, Boyd, Perceval, Tucker, Fox and others stand near the spots where each was painted.

Makers and galleries to visit today

These studios and galleries are open now. Hours marked as checked come from each venue's own pages. For the rest, check before you go.

Filmed on the peninsula

On the Beach

1959 feature film directed by Stanley Kramer, shot partly at Frankston, with the exterior of Peter and Mary's house filmed at a real house in Mount Eliza.

Hotel Sorrento

1995 feature film directed by Richard Franklin, set in Sorrento and shot there, including on Sorrento pier.

Where the Wild Things Are

2009 film directed by Spike Jonze, with the dramatic scenes shot at Bushrangers Bay on the Cape Schanck walk.

Partisan

2015 feature film directed by Ariel Kleiman, shot at Morning Star Estate in Mount Eliza and in the underground tunnels at Fort Nepean, Point Nepean National Park.

Thrash

Netflix shark thriller released in 2026 and directed by Tommy Wirkola, with scenes shot in August 2024 around Mornington Pier, where the yacht club and The Rocks building were dressed as a research centre.

Great Australian Walks, Point Nepean episode

SBS documentary series, aired 10 August 2023, in which Julia Zemiro visits the Point Nepean quarantine station and Cheviot Beach.

Sorrento (c. 1922 promotional film)

Black-and-white silent footage made for the Sorrento Progress Association, showing the beaches and accommodation of the town and now held in the National Film and Sound Archive collection.

Places to visit from the house

These are in the guide too, with hours and directions.

Sources include Victorian Places, the National Trust, Wikipedia, the Sorrento Portsea Artists' Trail and the venues' own pages, checked 12 October 2026.

Oak wine barrels stacked on steel racks in a winery cellar at Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula

Extras

Local businesses you can book yourselves, from a private chef for the big night to a driver for the wineries.

These are independent third parties. We don't provide, book or endorse them, and we take no commission. Please check prices, availability and terms with each one directly. Details checked 12 October 2026.

Private chefs

  • Take a ChefA booking platform that lists private chefs who cook in your holiday house on the Mornington Peninsula. You describe the meal, chefs send menu proposals, and you book through the site.
  • Ember CateringA mobile caterer that cooks charcoal-grilled menus on site and lists holiday homes among the places it serves on the Mornington Peninsula.
  • Your Private ChefA catering business with a Red Hill South page, offering private chef dinners, platters, buffets and delivered meals.
  • Airbnb Services, Mornington chefsChefs and caterers listed under Airbnb Services around Mornington, bookable through Airbnb. Listings change, so check who is available for your dates.

Groceries, fish and wine

  • Red Hill FreshOrganic fruit, vegetable and grocery delivery across most of the Mornington Peninsula. Check your suburb on the delivery zone page, and note the order cut-off before each delivery day.
  • Red Hill Cellar & PantryA grocery, deli, bottle shop and cafe at Red Hill South with daily click and collect, and grazing platters. Its online shop said home delivery was paused when we checked, so confirm before you rely on it.
  • Peninsula Fresh SeafoodFresh local seafood and Dromana Bay mussels, sold from a Dromana base and market stops including Flinders, with online ordering.

Celebration cakes

  • The Red Hill BakerA family bakery and cafe in Balnarring that takes pre-orders for cakes, pies and bread. It now trades only at Balnarring.
  • Our Sweet PantryCustom celebration cakes, cookies and cupcakes from a shop in Capel Sound, with online ordering and quotes for custom designs.

Spas and massage

  • Peninsula Hot SpringsGeothermal bathing at Fingal, open every day of the year. The site recommends booking ahead.
  • Alba Thermal Springs & SpaA thermal springs and day spa at Rye, with bathing sessions, spa treatments and private pools.
  • Peninsula Mobile MassageTherapists who travel to homes and holiday accommodation from Mornington to Portsea and across to Flinders. Its service area lists Balnarring, Point Leo and Shoreham, so ask about Somers when you book.
  • BlysA booking platform for mobile massage therapists who travel to your accommodation, with a Mornington Peninsula page.

