Perth Travel Forum

from reading the forum it appears that fremantle rather than perth is a better destination for a short (3 days) holiday.
what about north of fremantle, say scarborough beach? are there good and reasonably priced hotels there? we won't have a car so is getting there from the airport by taxi still about AUD55? is public transport readily available for a day trip into perth and fremantle?

hope this makes sense and I am not trying to be unkind to perth which I know is a wonderful city which we want to explore during our brief first stay in WA.

Fremantle and Scarborough are part of the general metropolitan sprawl around the city centre of Perth, they're not really seperate towns. It's only 20km (12 miles) from Perth to Fremantle - half an hour by train and with trains only 10-15 minutes apart, either Perth or Fremantle would be fine for such a short visit. I wouldn't stay at Scarborough without a car. It's only a half hour from the city centre in Perth but it isn't on a train line and you would have to get a bus into the city and then take the bus or train to Fremantle.

In my opinion you're probably better off staying in Perth itself. There's plenty of options for good reasonably priced accommodation in Perth. Only 3 days?...mmm, there's so many things to see & do in & around Perth. What are your plans?....perhaps we can help with suggestions. :o)

If it were me, I would stay in Perth and do a day trip to Freemantle on one of the days. Perth is a lovely city.

Vote me in to for staying in Perth. There is so much to see and easier to do so then from Fremantle. I always think Freo is good for a day trip!

Enjoy Heather

And a lovely way to go to Freo & back is on the Captain Cook Cruise - www.captaincookcruises.com.au. There's free coffee, tea & biscuits on the trip over and free wine tasting on the trip back. In Freo, check out Little Creature Brewery...and great place for lunch and beer tasting.
Cheers, Ann :o)

Hmmm Aussierose = ann, wine and cruise. Such perfect advice for a very pleasant afternoon. Right up there girl! You can't get wine on a train aye, unless you head down to the beautiful southwest!!! Have i told you about the southwest lately???? hahahahaha

Hey Heather....we should organise a Margaret River Wine tour...are you up for it?... :o)

thanks for response. we have no plans as yet since we can't decide where to stay.

we were put off staying in perth by threads in this forum saying that perth closed down at 1700 every night. whilst we are not seeking any night life we do need a choice of restaurants and do not enjoy walking around deserted streets.

the cruise to "freo" sounds great.

is the margaret river as a tourist attraction a tour of vinyards?

forgive my lack of knowledge.

Oh wow deserted streets!!!! in case you haven't heard Perth is the most isolated city in the world but does have its attractions! The streets aren't deserted at all and restaurants are open at night. You may just find that the peace and quiet gives you a very pleasant holiday. Give me perth over melbourne/sydney any day!

Scarborough is on one of the best beaches in Perth, in fact the Australian Surf Championships have been held there fot the past 3 years and the most recent finished last weekend. There are several very good hotels, one right on the beachfront.

Rendezvous Observation City Hotel is 4 star and overlooks beach.

Link buses get you to metro rail in 10 minutes , then 3 stations to Perth city centre
For public transport www.transperth.wa.gov.au

From Scarborough you can catch the bus up to Sorrento Quay and Hillarys Boat Harbour, the most popular tourist spot in Perth. Only 10 minutes on bus from Scarborough.

Good Luck,
Mike

Ditto to Heather's comment. Northbridge comes alive at night and is full of nice restaurants. Northbridge can get a bit roudy late at night so be careful. You can also catch a train to Subiaco. Subi has some very nice restaurants and some pretty good night venues. If you like wineries, Margaret River is great but it takes about 4 hours to get there so it can be a long day trip. The Swan Valley is our closest for wineries. There's plenty of bus tours to the Swan Valley and again Captain Cook do two good wine cruises, a half day one & a full day one. Lots of fun :o)
You are welcome to email me for more info.

Hey Mike...I thought about making the same suggestion as you...but didn't because the Rendezvous is expensive. But yes you are right....there's buses from Scarborough straight into Perth. Not sure if they do that bus along the coast to Hillarys any more. I'll find out from hubby :o)

A little more information from questioners about themselves makes answering queries like this somewhat easier. Without any idea of what people are looking for (5 star hotel or backpackers hostel? lots of sightseeing and early nights or lazy days and partytime nights? communing with nature or serious retail therapy?) we just go round and round in circles. Some basic info - whether you're a single traveller, a twosome, a family, age of any children is a start. Using public transport or hiring a car? Hostel, hotel, self-catering? Our OP has told us they want a "reasonably priced" hotel, some idea of budget would help define their idea of "reasonable".

Anyone living in Perth knows that Perth, Fremantle and Scarborough are all part of the Perth metropolitan area, not seperate destinations as you might think from checking them out here on VT. When locals speak about "Perth" they generally mean the whole area as opposed to the central city. You will find that the business district and main shopping streets in central Perth are very quiet out of business hours, but that's the case in many cities - ever walked around parts of the City in London after 6pm? Come night-time, the activity in Perth moves just a couple of streets away to the inner city area known as Northbridge, and (as aussierose has said)nearby Subiaco, as well as Highgate and Leederville where you'll find plenty of activity - pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes. All these are just 10 minutes from the centre of the city. Fremantle, half an hour away by train, is another place with a lively night scene.

