Six To Try: Beautiful, Remote Cabins in Victoria Where You Can Bunker Down for the Weekend

Tents and tiny homes have their charm, hotels and grand houses are luxurious treats, but somewhere in the middle is the perfect blend of comfort and adventure in rural, beautifully furnished cabins in the bush. Some come with deep bathtubs, others have hammocks hanging in gum trees or a larder stocked with local wines. But all of them help you press pause and tap into your wild side, while snapping incredible pics of the views on your doorstep. Here are six cabins in regional Victoria for when you need to hit the escape button for a little while.

At this one-of-a-kind cabin in South Gippsland you’ll have access to a private Japanese bathhouse. Run by hosts Fleur and Lisa, who fell for the hand-built property’s rustic charm, the cabin has creature comforts without too many mod cons. There’s no TV, for example, but there’s a hammock for gazing at the stars. The wi-fi is a little patchy, but there’s a stacked bookshelf and lawn games to keep you entertained. Though the cabin sleeps six, it’s best suited to four people. And it’s on five acres of farmland, so you’ll feel pretty secluded no matter how many people you bring with you. When you’re ready to explore beyond the perimeter, borrow a mountain bike or take a 30-minute drive to visit Wilsons Promontory National Park’s empty beaches and stunning hiking routes. Minimum three-night stay.

Interior designer Andrea Moore has transformed a former dairy farm into three separate lodgings, each with warm timber furnishings and Japanese and Scandinavian-style influences. The smallest property at Ross Farm sleeps two, but no matter where you stay you’ll be looking over the beautiful Tarwin Valley, with your own timber bath and outdoor shower to wash away your worries. There’s a substantial kitchen (including fresh eggs from the farm), and a cosy nook for reading and unwinding. If you need a little more space, there’s the two-bedroom Barn and three-bed Dairy dwelling on-site, each with its own firepit and barbeque. In summer, nearby village Meeniyan is buzzing with live music and food stalls, and those wanting to stretch their limbs can follow the Great Southern Rail Trail to Fish Creek for cycling under towering gum trees. Two-night minimum stay.

Designed by Melbourne architects Robert Nichol & Sons, Oikos (pronounced eekos) looks like something lifted straight out of a sculpture park. Outside is all sharp angles and weathering steel. Inside, it’s an open-plan masterpiece of stacked-stone walls, dark timber and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the surrounding countryside and starlit skies at night. The star attraction, though, is the enormous freestanding bathtub in the moody bathroom – the perfect place to forget about city life. When you tire of the sprawling views from the 18-hectare property, you’re only minutes from neighbouring spa towns Daylesford and Hepburn Springs. Two-night minimum stay.

When your ideal weekend itinerary is sipping wine in a robe (and doing very little besides), the luxury cabins at Kangaroo Ridge Retreat have plenty of indoor comforts to keep you company, such as a log burner and a roomy spa bath for two. The cabins overlook the wine region and mountains near Healesville, and each cabin has a “licensed larder” as well as brekkie included in the price. It’s far from slumming it, and when you feel like breaking free there are 100-metre-tall trees on the Tanglefoot Loop walking track to size up against. Two-night minimum stay.

You’ve camped, glamped and dozed off in a tiny home, but have you slept in a solar-powered, off-grid pod overlooking the ocean? On an 80-hectare wildlife refuge near the Great Ocean Road there’s a couple of self-contained pods that sleep up to two people. Each has floor-to-ceiling windows and a 100-inch projector screen with bluetooth speakers, so you can watch movies at night and still wake up to the sunrise without leaving your bed. The pods are climate controlled for hot and cold conditions, there’s a kitchen with fridge, kettle and a stovetop cooker, plus a couple of camping chairs for lounging around. As it’s a managed wildlife property, you’re invited to plant a native tree while you’re there to offset your carbon footprint – but any activity beyond reading, eating and stargazing is entirely optional.

The little things make a big difference when you’re staying away from home – like a French press coffee maker, or Aesop soaps in the bathroom – but at Yoko cabin, in addition to coffee and fancy soap, there’s also a record player and a selection of LPs. The two-bed cabin in Rye has been created with Japanese and Nordic design elements in mind, making it feel warm and uncluttered, sun drenched but also breezy. You’re close to wineries and breweries, so when you’re done exploring, take a bottle back to the cabin and fire up the barbeque and log burner for a romantic night in. Fancy a spa bath? The popular Peninsula Hot Springs is less than 10 minutes’ drive away. Two-night minimum stay.

AirBnB prices are dynamic and may change over time.

Additional reporting by Matt Shea.

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For more, see our guide to accommodation options in regional Victoria.