Looking to take the team out of town? The rich history and heritage of Ballarat, and its easy driving distance from Melbourne, make it a great choice for those looking to hold an affordable event, conference or team-building weekend.
With great business facilities as well as a colourful art and cuisine scene and great local wineries, Ballarat is a great destination for corporate travellers from Melbourne, Victoria, and beyond.
Availability
Ballarat is constantly entertaining with international exhibitions, world class sporting events, historical and arts events, food and wine festivals and more. The brilliance of Ballarat for a conference, workshop or event is the relaxed approach to business, flexibility and best of all, availability. With such a great selection of accommodation and function spaces to entertain, Ballarat has more than enough options to host your group or incentive, no matter what time of year it is.
Affordability
With all ranges of accommodation available in Ballarat, the region is a great value option for conference planners, and boasts a team of event organisers who can assist with meeting your specific budget requirements and numbers of participants.
Size of conference space
Ballarat Lodge is more than just an accommodation option – it’s a complete conference destination in its own right. Not only in walking distance to Sovereign Hill, the hotel features an extensive on-site convention and exhibition centre which can host up to 1,000 delegates standing, and 700 seated. Versatility is no problem, with the space able to be adapted into two rooms. In totality, Ballarat Lodge offers 23 different function rooms, conference spaces, class room configurations and a ballroom. A commanding pre-function space sets the tone for a professional event on arrival, no matter how big or small your event is.
Distance from Melbourne
Ballarat is just 75 minutes drive north-west of Melbourne, and also an hours drive from Victoria’s two biggest airports, the Melbourne Domestic & International (Tullamarine) and Geelong’s domestic Avalon Airport.
A regular Melbourne Airport shuttle service to and from Ballarat is run by Ballarat Coach Lines
Or to take the stress and effort out of travelling, a train service is also an option, with 166 services between Melbourne and Ballarat during the week and 51 services on the weekend.