Western Australia
Travel Guide
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My travel guides are organised in two main sections:
Overview
This will help you to decide if this is a location for you, and if so, where you may want to spend your time. For larger countries, I also provide additional overviews of different regions, states and territories.
Best things to do
Here I list specific things to see and do. For each, I provide star ratings so that you can easily see how good, unique and adventurous each place is. This means that you can easily pick out where sounds right for you!
Western Australia Travel Guide 2026
This is part of my Australia travel guide. Given Australia’s massive size and immense diversity, I’ve made specific guides and recommendations for the best places to visit in each state. You can see my main Australia Travel Guide by following this link; this also has links to my guides for each of Australia’s states and territories. I have lived, worked and travelled in Australia and visited every state and territory, so here goes!
Western Australia (WA)
For a lot of people, WA is their favourite state and I can see why, as it has loads to offer. The Capital Perth, is a really cool city, it’s got a nice CBD and plenty of green space and I enjoyed cycling around the city and seeing its parks. Rottnest Island is easily accessible by ferry from Perth and you can see quokkas there, which are very cute. That being said, they are often shown in selfies smiling and looking cute but it’s not easy to get that shot and when they are not looking at the camera straight on, then they look a bit like a large rat (hence the island’s name, which means ‘rat’s nest’ in Dutch.
The north of WA, from Perth via Ningaloo, Exmouth and Broome are famous coastal sites. Beautiful reefs are present off the western coast and if you time your trip correctly, you can swim with whale sharks at Ningaloo! There are also some awesome inland spots you can visit.
I had some good times exploring the south coast of WA and really enjoyed Esperance, jumping off sea cliffs and swimming there. Also, there are some really unique attractions too, like climbing the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree, which, even for an experienced climber like myself, was nerve-racking. The Nullarbor Desert also extends into the east of WA from SA.
Best places to visit in Western Australia
I provide star ratings for each of my recommendations so that you can quickly narrow down what appeals to you. Explanations for what these mean can be found here.
I use Google Maps to plan all my trips and it’s a game-changer! I’ve added links to Google Maps for each of the locations below so you can easily add them to your own map. Be sure to copy this web link into the description of each location you save so that you can easily refer back to this guide later. Check out this blog for more tips on how to use Google Maps to enhance your travels!
Western Australia (WA)
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Beach
Recommended Duration: 1 hour+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Just over the border from SA into WA, you will find a beautiful beach with white sand and an old, beautiful-looking jetty. It makes for a great photo spot and place to relax, definitely worth a detour too and a nice place to break up your journey across the Nullarbor if you are taking that road.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: National Park, Desert & road trip
Recommended Duration: 2 days+.
Andy visited?: Yes
Duration note: You could drive it in one very long day. I loved camping overnight, though and watching the stars
Description
My advice for the western Nullarbor is the same as the east, plan ahead, do some stargazing, wild camping and enjoy it! For more information, check out my ‘The Nullarbor (eastern Nullarbor)’ section under my comments on South Australia (SA). Instead of Ceduna being your first/last stop in SA for anything like a real town before you make the crossing, Norseman in WA is your equivalent for WA before you make the crossing.
I wouldn’t recommend hanging around here, as I didn’t feel there was much to do but use it as a base to stock up. From Norseman, major roads head east (into the Nullarbor), north (which turns west and then takes you on an inland road towards Perth or south towards the coast (the way I went and which is the nicer route).
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Coastal town with beaches
Recommended Duration: 2 days+
Andy visited?: Yes
Adventure stars:
1-3, depending on what you decide to do.
Description
This town is stunning, located in the far east of WA on Australia’s south coast. There are loads of nice beaches around and animals around (snakes, kangaroos, etc.). You can check out Lucky Bay just east of the town, which is famous for being frequented by Kangaroos on the beautiful white beach (although when I went there, I didn’t see any).
