Perth Travel Forum

Hello everybody,

My lady friend and I will visit Perth (For the first time and for 3 days) in early Dec.

Any information about what to do, what to see, where to go welcome.

Any information about what we should not do ( To avoid to hurt local culture,place not safe...) welcome as well.

For a 2 or 3* hotel, which location would you advise us to look.

About a car, should we rent it ASAp from here or wait to be there?

We are French , open minded and young at heart ;-)))) and like walking around,Day and early evening, in town, in the open as well, parks,and around nice spots and local interesting places, asian and see food...

Thank you for your help

Reece

Hi Reece, I will steer you to VT member Aussierose, TinaPerth for starters. I'm hopeless but recommend Kings Park, Cottesloe beach, Swan valley wine tour & Rottnest Island - pretty full sched for 3 days.
Bayswater Car hire are one of the cheap car rentals, but very reliable. It will be summer so u may have to reserve one.
Hotels, look at www.wotif.com for an idea of what is avilable. The Parmelia Hilton usually has pretty good rates over the weekend & good 4 star hotel.
Good luck

A couple of interesting places in or around Perth for 3 days:
- Perth with Kings Park (to be honest we were rather disappointed about Perth)
- Rottnest Island; rent a bike and in the afternoon/evening have a drink or dinner on cappucino Strip in Fremantle
- Pinnacles Desert, quite a drive for one day, but very remarkable

happy travels
Jaap

Hi there,

If you plan on hiring a car, perhaps stay outside of the CDB area to avoid peak hour traffic when you wish to drive!

A 3 star hotel that i have stayed in is the Quest Harbour Village Serviced Apartment in Fremantle located overlooking the ocean. They offer appartments with a balcony that over looks Challenger Harbour, Fremantle. By staying at this hotel your base would be Fremantle and you can walk around Fremantle quite easily - see the round house, port, Fremantle prison, fishing boat harbour, the strip,markets etc. Lots of food opportunities such as the Mussel Bar, cicerello's (fish cuisine), Little creatures brewery, Old Shanghai food court and the freo markets.

Being in Freo you could even catch the Ferry to Rottnest easily - 5 min drive or 15 min walk to the port.

My recommended Highlights for 3 days is:
Fremantle, Rottnest (Day trip) then head to dinner in Freo, Kings Park then head to Subiaco for lunch or dinner, Swan Valley (day trip) visiting the wineries.

Hiya Reece. Well you have picked a wonderful destination! You guys are going to have a fabulous time :o) Well I think all the answers so far are great. (hiya and thanks Neil ;o) Perth is a little city but you will be amazed at how clean it is and how friendly the natives are :o) My suggestions are definately Rottnest Island for a day trip. If you like wines, then the half day trip with Captain Cook along the famous Perth Swan River is not to be missed...here's the link
http://www.captaincookcruises.com.au/listing.aspx?CAT=WINE
A trip on the Captain Cook ferry to Freo (Fremantle) is not bad. If you decide to visit Fremantle, then Little Creatures Brewery (and lunch) is definatley a good suggestion.
If you are arriving on a weekend and want to see some kangaroos in the wild...then flick me an email and I'll see what I can arrange to perhaps to take you personally up to Yanchep National Park. Now that's a lovely day out!!
Cheers, Ann :o)

Fremantle - half an hour by train from central Perth - the Shipwreck Gallery of the Maritime Museum, housed in an historic convict-built building, tells the dramatic story of the wrecks of 17th century Dutch East Indiamen, including the mutiny and massacres of the Batavia - don't miss it. The main maritime museum building is at the mouth of the harbour. South Terrace on the weekend's always fun - markets, buskers, pavement cafes


Perth Mint - http://www.perthmint.com.au/visit_the_mint_visit_the_perth_mint.aspx

If you want to take in some of the favourite local summertime activities, you could go for -

Sunset at Cottesloe or North Cottesloe Beach - a beer at the OBH (Ocean Beach Hotel), or dinner at The Blue Duck or Barchetta http://www.barchetta.com.au/ all at North Cottesloe, or el lido at Cottesloe

Breakfast by the beach or under the pine trees at the John St Cafe http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/john_street_cafe/- any time from 7am on.

A night at the movies at one of the outdoor cinemas - Camelot http://www.lunapalace.com.au/index.php?cin=cinemas&cinema=6 in Mosman Park or the Somerville Auditorium on the University of WA campus in Nedlands http://www.theatres.uwa.edu.au/university_theatres_home_page/somerville_cinema

Lunch at Meads gorgeous riverside restaurant on Mosman Bay. Fantastic oysters $12 a dozen on Mondays and Tuesdays - and a glorious river view http://www.meads.com.au/index.html

Take the ferry across the river from the Bell Tower to South Perth - the Bellhouse Cafe on the South Perth Jetty has a stunning view of the city skyline across the river. CoCo's - also on the South Perth riverside - is lovely also, more expensive, and has similar views http://www.cocosperth.com/

Hi For 3 days I would find accommodation in Perth City, somewhere in the eastern end of the inner city around Adelaide Terrace, Hay Street, Bennett Street. These areas are close to the River, you can walk to the city centre in 15 minutes,or catch the free City Cat bus which services the city district.

Some suggestions. Being French you must enjoy wine, I recommend you take a ferry cruise up the Swan River to the vineyards, some include lunch, you will see the city etc from the river and December weather should be warm and beautiful. Ferries go from Barrack Street Wharf,near the city centre.

Catch the train to Fremantle , approx 14 km from Perth, our Port City, cafe strip, restaurants, historic buildings, museums, Fishing Boat Harbour, have lunch at Kalis Fish restaurant at the harbour, they grill the fish their fishing boats have caught, dine on the boardwalk.

Day 3 visit Kings Park which is 2 or 3 km from the city, fantastic views over the city and river including South Perth. The free city cat bus will take you there. Afternoon, go to Barrack Street Wharf and catch the public ferry across the river (10 minutes) and walk around South Perth, have a coffee or lunch at one of the many cafes and restaurants, or visit the South Perth Hotel for a cold beer.

Check out Vt pages to find out what appeals to you.I live in Perth and the previous replies are from Perth Locals.

Good Luck,
Mike

We took Allikat on the little tram from Barrack St Jetty up to Kings Park. Now that's a great litle journey with a wonderfully funny commentary along the way.

Hi,

My name is Justin. I'm a GI, currently in Afghanistan... who is lucky enough to be taking leave in December... They put the leave form in front me, and I said... huh, Perth, Perth, Australia. I've never been to Australia... but of course, I've always wanted to visit.

This thread was very interesting to me, and I want to thank everyone for taking the time to put some really useful information out....

Cheers,

Justin

Hey Justin. Nice to meet you! Well you've certainly picked the best place on the net to help you with your travel plans. We'd love to welcome you to Perth! Please do not hesitate to flick me an email and I'll help arrange a nice welcome party for you to our wonderful little city! Cheers, Ann :o)

Just to put my 2 bits worth in....

Asian food, go to William st in Northbridge, Viet Hoa is a fantastic Vietnamese Resturant, Mela is the best Indian, Welcome Inn does a great Yum Cha on sundays (get there early) and Viet Hoas sister restaurant Lido does some fantastic food too...all are not far from each other on William st.

For seafood, go to Fishing Boat Harbour in Fremantle, Cicerellos, Joes fish Shack, Kaillis Bros and The Mussel Bar all do great seafood.

We might have to take Justin to one of those restaurants you mentioned Danielle when he's here :o)