Taxis, transfers and wine-tour drivers

  • 13cabsTaxis that its site lists in Rosebud, Hastings, Red Hill and Dromana, booked by app, online or on 13 2227, with Melbourne Airport trips. Book ahead for Somers.
  • Peninsula RideshareA local taxi and airport transfer service covering the Mornington Peninsula, Frankston and Melbourne, with Tullamarine and Avalon transfers and winery trips.
  • Who's Driving YouA Melbourne company offering airport transfers, minibus hire and private Mornington Peninsula wine tours, including trips to Peninsula Hot Springs.
  • TeePee ToursPrivate group wine tours on the peninsula for up to 24 guests, including a driver-only option.

Things to book ahead

  • Moonraker Dolphin SwimsDolphin and seal swims and scenic wildlife cruises from Sorrento on Port Phillip Bay. Its site says the spring dolphin season has started.
  • Phillip Island Nature Parks, Penguin ParadeEvening penguin viewing on Phillip Island. The site says bookings are essential and that works on burrows and boardwalks are under way.
  • Western Port FerriesThe passenger ferry from Stony Point to French Island and Phillip Island. The crossing to French Island takes 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Cycling Vine ToursGuided bike tours that start at Arthurs Seat and ride the Merricks to Red Hill rail trail past vineyards and farms.
  • Moonah LinksPublic golf at Fingal on the Open and Legends courses, with online tee-time booking.

Babysitters and nannies

  • Flourish BabysittingA babysitting and nanny service with a Mornington Peninsula service area. It also provides childcare for weddings and events.
  • SittrA site where parents browse and book babysitters and nannies who are rated by parents and vetted by the Sittr team.
  • Find a BabysitterA directory of babysitters across the peninsula, with sitters listed for Somers, Balnarring and Red Hill. Parents contact carers directly.
The dining table by the deck, with gum trees outside the windows

Stay with us

We take all bookings through our booking page, where you can see live availability and prices.

Stone steps leading up through the garden to the front porch

At a glance

Sleeps 12Four bedrooms and seven beds.
The beachAbout two minutes on foot.
WifiIn the house.
Heating and coolingOpen fire and air conditioning.
Self check-inFrom 3 pm, checkout by 10 am.
PetsPlease ask us before you book.

Getting here

Drive times are to Somers, without traffic, so allow longer on Friday evenings and in the school holidays. The address comes in your welcome message.

Melbourne CBD1h 0576 km
Melbourne Airport1h 2596 km
Frankston30 min32 km
Mornington25 min28 km

By public transport

  • Take the train from Melbourne to Frankston, then Bus 782 from Frankston to Somers.
  • Buses are infrequent, so check the timetable on Public Transport Victoria before you travel.

Drive times and distances are estimates from Rome2rio, checked on 12 October 2026.

Questions people ask

Booking and your stay6
How many can stay?
Up to 12 guests, made up of 8 adults and 4 children, across four bedrooms and seven beds.
Check-in and checkout times?
Check-in is from 3 pm and checkout is by 10 am. Check-in is self-service with a keypad lock, and your code is in your welcome message.
Is there a bond?
Yes. A $500 bond applies, as set out in the house rules we send with your booking.
What does the nightly price cover?
The base price covers up to 6 guests. Each extra guest is $50 per night. Live prices and availability are on the booking page.
Are all four bedrooms open?
We unlock the rooms your booking needs, based on the number of guests.
Where do I find the full instructions?
In your private link, which we send before you arrive.
The beach and getting around4
How far is the beach?
About two minutes on foot, over the dunes and across the road.
Is the beach patrolled?
We know of no lifesavers at Somers, so please supervise children at all times. The Beach page has more on tides, rips and the dune path.
Where is the nearest shop?
Ritchies IGA in Balnarring is about 5 minutes by car. The Somers General, a cafe and general store, is about 20 minutes on foot.
Who do we call in an emergency?
Call 000. The nearest hospital and after-hours doctor details are in your private link.
Families and little ones3
Is it good for children?
There is a fenced backyard with a Springfree trampoline, and items for children are in the house. Please supervise children on the trampoline and near the road and the beach.
Where do we sleep everyone?
Four bedrooms with seven beds, including bunks.
What is there for teenagers?
A three-quarter size pool table, books and games.
Dogs2
Can we bring the dog?
Pets are not listed on our booking page, so please ask us before you book.
Where can the dog go nearby?
Somers has a leash-free area at the eastern end of the beach, and some times there are restricted. Read the signs. The guide tags the places that welcome dogs.
Around the house4
Is there heating?
An open wood fire in the living room, electric blankets on the beds and split-system air conditioning in every room. How to use the fire safely is in your private link.
What is there to do indoors?
A pool table, books and games.
What is there outside?
A deck with a barbecue and a long table, a fenced backyard, a Springfree trampoline and a hammock.
Is there a washer and dryer?
Yes, in the laundry.