Also, it’s worth checking out Hellfire Bay, which is close to Lucky Bay. Be careful if you are driving around here at dusk, though I nearly hit a ‘roo (kangaroo) and always be careful when driving in Australia for wildlife jumping out at you (especially at dusk and dawn). If you are a bit bolder, you can also climb Frenchman’s Peak, which is in the same area. There is a pink lake near the town, but I don’t recall it being notably pink if I’m honest, but you may as well take a look if you’re there. Rotary Lookout is also worth checking out for a good view of the area. Observatory Point, west of Esperance, is worth doing. My favourite thing to do, though (since I’m not good at sitting on a beach and relaxing) was going to Twilight Beach. It’s a beautiful beach and nice to relax on if that’s for you; however, unusually, there is a massive rock just off the beach, which you can cliff jump from, and it faces towards the beach itself. You can find this on Google Maps by searching for ‘Twilight Beach Jump Rock’. It’s not as high as others I have done but still high enough – the worst part though, is that the rock protrudes forwards so you have to jump fairly far out to clear the rock and not make contact on the way down. I would only do it if locals are doing it, so that you know the right place to jump and don’t hurt yourself, and obviously, do this at your own risk and use some common sense. If you don’t fancy it, you can always relax on the beach and enjoy watching others take the leap!
Wave Rock
Category: Landscape
Recommended Duration: 1 hour+
Andy visited?: No, but people have recommended it to me
Description
I didn’t go here as it was a fair detour north of the coastal road, but I have heard it’s cool and unique to visit. In brief, it’s a rock formation which is in the shape of a wave and looks pretty beautiful.
Albany
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Coastal town with beaches
Recommended Duration: 2 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This is a nice little beachside town to break up your journey along the south coast of WA. Nice place for a swim to freshen up and you can take a walk down the boardwalk.‘The Gap’ nearby is nearby and also worth visiting, and it has interesting Aboriginal lore at this location, which you can read about on an information board at this location.
Elephant Rocks
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Coastal landscape
Recommended Duration: 2 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Just west of Denmark, you can find Elephant Rocks and next to it, Greens Pool. They’re a pleasant stop off on the journey with a nice walk and beach with rocks you can climb on if you’re feeling more adventurous (at your own risk).
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Nature walk
Recommended Duration: 2 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
It’s definitely worth going to the Valley of Giant Trees Top Walk. It’s a great walk in the tree canopy just west of the town of Walpole. You can also find a Giant Tingle Tree nearby too (separate location, but you can search for it on Google Maps). Just west of Walpole, there is a nice hike called the Mount Clare Summit Walk, which goes through tingle and Karri tree forests and is worth doing.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: CATEGORY
Recommended Duration: DURATION
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
I loved this area, and it is truly a hidden gem. Firstly, there is a nice hike called Heartbreak Trail, which takes you over rivers and where I also saw a snake skillfully crossing a river from rock to rock using some incredible core muscles to levitate itself across large distances from one to another, very cool! You can also do a nice walk to Beedelup Falls to the west of Pemberton.
I have saved the best until last! You have to go to the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree. This is not a very exciting name, but it is dubbed by many as Australia’s scariest, most dangerous tourist attraction; and that’s coming from a country which has shark cage diving and 20 of the world’s 25 most deadly snakes). This tree is a tremendous 75m (264 feet) tall and has had metal bars inserted into it to form a spiralling ladder around its trunk. This is free to do and there is nobody to clip you in with a safety rope, etc. – just a sign saying you climb it at your own risk and to not wear flip flops. The tree is so tall that you have checkpoints on the way up to stop at. The first set of metal spirals gets you up to a platform. As you can easily see below you, it’s pretty unnerving. After this first platform, the climb gets steeper and scarier, with around 2 times the distance of elevation required before you are at another platform. I am an experienced climber and even I was bricking it on this! As you get nearer the top, you can feel the sway of the tree and then at the very top is a large shelter split onto two levels, which should make you feel safer if it wasn’t for the thing swaying. Several people were there at the same time as me, the majority surprised me by not even trying to climb any of it (why drive out of your way here to not even give it a go?) and some others made it as far as the first platform (around one-third of the tree’s total height). I loved this, it was a good adrenaline rush and really makes you appreciate how massive these trees are. There is another similar tree nearby called the Gloucester Tree; however, this was closed when I was there, but it looks pretty similar.
