A Guide to Exploring the Colorful Beach Boxes of Melbourne

Journey to Melbourne’s Seaside Charm

During my numerous trips to Melbourne, I had always missed the chance to visit the Brighton Beach bathing boxes. These 82 colorful huts are positioned along the beach, facing the tranquil Port Phillip Bay, serving as storage spaces or changing rooms, with some being elaborately furnished while others remain simple shelters.

Purchasing one of these charming beach boxes is a rare and expensive opportunity, similar to buying a small apartment. They are hardly ever put up for sale.

Having some leisure time on my hands during my recent visit, I finally decided to personally witness the allure of these beach boxes. Here’s a detailed account of my experience, along with some helpful tips for a smoother visit.

Planning Your Visit

As I was planning my trip to Melbourne, I decided to check out the Public Transport Victoria website. I have used this website before, and it has always been a reliable resource for me when it comes to navigating Melbourne’s public transport system. One of the most helpful features of the website is the journey planner. All you have to do is enter your starting point and your destination, and the planner presents you with all the travel options available along with their durations.

I entered “Brighton Beach” as my destination and was pleased to see that the Sandringham train would take me there in about 30 minutes. This gave me a great sense of preparedness for my upcoming journey to Brighton Beach.

Navigating to Brighton’s Beach Boxes

Upon our arrival in the vibrant city of Melbourne, we decided to explore the famous Flinders Street Station, an iconic landmark of the city that serves as a central hub for transportation. After taking in the hustle and bustle of the station, we boarded the Sandringham train, which was set to depart shortly. We noticed that the station display listed all the stops the train would make, including three different Brighton stations: North Brighton, Middle Brighton, and Brighton Beach. As we were hoping to visit the beach, we decided on Brighton Beach, which seemed like the most logical choice.

As our train pulled into the station, we were immediately greeted by the pleasant scent of the ocean. We followed the crowd of people making their way towards the water, excited to finally see the beach. However, as we reached the shoreline, we were surprised and puzzled to discover that there were no beach boxes in sight. Despite our initial confusion, we were still able to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the beach, taking in the picturesque views and refreshing ocean breeze.

The Unexpected Detour

We noticed our mistake, so we followed the crowd to the right, over a headland, and eventually saw the beach boxes in the distance, which confirmed we were on the correct path. The day was both windy and sunny, and the beach was not very crowded. Much like us, several visitors had come to the beach for the purpose of photographing the charming beach boxes.

The Vibrant Beach Boxes

As I walked along the sparkling sandy beach, my eyes were drawn to the vibrant and colorful beach boxes that dotted the shoreline. Each box was uniquely adorned with a variety of eye-catching hues, and I even spotted one proudly displaying an Australian flag. It was a delightful visual treat, and I couldn’t resist spending a leisurely hour or two admiring the scenery and soaking up the sun.

Lessons Learned

When the time came to depart, I utilized Google Maps to locate the train station that was the closest to me. I found out that even though the beach boxes were referred to as Brighton’s, they were actually situated on Dendy Street Beach. Middle Brighton station turned out to be the nearest one, which was only 1.2km or a 15-minute walk away from the beach boxes. It’s highly recommended to obtain directions beforehand or consult Google Maps since directions are crucial.

Melbourne’s Public Transport Tips

In Melbourne, if you want to use public transport such as trains, trams or buses, you need to have a myki card as cash is not accepted for single trips. When I arrived at the airport, I purchased a tourist myki card which already had credit available and also included discount vouchers. It’s easy to top-up the card at various locations in the city, including 7Eleven stores.

Alternative Transportation

If you don’t want to take the train, you can consider taking a taxi or an Uber instead. The cost of an UberX ride from Flinders Street Station to the beach boxes is about $31AUD ($21USD/€19).