Perth Travel Forum

Just booked a 5 week holiday in perth for Dec 08, and would be grateful of any suggestion of where or what to see. We are a family of 4 and have so far highlighted Monkey Mia as a must . Also any tips would be ace . Cheers Nick

If you're into snorkelling at all, I would recommend Exmouth as a add on to Monkey Mia - great reef straight off the beach. Ningaloo has a lot to offer alongside quite easy snorkelling.

Such a quick reply, this forum really does work,thanks

Oh yeah - it works! Check out my Exmouth page - plenty of info on there if it interests you.

There's plenty of members of VT local to Perth too - but they're probably in bed now. You should find more replies coming through once they get up.

I would recommend a visit to the Pinnacles Desert (north of Perth).
On your way you also could visit New Norcia, the only monastic town in Australia.
At least you do have to visit Rottnest Island, rent a bike and enjoy lovely beaches.
For more info and pics see my Perth page.

happy travels

The Perth and Aussie contingent on here are generally really helpful, you'll get a ton of info. Check out Aussirose's pages.

I loved Perth, beautiful city. I spent just a couple of days walking around seeing it from foot, which was great. I also took a day trip on the ferry from Fremantle out to Rottnest Island, hired a bike and cycled round the island. That was a great day, although I'd recommend getting there earlier in the day if poss.

Fremantle itself is definitely worth a visit.

And I was glad I got out to see the Pinnacles Desert. The coach trip I did also took in the Caversham wildlife park and the Lancelin sand dunes, so parts of the day were quite rushed. It's a long drive, but I think if you can self drive it might make for a better visit.

Another vote for Rottnest and stay there if you can as it is worth at least an overnight stay. If you're tripping around, then also consider heading south to Albany and Margaret River - not as hot as north. Dolphins - from what I understand the Dolphin Research Centre at Bunbury gives a better dolphin experience than Monkey Mia, but then again I'm from Melbourne and would consider the views of the Perthites better than my views.

Hi, You have chosen a good time to visit Perth, the weather should be in the mid 20C or a little more on most days. Monkey Mia will be nice but could get hot. You will pass Geraldton and Kalbarri on the way, both worth an overnight stay.

Allocate 2 weeks or more for the South West, drive down through Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret Rive wine area, Augusta, Pemberton, Denmark, Albany and across to Esperance. Returning from Esperance to Perth take the inland road. The South West will be ideal in December.

Check out these locations on VT, I have visted all these destinations and you cannot go wrong, plenty for your children. There are dolphind all over the WA coast so you do not have to travel to Monkey Mia, just hop on the new train service from Perth to Mandurah, less than an hour and take a ferry cruise, you will see the dolphins, see my Mandurah page.

Good Luck,
Mike

Hiya Nick and welcome to vt :o) Hope you stick around and share your holiday experiences with us. Hiya Alli and thanks for the plug mate :o) We did have a wonderful time here when you visited. There's so much to see and do in and around Perth. Weather in December is good, however don't forget that half way through is the start of our 6 weeks holiday break and you'll find the price off accommodation rises too :o) Also remember to book early. Well everyone has already mentioned the good bits, so perhaps I can make a couple of other suggestions. On the way to the Pinnicles there are a couple of places you might want to stop off at - Guilderton and Yanchep National Park. At Yanchep you will almost certainly see kangaroos in the wild and Guilderton is great for swimming and boating. If you are travelling up to Monkey Mia, then stop off at all these places along the way as well as Geraldton and Kalbarri (be prepared for the flies). Margaret River south is great too and if you can get to Esperance via Albany and Hopetoun then do it! In Perth itself Kings Park is not to be misses. Take the tram up there from the Bell Tower on the river front. A dinner cruise with Captain Cook Cruises is nice. Hillarys Boat harbour is a great day out especially for kids as they have all sorts of rides, mini golf, trampolines, water slides and Aqua underwater world. Whiteman Park and Caversham Farm is another great place for exploring the Aussie bush and getting up close and personal with australian native animals. Great for family picnics. Also if you like wine, it's close enough for you to incorporate a visit to a couple of wineries in the Swan Valley. Also if you would like to meet up with a few locals then perhaps we can arrange a vt family day out, maybe to Rotto or Hillarys or something like that.
Cheers, Ann :o)

Thanks for info, We have already booked to stay in Yanchep for xmas week and are travelling upto denham and monkeymia for the new year via Geraldton for two nights.
The first week or so we will spend in Perth but have not found any accomadation yet, we were thinking maybe one of the Big4 sites. Any ideas ?
Nick

Excellent, really enjoyed the storm photos and info on Albany Apartments. Keep travelling Nick

Hiya Nick. Here's a couple of links - Karrinyup Waters Resort -
http://www.totaltravel.com.au/link.asp?fid=540043
And a few self contained holiday houses -
http://members.iinet.net.au/~joybells/index.html
Hope this helps.
Cheers,Ann :o)

Perthmark. (I may be there in June).

Cool Marianne! Don't forget to give me a holler a couple of weeks before you get here and we'll arrange a nice warm Perth vt get together :o) Cheers.

Hey, Ann, thanks! Not completely sure if this trip will happen (business trip), so I still have to see what develops. Would love to meet with you all!

We'd love to have you join us Marianne :o) Hope it happens for you!

Thank you! It seems you have a terrific group out there. Cheers!

Just my 2 bits worth in.....

Everyones suggestions are fantastic!!

As much as its gorgeous up north (monkey mia, gero, exmouth) I'd just like to warn you at that time of year its extremely windy and if you go snorkeling the visibility isnt the best and the water is really choppy!!

Monkey Mia is great but there is not much else for kids to do except see the dolphins. I lived in Denham wich is about 25kms away and I would suggest staying there if you wanted to stay for more than one night. Exmouth and Kalbarri are both fantastic for children. All these places will be quite hot and windy in December.
Try to stay somewhere near the beach in Perth. AQWA at Hillarys is a walk through aquarium that is well worth a visit. Fremantle and Mandurah both have heaps to see and do and Rottnest Island is a wonderful place to take the kids snorkeling.
I would have to agree that the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre is probably better than Monkey Mia.
December is usualy perfect weather down south and anywhere between Perth and Albany has gorgeous beaches and heaps of things going on. It will be very busy and if you wanted to stay anywhere I would try to get your accomodation booked soon.
It won't matter where you go really because everywhere is great!

I am another vote for Ningaloo Reef. I really, really loved our time there. I also enjoyed Coral Bay and Monkey Mia. The Pinnacles are also a great suggestion. The tough thing about Western Australia is that the bottom corner is also fantastic. I loved Denmark and Pemberton areas. Seriously, I think the state is too big to consider both ends in 5 weeks - best to stick to one and plan to come back to do the other another time.