Scarborough's probably better for a summer than a winter visit - it's right on the seafront - lovely in summer but can be cold, wet and windy come winter. Cottesloe's another good place to visit on a summer's evening, two popular pubs, some good restaurants and cafes and the sun setting over the Indian Ocean.

Just found out that the bus from Scarborough to Hillarys is number 458 and it runs every day from October through to end of April every day but in winter, the time inbetween it only runs on the weekend. I still think you should stay in Perth itself. And if you want to meet up with some locals while you are here, then you are welcome to email me and I'll see what I can arrange :o)
Cheers, Ann.

I agree, stay in Perth or Fremnantle, not Scarborough.
Fremantle is lively in the evening, but accomodation there is expensive.

To say that Perth closes down at 5pm is a bit of an exaggertaion.

The shops will all be closed by 6pm, there is only late night shopping on Thursdays. We are a little behind most other cites in that respect due to our small polulation.
There are plenty of restaurants open and the streets in Perth are certainly not "deserted" during early evening, just not very busy except for in Northbridge.

As with any night life area, Fremantle, Scarborough and Northbrige can be 'rowdy' after midnight.

many thanks for such comprehensive responses.
we are an active couple in our late 60s visiting WA for the first time en route from uk to sydney via bangkok, bali and perth to visit our son and his family.
our plan is to stay in a hotel, in or around perth, hopefully in the price range AUD 170 - 200 including breakfast for about 3 days and without a car.
from the recent threads on this topic it seems that staying in perth, rather than fremantle or scarborough beach in mid september is the best option for us.
based on the above, would anyone be able to recommend a hotel for us?
many thanks for all your patience.

My husband and I very much enjoyed staying at The Holiday Inn.
It's right in the centre of the city, easy walking distance to shops and restaurants.
If you like to swim, it's one of the few with an indoor heated pool.
Detailed review on my Perth Pages.
The rooms at the back are quieter (the front looks over a main street)and the higher floors have a view over the city.

Sorry wandering Camel, perth is perth and freo freo, huh NO! im a country chick and no way do i put Perth and Freo as metropolitan together. Fremantle has its own right and yes close to Perth but nup will never consider it as metropolitan perth.

Metropolitan includes all places serviced by the MTT (Metropolitan Transport Trust)which runs the public bus and metro train systems. The train goes to Mandurah , Fremantle, Midland, and the northern line to Currumbine, with proposal to extend to Butler, which at present has a feeder bus service to the metro train.

Fremantle is definetly metropolitan Perth.

What a shame hubby & I won't be here then as we are off to the Whitsundays to attend the big downunder vt meet there. Would have loved to have meet up with you. The Holiday Inn is a very good suggestion by Lesley. Also there's the Rydges accross the road. Hubby & I have stayed there and found it very good...also the big buffet breakfast there is yummy :o) Well September is certainly the time to visit Perth! The fabulous wildflowers will be out! You just have to see them! :o) Kings Park will come alive with beautiful wildflowers! If you can do a wildflower trip you'll be very impressed! Cheers, Ann.

I agree, the wildflower display in Kings Park is well worth a visit. Even if you don't go at the time of the actual festival(it will be very crowded then), Sept is the best time of year for the flowers.

Heather, I agree Perth and Freo are seperate and very different, but they are both in the metropolitan area

Born and bred in Perth, and living halfway between central Perth and Fremantle, I know very well what buffybird means by the two centres having their own identities but whilst when asked where I come from I'll say Perth rather than name the suburb, I would never say I live in Fremantle, even though,as the crow flies, it's closer to my home than the centre of the city. Confused? Thoroughly by now I would think.

More important for visitors when choosing where to stay is for them to consider their transport needs. If you have a car it doesn't matter where you stay - Perth (and by that I mean the whole metropolitan area) is an easy city to get around. If you are planning to rely on public transport and you intend to do a lot of sightseeing, then staying in central Perth is your best option as it is the main transport hub with buses and trains going out in all directions.

OK Wandering Camel, you've got me, ive walked from freo to perth for a scout badge and im interested what suburb? Gee perth limits? if we class by MTT it goes to rockingham and i wouldn't class that as metro. And yes im an original rocko girl. But then mandurah via our power system has just become metro!

Cheers Heather

Apparently the latest definition of the outside the metro area is when phone numbers begin '95' so yeah, Rocky is out, but I am just north of Rocky, and considered metro. Our population is spreading, I remember Kwinana and Rocky would have been considered seaside holiday destinations when I was a kid - and I'm only 26! Now I live here, and its really not that far - only 35kms from the city centre.

Anyways I digress. I would suggest staying in Perth, there are many many hotels to choose from with varying budgets. From Perth Central station you can catch the train to the far extremes of the metro area - north to Joondalup and Clarkson, south to Mandurah, East to Armadale and West toward Subiaco and Claremont, ultimately ending in Fremantle. September, definately get on a wild flower tour, or at least get to Kings Park, which is in Perth city. If you are here at the end of Septmber sometime the Royal Show is on (its always the first week of school holidays which falls somwhere at the very end of September or the first week of October), and a winery cruise tour to te Swan Valley would be nice. Captain Cook cruises and various other companies hold cruises leaving from barack Square in the centre of Perth where the Bell Tower is and transfer you onto a coach to visit a few wineries and have lunch, brining you back to Barrack Square. You could see whats on at His Majesty's Theatre on Hay st in perth city, or catch the ferry to South Perth and visit the zoo. It is a short walk from the South Perth jetty.