Phillip Island is a granite and basalt island at the mouth of Western Port, joined to the mainland by a bridge at San Remo, and for motorcyclists it carries a name that needs no explanation. The Grand Prix circuit on its southern coast has hosted the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix for most years since 1989, and it is loved by riders for its fast, flowing layout and the way the main straight seems to plunge towards Bass Strait. On non-event days the circuit has a visitor centre, and sometimes ride days or go-karts, so it is worth checking ahead if you want to see more than the gate.
The rest of the island moves at a gentler pace. Cowes, on the northern shore, is the main town, with cafés, bakeries, fish and chips and fuel, and it is where most people stop to eat. The southern and western coasts are wilder. Cape Woolamai, a granite headland, has a long surf beach and nesting shearwaters in season. The Nobbies, at the western tip, look out over rocks that are home to a large colony of fur seals, and at Summerland Beach the famous penguin parade happens every evening at dusk, when little penguins come ashore in small, nervous groups and waddle up to their burrows. It is touristy but genuinely moving.
The riding itself is relaxed. The island roads are mostly smooth two-laners through farmland, with grassy dunes and coastal heath near the sea. The real factor is wind. Phillip Island sits exposed to the Southern Ocean weather systems, and gusts across the open paddocks or the bridge can be strong, so keep an easy grip and watch the flags. The weather can switch from sunshine to horizontal drizzle in a quarter of an hour.
The approach from Melbourne through the South Gippsland Highway and Bass Highway is not especially exciting, but once you cross to the island the mood changes. Come on a weekday outside school holidays and in the cooler months, and you will find it calm and spacious. During MotoGP week it is the opposite: crowded, loud and a celebration of everything on two wheels, and accommodation fills up a long way ahead.