Hamelin Bay
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Marine life
Recommended Duration: 1 hour+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This is a phenomenal place. Fishermen often leave behind scraps of food in the water around this boat ramp, which stingrays then come by to hoover up. You can see them easily from the shallows and don’t need to swim. I just walked in the water about knee-deep as they came in close. There were three when I was there and they are incredible to watch, but please give them some space to do their thing.
A Maze’n, Margaret River
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Activity
Recommended Duration: 3 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
As well as having an ‘a-maze’n’ pun of a name, this place is a lot of fun. Not one to do solo, but as a couple or with a group of friends, it’s a laugh. There is a large maze to get around, along with plenty of other games.
Aquarium, Yallingup
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Marine life & snorkelling
Recommended Duration: 2 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This place is called ‘aquarium’ but don’t be deceived, it’s not. This is a large rocky inlet providing shelter from the harsher waves outside its natural protection and is a good place to snorkel and see marine life.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Weird and wonderful
Recommended Duration: 1 hour
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
So what is Gnomesville? For me, a lucky find on Google Maps since I love anything weird, wonderful and different. I am told that this place started small, with people leaving a small number of Gnomes here. Over time, more and more have been left at this location, so now there is an army of thousands of gnomes from all over the world. It’s really bizarre, funny and worth a look at. You’ve got everything from classic gnomes gardening to football gnomes and gnomes in rather compromising circumstances. Enjoy!
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: City
Recommended Duration: 2 days+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Perth is a cool city, very modern, very green and in general a fun place. I would recommend Elizabeth Quay for a start, as it’s modern and pretty iconic. Also, be sure to check out Kings Park and Botanical Gardens; it’s a beautiful park in its own right, but it’s also elevated and gives a nice view over Perth CBD.
There are also a lot of pink jellyfish which I could see from the footpath along the river adjacent to Nelson Avenue (just south of the Matagarup Bridge – I cannot guarantee that they are all there all the time, but I enjoyed watching them. I didn’t really go out here, so unfortunately can’t give you any tips for nightlife in Perth. My favourite thing I did in Perth, however, was to rent a bicycle and cycle from the CBD along the north bank of the river to Matagarup Bridge (which is for pedestrians and cyclists only) and over to the park on the opposite side. From here, I took a right and went west down the south bank (sticking to the river cycle route) before cutting over to Heirisson Island, which is located in the middle of the river.
In the south-west of the island is a Kangaroo Sanctuary, and you can get fairly close to kangaroos who aren’t too frightened of humans (but don’t push your luck, they’re still kangaroos and when they do fight, they fight dirty). From here, if you don’t fancy more, you can head back to the CBD or return to the south bank of the river and continue heading west. You can then get a ferry back to the west of the CBD and complete the larger or smaller loop, depending on which way you’ve decided to go. One final word of warning is to be vigilant for predators. The beaches have lifeguards who will sound the alarm when sharks are on the move; however, on the day I arrived in Perth, a rare occurrence took place where a girl was killed in the Swan River (not in the ocean, in the river) by a bull shark. This is a rare occurrence when someone is killed by a shark in the river, but as always, I’d say speak to locals who are in the know and use common sense.
The district of Fremantle is located near the mouth of the Swan River (which runs through Perth) on the south side. It’s a popular area for tourists with historic buildings and a bit more character and charm than the more modern CBD. You also have South Beach not far away. I was too pressed for time to go here myself, but it came highly recommended to me. You can also get the ferry to Rottnest Island from here or the CBD.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Island and wildlife
Recommended Duration: 1 day
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
An animal called a quokka is native only to WA and is not found anywhere else in the world. They are most easily found on Rottnest Island (in Dutch this means ‘rats nest island’ because the Dutch explorers thought they looked like giant rats; ironic since now tourists go in their droves to get selfies with these cute guys.
