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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

  1. Accommodation & attractions
  2. Visiting & travelling through Victoria
  3. Locations in Victoria
  4. Advertising & promotion
  5. Miscellaneous

1. ACCOMMODATION & ATTRACTIONS
1.1) I would like further information about an accommodation property, tourist attraction or winery that I have seen listed in this guide. Do you have any other information, a list of their current specials, or recommendations on where to stay, dine or visit? Travel Victoria provides advertisements for business owners, based on the information given to us by the establishment itself. Think of us being like a newspaper displaying advertisements on behalf of sellers. If you require any further information please contact the advertiser directly. Visit their web site or contact them using any of the details displayed in their advertisement. We are unable to make any personal recommendations on establishments to stay in, restaurants to eat at or tours to go on.
 
1.2) I've found an accommodation property that I'd like to stay at. How do I check of availability or make a booking? To book a room, you will need to contact the accommodation establishment directly or use their on-line booking link (if available). We cannot check availability for you or take bookings on their behalf.
 
1.3) What exactly do terms like "disabled access", "pets welcome", etc mean within accommodation listings? See our definitions of accommodation terms page to find out details of terminology used within property listings.
 
1.4) Can I submit a review or feedback about an accommodation property I have stayed at? Sorry, we don't publish guest feedback or personal advice about accommodation stays. Most accommodation providers will be happy to directly accept comments concerning your stay. Alternatively, you may wish to submit a review with an independent organisation such as TripAdvisor.
 
1.5) I have stayed at one of the properties listed on this web site but found the standard of accommodation did not adequately meet my expectations or match the details in their advertisement. Who can I contact to discuss this? You should first contact the accommodation property directly and discuss your concerns with them.

If the matter hasn't been resolved to your satisfaction and the property carries a STAR rating, you may wish to contact AAA Tourism who have assessed the property you stayed at.

Alternatively, you may wish to seek advice from Consumer Affairs Victoria - a Victorian government organisation that protects and promotes the interests of consumers.

Please do not lodge feedback or complaints about your accommodation stay with us at Travel Victoria. While we regret any problems you may have encountered, please keep in mind that we are not a business licensing authority, we cannot enforce laws on business operators, nor do we have the jurisdiction to resolve disputes you may have in regards to your accommodation.

 
1.6) Do you offer accommodation vouchers that can be used at designated accommodation properties? Sorry, we do not offer vouchers nor take payment for accommodation stays. Enquire about vouchers or pay for accommodation directly using the details displayed within a provider's advertisement.
 
1.7) Have you independently verified that all the accommodation properties displayed on this web site are legitimate? While we don't visit every property personally, any that display a "star" rating have been accredited and are regularly inspected by AAA Tourism and you are welcome to contact them concerning any of their inspected properties. If a property doesn't have a "star" rating but does display a phone number within their advertisement, then the management have personally paid us an upfront annual listing fee prior to appearing on the Travel Victoria web site. In doing so, they have made an immediate financial contribution to promote their property and supplied us with several items of personal information to identify themselves. If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of a property or room listed for rental, you can always enquire with Consumer Affairs Victoria - a Victorian government organisation that protects and promotes the interests of consumers.
 
2. VISITING & TRAVELLING THROUGH VICTORIA
2.1) Can you please send me some tourist brochures and maps for the areas in Victoria that I plan to visit? Brochures and maps are readily available from Victoria's network of accredited Visitor Information Centres. They can be collected in person or posted out to you. Locate a Visitor Information Centre based on where you wish to go in Victoria and either drop in (they are open 7 days a week) or contact them directly by phone or email to have the material you require sent out to you.
 
2.2) What public transport is available to and from a place I wish to visit? Links to local transport timetables are provided within the "Transport" page we publish for every city, town or suburb featured on the Travel Victoria web site. See also our overview of train, tram and bus services for Victoria. If you're still not sure which train, tram or bus to catch, or you find your journey is too complex to plan using timetables alone, go to Public Transport Victoria. It provides a comprehensive guide to public transport in Melbourne and throughout Victoria, allowing you to enter the origin and destination of your journey and have appropriate train, tram and/or bus timetabling information displayed.
 
