FAQs

Outside of school holiday periods and public holidays we are open to the general public 6 days a week, Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. 

We’re also open on the following public holidays in 2026::

• New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
• Australia Day 26 January
• Labour Day Monday 9 March
• Good Friday Friday 3 April
• Easter Monday Sunday 5 April
• ANZAC Day Saturday 25 April
• King's Birthday Monday 8 June
• AFL Grand Final Eve Friday 25 September
• Melbourne Cup Day Tuesday 3 November
• Boxing Day Monday 28 December

School programs are still able to be booked on Mondays. Please contact our schools booking team for more information.

A fun-filled, gold rush adventures await you at Sovereign Hill. From gold panning, demonstrations and performances, matched with delicious food you can spend a full day exploring Sovereign Hill and all it offers! Find out more about our site, popular activities, and stories in our interactive map.

Sovereign Hill is located in Ballarat, 90 minutes by car west of Melbourne. The address is: Bradshaw Street, Ballarat

We encourage you to pre-book your ticket to ensure a quick and easy entry into Sovereign Hill.

You can find a full list of our daily activities, special events, and performances on our What's On Page.

The Gold Museum is closed and has transformed into the Australian Centre for Gold Rush Collections and the Australian Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades. More information here.

Yes! And it’s free! Head to our main visitor carpark on Bradshaw Street. Limited disabled parking is available.

Performances run 5 nights a week as well as every night during Victorian school holidays. Please note that AURA is a ticketed event and must be pre-booked.

Inside the museum, you will interact with our staff dressed in costume from the 1850s. We encourage photos with our staff. Please ask politely and they will help you get the best picture. We value mutual respect between staff and visitors.

To ensure the safety and comfort of all our visitors and resident animals, please observe the following guidelines:

• Assistance animals only: Only trained, registered assistance animals are permitted on-site. This includes guide dogs, working animals, and performance animals accompanied by their handlers.
• Working horses: Our horse-drawn coaches operate throughout the museum. For your safety, please be alert and give way to coaches at all times. Do not touch or feed the horses, as they are working animals.
• Resident animals: We have a variety of resident animals, including donkeys, ducks, and our cat, Fergus. To protect these animals, we do not permit any other dogs or pets on-site.
• Respect our animals: Our animals are living creatures and deserve respect. Please give them space and do not provoke or antagonise them. If you see an animal in distress, please inform a staff member immediately.

We recommend you pre-book your tickets here via our website. Alternatively, you can purchase your tickets on the day of your arrival with our customer service team. Please note that AURA tickets must be pre-booked. Please contact [email protected] if you have any enquiries.

We have an online system. Click here to access your benefits. You can also simply present your Annual Pass details and photo identification on arrival to our customer service team, who will issue a ticket and you’re all set for a fun-filled day.

Sovereign Hill accepts Australian Concession cards only. Cards must be valid and presented to staff upon the time of booking and entry. Valid concession cards are:
 

• Australian Pension, Disability, Health Care and Sole Parent Cards.
• Australian Veteran’ Affairs Cards.
• Australian Student Cards.
• ISIC International Student Cards.
• Australian Seniors Cards.
• Australian Carers Cards.
• Australian Companion Cards (FOC).

One adult guest can accompany the card holder free of charge. The companion card must be presented upon your arrival and is only valid for one adult guest per card holder.

Additional premium activities such as costumed photography sessions, candle-dipping, Makers Series, coach rides and guided mine tours are limited and subject to availability. Bookings or tickets to these activities can be booked at their relevant locations on the day of your visit. Limited pre-booking for these experiences is available online.

Your Sovereign Hill admission includes all classic experiences such as panning for gold, theatre performances, street shows, live demonstrations, exploring our shops and cottages, bowling, self-guided tours of the Red Hill Mine, the Gold Pour and additional special seasonal activities. 

Additional premium activities can be purchased during your visit. These include costumed photography, guided mine tours, Makers Series, candle-dipping, and coach rides which are subject to limited availability and should be booked and paid for at the relevant location on the day. 

Annual Passes can be purchased online here or at the front entrance on days we are open or via [email protected]

Gift Vouchers can be purchased online here or from the Customer Service desk. You can also purchase a Gift Voucher by contacting [email protected]. Please include the following details in your request.

• Name of recipient
• Name of sender
• Senders contact phone number
• Voucher inclusions:
  • General Sovereign Hill Admission
  • AURA Sound and Light Show
  • Accommodation

You sure can. Just retain your ticket for scanning at the ticket box on re-entry.

If the day you want to attend the museum is showing sold out online then no additional tickets are available and will not be available at the entrance. Please check our online system to make sure tickets are available for your chosen day. Please prebook tickets for everyone, including children and babies to avoid disappointment.

If you're seeing a payment error during checkout, it's possible that an optional experience in your booking, such as a guided mine tour or photography experience, has sold out since you added it to your cart.

Try removing the sold-out experience from your booking and selecting a different timeslot or proceed with purchasing your general admission tickets. You can also book your mine tour or photography session on arrival. We recommend arriving at 10am as sessions can book out. If you're still having trouble, please email our Bookings team: [email protected] 

General Admission, AURA and Accommodation are non-refundable. All tickets sales are final. If the museum is unable to open due to conditions restricting our ability to operate, then a full refund will be processed.

You can view Sovereign Hill’s booking terms and conditions here.

In the event that you cannot attend on your booked date for General Admission or AURA and have advised us at least 48 hours prior to your arrival, a change of date may be offered subject to the discretion of Sovereign Hill. No more than one date change will be processed per booking.

Failure to attend on the say without prior contact will result in forfeiture of the booking. Tickets cannot be exchanged for credit or cash, transferred into another name or sold to another party. 

Cancellation requests should be made in writing to [email protected]

Yes, the Sovereign Hill Hotel is open. We offer a range of room styles at the Hotel, from spacious family rooms to private couples’ rooms there is something for everyone at the Sovereign Hill Hotel. The Hotel boasts a private entry to the Sovereign Hill Museum for Hotel guests making your visit that little bit more effortless.

For further information please visit our Hotel page.

Yes, hotel bookings can be made online here or directly throughout our Hotel Customer Service team, you can contact the team on (03) 5337 1159 or enquire via [email protected]

For further information please visit our Hotel page.