Portarlington Mussel Festival 2026

I must exercise my mussel memory.. the last time we were at Portarlington was for the Mussel Festival in 2023 and yet I cannot remember it clearly! This year, in a spree of finding activities for each weekend of the summer, I booked a ferry trip to Portarlington from Docklands for the annual festival. The trip costs $42.50 per person after discount which is rather steep but thank goodness for free PT this weekend! I even saw a flasher as the train sped towards Richmond. Free live show! But the Port Phillip ferries are not free, because they are privately run and subsidised by the government. 

The ferry trip was very choppy, I nearly got sea sick but for the loud cheers of a group of women near us in the cabin who cackled each time someone out front was drenched from the ocean spray. Really, to sit out at the front of the ferry in the open sun, wind and water is quite brave! We could not see out the window due to the water spraying all over the left side of the ferry, doing a wonderful job of cleaning it.

The entry fee to the festival has increased a dollar to $10. This year's festival is bigger than ever, with what feels like more stalls, more entertainment line up, more food stalls and variety of foods. The weather was fine but the wind blew sand and soot into our eyes and food. When I blew my nose, the tissue became black with fine particles. It might have been soot from the bush fires from the central parts of Victoria which are still burning.

We tasted 2 mussel dishes, one with garlic and white wine $18 from Miss Mussels and another a Thai red curry flavour $16 from Portarlington football club. I think I preferred the bold flavours of the curry better, and the mussels were bigger too.

Our ferry back to Docklands was at 4.30pm so we explored the rest of the town. I went to Woolworths and bought a cool drink and a tube of harissa which I have not seen in metro Woolworths before. Now, I just have to research what dish I can make with it! We took a walk on the beach and took pictures with the iconic mussel rocks there. We walked along the main street and admired the finished development of an apartment project, the first on the main street. It looked quite nice, there were at grade secure parking, 3 levels of apartments and two retail shops in the alley between the project and the next building. The business does not seem to be doing well though, there was a Business For Sale sign and hardly any customers were there even though the main street was crowded.

Like last time, we bought a kilo of mussels to bring home after the festival. The price has increased a dollar to $7 a kg which is still cheaper than the supermarkets. I like it that these mussels are locally farmed and look forward to enjoying them for dinner tonight.