2.3) Can you tell me how far it is between two particular places in Victoria and how long it would take to drive between them? For distances and detailed driving directions between any two addresses, please go to Where Is and click on the "directions" button. You'll be able to enter in a departure point and destination, and a map showing the best route, distance and estimated travel time will be shown. Start and end points can be either exact addresses, landmarks, or simply town/suburb names. Options to produce the fastest, shortest or a toll-free route are available.
 
2.4) I'm planning a visit to Victoria. If I give you a list of the things I'd like to see and my preferred travel dates, can you prepare an itinerary and organise transport and accommodation for me? Travel Victoria operates as a self-serve travel guide. We are unable to personally make travel arrangements, find accommodation or make bookings on your behalf. Please use the information provided on this web site to contact accommodation providers and make travel plans. Alternatively, contact one of Victoria's Visitor Information Centres for help with planning your journey. Or you may wish to enlist the services of a licensed travel agent who can organise all components of your trip.
 
3. LOCATIONS IN VICTORIA
3.1) A town I am interested in is not listed on the Travel Victoria web site. Why is that so? Can it be included? Within Victoria there are several thousand towns and localities. Additionally, there are hundreds of suburbs which make up the state's capital city of Melbourne. To feature each one of those within the Travel Victoria web site would require a monumental research, publishing and photography effort covering thousands of locations, which would be more suited to an encyclopedia rather than a general tourism guide. Cities, towns, localities and individual suburbs of Melbourne generally get added to the Travel Victoria web site due to local businesses who wish to advertise with us. Sometimes we do feature other locations independent of local advertisers, particularly if we happen to be in the area and have the opportunity to explore some of its attractions and snap a few photos.

Please note that some tiny towns or localities, due to their small size, may have information about them incorporated within our pages of a larger nearby town.

 
3.2) The name of a shop shown in one of your photos has changed. Can you please update that photo? Due to the constant and rapid changes that occur in commercial districts within the 200 towns and cities we cover across Victoria, unfortunately it is impractical for us to visit each of those 200 locations on a sunny day every few months just to re-take photos of streetscapes for very minor changes. However, when major changes have occurred, we will take new photos.

The photos published on the Travel Victoria website are provided to give travellers a rough guide as to what the area looks like and encourage them to visit and see what's currently there. They aim to give a broad visual snapshot of the area at a particular point in time. Keep in mind that anything could change in the area tomorrow.

 
3.3) Where do all the photos used throughout the Travel Victoria web site come from? All of the photographs published on the Travel Victoria web site are copyrighted images. They come from various sources including ourselves, tourism organisations and some of the advertisers featured on this web site. For further information about these photographs, including options available for reproducing any of them, please visit see photographs in this guide.
 
4. ADVERTISING & PROMOTION
4.1) I manage an accommodation property and I'd like to find out further information about advertising in your guide. Please visit our accommodation advertising page to see why we believe you should advertise your accommodation with us, how to get it listed, and our advertising rates.
 
4.2) How do I advertise my restaurant, bar, cafe, bakery or winery within my town's tourism profile on the Travel Victoria web site? Simple one-line text advertisements are free, but you must have a web site we can link to so people can find out further information about your business. Submit your details on our restaurants, cafes & wineries advertising page for your free advertisement. Conditions apply.
 
4.3) How do I advertise my organised tour or recreational activity on the Travel Victoria web site? Operators of organised tours, recreational activities or sporting facilities are welcome to a free advertisement on the Travel Victoria web site, but you must have a web site we can link to so people can find out further information about what you offer. Advertisements consist of a couple of sentences, plus a small thumbnail photo. Submit your details on our tours & recreational activities advertising page for your free advertisement. Conditions apply.
 
4.4) How do I get a banner advertisement placed on the Travel Victoria web site for my business? We don't display banner advertisements on the Travel Victoria web site as they are distracting to visitors and slow down page loading times. Tourism businesses that serve Victoria are welcome to advertise in a standard format within our defined categories - some of which are free. See our advertise with us page for further details.
 
4.5) I am promoting a fundraising event, concert, play or show. Can you please give us publicity by featuring it on the relevant town page on the Travel Victoria web site? Unfortunately those type of once-off events are beyond the scope of our travel and tourism guide. Please contact your local community or regional web site to discuss the possibility of them displaying details of your event.
 