The island is for pedestrians only and you can catch a ferry from Perth CBD or Fremantle (a historic suburb of Perth at the mouth of the Swan River. I would recommend bringing your swim gear and renting a bicycle to cycle around the island. There are beautiful beaches to stop at along the way too. It’s best done with company, so take a friend or two or the Mrs. As for the quokkas, you are probably all now googling them to see the famous quokka selfie. They are famous because they look like they are smiling and apparently don’t mind people. So firstly, the Dutch were somewhat right, these guys do look a bit like giant rats – don’t believe everything you see on Instagram. Also, getting the perfect Instagram selfie is incredibly difficult and many people (myself included) couldn’t get a good one. I’m not normally one for selfies at the best of times, but being a tourist and having come all this way, I thought I would give it a shot. At one point, I thought I might get the perfect selfie with not one but two quokkas cuddling each other and looking very happy. I then realised, as I was lining up my perfect selfie, that they were happy because they were more than just cuddling and I didn’t want to ruin the vibe. I don’t think that being known as the quokka cock-blocker was a good image for me to have, despite its catchy ring to it. The quokkas seemed relaxed to me, but while travelling in Canada, I met an Australian girl from Perth who said that her friend had her eyelid bitten by a quokka and it drew blood; she even showed me a photo she had as proof! These animals have no predators on the island, so they are relaxed, but maybe don’t get too cocky!
Ningaloo, Exmouth & Coral Bay
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Marine life and coastline
Recommended Duration: 2 days+
Andy visited?: No, but people have recommended it to me
Description
I didn’t go north of Perth in WA – the one section of the ‘Aussie Lap’ (driving the entire coastline of the Australian Mainland) which I didn’t do. The areas of Ningaloo, Exmouth and Coral Bay are famous for having incredible beaches and, more importantly, some of the best marine life in the world. To say this part of the planet is sparsely populated is an understatement.
As always, make sure you travel with plenty of supplies like water, fuel and a spare tyre. I have been told that the marine life here rivals that of The Great Barrier Reef off Australia’s east coast. If you time your trip to Ningaloo correctly too (going from March-July) then you have a chance of seeing whale sharks! You can swim with whale sharks in other parts of the world. I have heard that this is potentially the best, as there are fewer tourists here. I swam with them in Indonesia and although I don’t regret it and it was an amazing experience, it would be much nicer to do it somewhere like this and it would be a totally different experience, I’m sure.
Broome
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Coastal town
Recommended Duration: 3 days+
Andy visited?: No, but people have recommended it to me
Description
Similar to Ningaloo, Exmouth and Coral Bay, I have been recommended to Broome by countless Australians and travellers who say this is one of the most beautiful places in the country. The landscapes, beaches and marine life all come highly recommended and those nerds out there like me, there are also places nearby where you can see dinosaur footprints in coastal rocks. If you make it this far up the WA coastline, then I’d highly recommend visiting the NT and my recommendations for that territory, as I loved it there and found loads of unique things to do!
Karijini National Park
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: National Park
Recommended Duration: 1 day+
Andy visited?: No, but my internet research suggests it may be worth visiting
Description
I found this place online and haven’t been there, unfortunately. To say this place is a little off the beaten track would be to put it very, very mildly. Not only is this located in the far north of WA, but it’s also far inland too. That being said, it looks incredible! Hancock and Knox Gorges are located near one another and look beautiful with swimming and small cliff jumps possible (at your own risk).
Hamersley Gorge is further west in the National Park and also looks like good fun and people have swam there, but follow local advice and don’t do anything too crazy as this is in the middle of nowhere, so you may find help is a long way away.
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Title image: Eucla Jetty, south coast of Western Australia