Ask Marnie and Trevor a question

Thinking of staying, or planning a stay? Send us your question. We will not call you unless you ask us to. We will reply by email.

All four boxes are needed. We use your details only to answer your question.

A hammock under the trees in the backyard

Guests

This section covers your stay from arrival to checkout. The door code, the wifi details and our contact numbers are in your welcome message and are never published here.

Extras

Arrival

  1. Check-in is from 3 pm. Your private link has the full address and a map pin.
  2. Follow the path to the front porch. The front door is on the porch.
  3. The lock is a keypad. Your code is in your welcome message.
  4. We unlock the bedrooms your booking needs. If a room you expected is locked, reply to your welcome message.
  5. One security camera is at the front of the house.
The front porch with the timber front doorThe path and steps up to the porch

House manual A to Z

Also searchable from the guide. Full instructions are in your private link.

Safety

  • Emergencies: call 000.
  • A smoke alarm and a fire extinguisher are in the house. Your private link shows where.
  • The open fire: read the instructions in your private link before you light it, and keep children and pets back from it.
  • At the beach: we know of no lifesavers at Somers. Check the tide and the weather, keep children in sight, and read the Beach page.
  • Keep to the formed path over the dunes.
  • Adults should supervise children on the trampoline.

Nearby essentials

Pharmacy, doctor and taxi numbers are in your private link.

House rules

  • Up to 12 guests: 8 adults and 4 children.
  • The base price covers up to 6 guests. Each extra guest is $50 per night.
  • A $500 bond applies.
  • Check-in from 3 pm. Checkout by 10 am.
  • We unlock the rooms your booking needs.
  • Quiet hours, smoking, pets and parties: the full rules are in your private link.

Departure

Checkout is by 10 am. The steps are in your private link.

The open living room, lined in timber, with the dining area beyond

Guest reviews

Rating and summary

4.86out of 5, from 129 Airbnb reviews

These are all of the reviews on our Airbnb listing, copied word for word and shown newest first. 111 are five-star and 18 are four-star. We have left out our replies.

Ratings and reviews as on Airbnb on 12 October 2026. Recent reviews show the month we read them.

All reviews

The open living room, lined in timber

Privacy and cookies

This page explains what this website collects, why we collect it, and the choices you have. Last updated 12 October 2026.

Who we are

We are Marnie and Trevor, the hosts of Somers Dunescape. We decide how information collected through this website is used.

To ask about your information, use the Ask Marnie and Trevor a question form on the Stay with us page, or reply to your welcome message.

What we collect and why

  • Questions you send us. The form on the Stay with us page gives us your name, email address, phone number and question. We use them only to reply by email. We will not call unless you ask us to. We delete your message when we no longer need it, normally within 12 months.
  • Bookings. Bookings, payments and guest messages are handled by the booking site you use, not by this website. That site's own privacy policy applies to that information.
  • Reviews. The Reviews page copies reviews from our Airbnb listing, with the guest's first name as it appears on Airbnb. If you wrote one and would like it taken off this site, tell us and we will remove it.
  • Hosting records. Our host, Netlify, keeps standard server logs, which include your IP address, to run and secure the site.
  • Analytics. Only if you accept. See the cookies section below.

Who else handles it

  • Netlify, Inc. hosts this website and receives form messages for us. It is based in the United States, so information sent through this site can be stored there.
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  • We do not sell your information.
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The fonts, photographs and map on this site are served from the site itself. Your browser does not contact Google Fonts or any other third party to show it.

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Changes

If any of this changes, we will update this page and the date at the top.

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