4.6) There's a great web site out there that you should know about. Can you include a link to it on Travel Victoria? If you feel there is a web site out there that would be of interest to visitors of the Travel Victoria web site, such as the site of a tourist attraction, recreational activity or regular event, then we may consider including a link to it. Please contact us and let us know about it. Please note that we don't participate in link exchange programmes whose primary purpose is to manipulate search engine rankings.
 
5. MISCELLANEOUS
5.1) What requirements does the Travel Victoria web site have in terms of internet connections, computer set-up and web browser software and configuration? We have tried to make the web site functionable under as many different computer systems and set-ups as possible. Things to check are:

  1. Screen resolution: All page widths are 780 pixels, so a minimum screen resolution of 800x600 pixels is required for easy viewing, although we recommended higher resolutions. Lower resolutions will work, but scrolling left and right will need to be done frequently to read complete lines.

  2. Web browser software: This site has been tested under the following operating systems and their latest web browser software:

    • Windows XP and 7: Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox, Google Chrome
    • Linux (Ubuntu): Konqueror, Opera, Firefox, Google Chrome

    If you have a different configuration then don't worry - this site is expected to work with what you have. However, if you discover problems, contact us and let us know what you use and what doesn't work properly for you.

  3. Web browser configuration:

    • JavaScript: This is required to make some of the fancier features of our navigation menus operate, pop-up window sizing, automatic playing of photo slideshows, some of the instant availability/booking systems and use of integrated Google location maps. JavaScript tends to be enabled by default within most web browsers, however without it, everything is still usable except for the integrated Google location maps, the automatic playing of photo slideshows and possibly some instant availability/booking facilities.
    • Flash: This may be required to play some of the tourism videos or view the virtual tours included within certain accommodation provider pages.
    • Cookies: While cookies are not generally used, if you intend to interact with pages that feature Facebook content, then you will need to ensure third-party cookies are accepted within your web browser.

  4. Internet connection: While broadband users will breeze through our site, dial-up modem visitors will notice some pages load slowly due to the number of images. Many of the images are repeated on other pages, so after your web browser had completely downloaded a couple of pages, subsequent pages will load much quicker as the same common information (such as menu items) won't need to be transferred again.
 
5.2) Who actually publishes and maintains the Travel Victoria web site? Travel Victoria is an internet resource and trademark owned and developed by JBlue Technologies which specialises in the development of internet travel and tourism guides for Australia.

Travel Victoria is privately run by a small and dedicated team who are passionate about Victoria. It does not receive government funding, nor is it affiliated with the state government authority Tourism Victoria. However, like Tourism Victoria, the purpose of Travel Victoria is to promote and showcase destinations, attractions, activities and services for visitors and travellers to Victoria.

Unlike many other travel and tourism guides, the only advertising revenue generated is from accommodation advertisements. Anything else, such as the showcasing of tourist attractions, restaurants, wineries, tours, recreational activities, transport facilities, festivals, and many other items of interest to visitors are displayed on Travel Victoria free of charge. This is to ensure Travel Victoria has wide coverage by displaying details about as many items of interest to visitors as possible, rather than limiting the publication of such information to a selection of paid advertisers.

 
5.3) Who are some of your suppliers? While experiences that individuals have may vary, the following businesses that have supplied goods and/or services to Travel Victoria over the years have gone beyond our expectations and we are proud to acknowledge them here.

  • Promotion Products: They offer some great promotional stationery items that we have been distributing to clients since 2012, coupled with fast, hassle-free and professional service.

  • Scorpion Technology: Since 2011, Scorpion Technology have been supplying us with reliable computer equipment and peripherals at good prices with great support.

  • Snap Printing: We've used them since 2005 to handle most of our colour printing requirements and they have always been quick, reliable and responsive to our needs.

  • Subaru Berwick: The team there have supplied our ever reliable AWD touring vehicle and offered us good and honest servicing over the years.

  • Ted's Cameras (Fountain Gate): This store has been supplying our photographic equipment for several years and not only do they offer competitive pricing, but they also go out of their way to make sure that we are 100% satisfied with their goods.

If your question has not been answered above, please contact us.

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