Getting to the Begonia Festival

Planning your trip to Ballarat for this year’s Ballarat Begonia Festival? 

This year’s event has a large range of transport options to get you and your family to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens for the three-day festival.  

From buses, to scooters, car parking and walking routes there are many different ways in which you can get to the event this long-weekend.   

This year’s festival is one not to miss. Up to 1,000 begonias will be on display, with an exciting program of presenters, entertainment, food and drink and family activities across the March long weekend.  

Last year’s event saw more than 50,000 people attend and this year it is expected to be even bigger this year. There are a lot of different ways to get to the festival over the three days:  

Shuttle Bus  

There will be a free shuttle bus from the Ballarat Train Station that will run four times a day to transport people to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens at 10.10am, 12.10pm, 2.10pm and 4.10pm.  

The shuttle also runs four times a day back to the Ballarat Train Station to align with trains to Melbourne at 11.50am, 1.50pm. 3.50pm and 4.50pm.  

Walk  

There are nine entrances to the Festival from Gilles Street and Wendouree Parade, so if you are able, why not walk to the festival.  

If you’d like to walk from the Wendouree Train Station to the gardens, it’s an easy 900 metre walk along the North Gardens to the festival and there are plenty of carparks at the station.  

There will be crossing supervisors in place at the crossing near Pipers by the Lake to allow for easy and safe access across Wendouree Parade and into the gardens.  

Ride, Scoot, Roll  

Bike racks are located just off Nursery Drive. Please bring your own bike lock to secure your ride home.  

Why not make the trip to the festival a bit of fun and incorporate a Ride Ballarat loop in, the Lake Wendouree route offers a 10 kilometre loop from the Ballarat Station along paths and quieter streets  

E-Scooters are available across Ballarat and can be found easily on the Neuron app. For more information and to download the app to prepare for your ride.  

Cars  

If you wish to bring the car, parking is available in the North Gardens, entry is off Wendouree Parade and Zoo Drive.  

Parking is also available along Wendouree Parade and Gilles Street.  

Wendouree Parade will be closed from Carlton Street to St Aidans Drive between 6:30am until at least 12:30pm on Monday 13 March, for the parade to be held from 11am. 

There will be no parking available along Wendouree Parade between Nursery Drive and St Aidans Drive on Monday due to the Parade.  

Accessible parking is available in the North Gardens enter via Zoo Drive from Wendouree Parade. The community is reminded to ensure adequate spaces are left around the individual car spaces to ensure the vehicle and drop off point is accessible.   

Tram  

Vintage Tram rides will be available all weekend along the 1.3 kilometre of original track alongside the Botanical Gardens and the west side of Lake Wendouree. Tickets can be purchased on the tram. There will be a Begonia Special Rate of $5 for all tickets  

The Ballarat Tramway Museum will also be open all weekend to visit and learn about Ballarat’s tram history.