Perth begins on the water.
Rottnest’s quokka bays, Swan Valley cellar doors, dolphins off Mandurah and the Pinnacles under a full sky. What each day out is really like, what it costs, and where to book it.
The seven Perth won’t let you skip.
First trip or fifth, these carry a week in the west: the fast cat to Rottnest, a long lunch in the Swan Valley, the sunset run out to the Pinnacles, and the dolphins that turn up off Mandurah most mornings.
Rottnest Island Ferry and Bus Tour
Rottnest Island day trip from Perth or Fremantle with SeaLink ferry returns, an air-conditioned bus tour, live commentary, and free time to explore.
From $99 per person
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★ 4.6Books out earlyRottnest Island Ferry and Bike Day TourFrom $87805 reviews
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A ferry, a bike, and a car-free island.
Twenty-five minutes off Fremantle and the traffic disappears. Hire a bike at the jetty, ride the loop past Salmon Bay and the Basin, and you’ll meet a quokka before lunch. The only hard call is which cove to swim at first.
You’ve got one clear day. Where does it go?
The best of Perth sits an hour or two out of town. Three honest ways to spend a free day, each one already reviewed and priced, so you can pick in five minutes and get back to the beach.
Cellar doors
Into the Swan Valley
from $114 · 702 reviews
Twenty minutes from the city and it’s all vine rows, brewery lunches and a chocolate stop the kids vote for. Let a coach do the driving so everyone gets to taste. Best on a warm afternoon with nothing booked after.
See the Swan Valley days →
Desert & stars
Out to the Pinnacles
from $178 · 1,034 reviews
Thousands of limestone spires in Nambung, gold at sunset, then a sky with no city light in it and someone tracing the Southern Cross for you. Dinner in the dunes is usually part of the deal.
See the Pinnacles nights →
On the water
Down to Mandurah
1h 15m · from $31 · 920 reviews
An hour south, the canals open onto an estuary where wild dolphins live all year. A slow cruise, coffee on deck, fins off the bow more often than not. Easy going, and a sure thing with kids aboard.
See the Mandurah cruises →
The west coast keeps the best of the day for the end.
Perth faces its sunsets the way few cities can, straight out over the Indian Ocean. Take it from the river: a dinner cruise up the Swan, the skyline turning gold behind you, the water gone flat calm. The easy way to close a hot day.
Perth does its best days afloat.
A city strung between a river and an ocean books a lot of boats. Scenic runs up the Swan, wine cruises to the valley, the fast cat everyone takes to Rottnest. Pick your deck.
Quokkas are only the start.
Bottlenose dolphins off Mandurah and Rockingham, humpbacks tracking up the coast from September, sea lions basking on Penguin Island. Out here the animals mostly come to you.
Founded on gold, still pouring it.
Perth grew rich on what came out of the Goldfields, and the old Mint still tips a molten bar in front of a crowd twice a day. Round it out with the Bell Tower, a look inside Optus Stadium, and a walk through the town the rush paid for.
Pick your Perth, day by day.
The city is a base and the good days fan out from it. The island off Fremantle, the valley up the Swan, the desert to the north, the dolphin coast to the south.
Know what you’re after?
Twelve ways into the same coast. Pick the kind of day that sounds like yours and everything behind it is already reviewed and priced.
Worth leaving the city for.
The car makes short work of the coast and the wheatbelt. Wine and forest to the south, wildflowers and a wave-shaped rock to the east, the long red road up to Ningaloo.
Three days, done right.
You can’t see all of the west in one trip, but three days buys you the island, the river and the valley. This is the order we’d hand a friend landing tomorrow.
Day 1
Find your feet in the city
Kings Park over the skyline in the morning, the Bell Tower and the old Mint, then a scenic cruise up the Swan as the afternoon cools off. Gentle, and enough Perth to get your bearings.
Plan day one →
Day 2
Ferry out to Rottnest
First fast cat from Fremantle, a bike from the jetty, the whole car-free island to loop. Swim at the Basin, find the quokkas at the settlement, last ferry back with sand still on you.
Plan day two →
Day 3
Slow day in the Swan Valley
Twenty minutes up the river to cellar doors, a brewery lunch and a chocolate factory the kids will vote for. Take the coach tour so nobody has to skip the tastings.
Plan day three →
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