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Sugarloaf Rock in the sea after sunset, on the Margaret River coast

Sample journey · 13–14 days

Western Australia's long coast: vineyards, desert pillars and Ningaloo Reef

Perth, Fremantle, Rottnest Island, Margaret River, the Pinnacles, Kalbarri, Shark Bay & Ningaloo

Photo: Julien de Salaberry / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Australia's east coast means cities, reef and rainforest. The west is something else: empty, wide and bright, with endless white beaches and red earth that in places runs right down to turquoise water. The journey begins in Perth and Fremantle, heads south to the vineyards and caves of Margaret River, then turns north: past the Pinnacles desert, the gorges of Kalbarri and UNESCO-listed Shark Bay to Ningaloo Reef, where in the right season you can swim alongside whale sharks.

It's a road trip for couples and families who love the outdoors and don't mind longer drives: distances here are large, so we break them up and give each important place at least two nights. Stays range from a cottage among the vines to safari tents by the reef, and the route and timing would be shaped around what you most want to see, above and below the water.

The route

The journey

  1. Perth & Fremantle
  2. Rottnest Island
  3. Margaret River
  4. The Pinnacles (Nambung)
  5. Kalbarri
  6. Shark Bay
  7. Coral Bay
  8. Exmouth & Ningaloo Reef
  9. Learmonth
  1. A white-sand cove and dark rocks beside clear water on Rottnest Island

    01Days 1–3 · Perth, Fremantle & Rottnest

    A harbour, an island and quokkas

    Two nights in Fremantle, an old port town of nineteenth-century warehouses, a market and fish-and-chip suppers by the water. On the second day a ferry takes about half an hour to Rottnest Island, known to the Whadjuk Noongar people as Wadjemup: there are no cars, so you cycle from one clear bay to the next, swimming and snorkelling, and along the way meet quokkas, small and curious marsupials. The island's history isn't only a bright one, as it was also a prison for Aboriginal men, and it's worth hearing that from local guides.

  2. A figure on granite rocks above churning water at Canal Rocks, Margaret River

    02Days 3–6 · Margaret River

    Wine, caves and surf

    About three hours south and three nights among the vineyards and forest. In the mornings, the coastal trail above the Indian Ocean, Canal Rocks, where the sea boils between granite boulders, and Cape Leeuwin, where two oceans meet; from June to December humpback whales are often seen off the coast. Afternoons belong to wineries, with slow lunches and tastings, and one day to the caves, where an underground stream and limestone columns lie hidden beneath karri forest. For children, beaches with calm lagoons and chocolate and cheese farms.

  3. Limestone pillars rising from yellow sand under a blue sky in Nambung National Park

    03Days 6–7 · The Pinnacles

    A stone forest in yellow sand

    A longer day of travel: north past Perth, around five hours in all, with lunch on the way. The evening and next morning belong to Nambung National Park on Yued Noongar Country, where thousands of limestone pillars rise from yellow sand, some shorter than a person, others several metres tall. The best light is at sunset and dawn, when shadows are long and the desert empty. One night in Cervantes, a fishing town by the sea where local rock lobster is worth trying in the evening.

  4. Two travellers, seen from behind, sitting in the arch of Nature's Window above the river valley in Kalbarri National Park

    04Days 7–9 · Kalbarri

    Red gorges above a river

    About three and a half hours north up the coast, then two nights in Kalbarri, where the Murchison River has cut deep into red and white sandstone. Early in the morning, before the heat, the trail to Nature's Window, a natural arch framing a bend in the river, and the Z Bend gorge, and for the braver, a high skywalk above the gorge. In the afternoon, coastal cliffs and natural bridges above the sea, and in spring (roughly August to October) the surrounding plains bloom with wildflowers.

  5. Cape Peron in Shark Bay from the air: a red shoreline, shallows and blue water

    05Days 9–11 · Shark Bay

    A beach of shells and red dunes

    Another four and a half hours or so, then two nights in Shark Bay, UNESCO-listed and Malgana Country. On the way, Hamelin Pool, where stromatolites, among the oldest forms of life on earth, grow in the shallows, and Shell Beach, made entirely of tiny white shells. In the morning at Monkey Mia dolphins often come right up to the shore, and a day in François Peron National Park takes you by four-wheel drive over red dunes to Cape Peron, where red earth meets blue sea and dolphins, rays and dugongs are often seen.

  6. The Ningaloo coast from the air: a turquoise lagoon, patches of reef and dry coastal plain

    06Days 11–14 · Coral Bay, Exmouth & Ningaloo

    A reef right off the beach

    The longest drive of the journey, about five and a half hours to Coral Bay, where the reef begins right from the sand; one night here and a first snorkel. Then an hour and a half to Exmouth and two nights by Cape Range National Park. The key day is a trip with a licensed boat out to open water, where from roughly March to July whale sharks are often encountered, and later in the year humpback whales and manta rays. The next day, Turquoise Bay, where a gentle current carries you slowly over the coral, and Yardie Creek gorge with its rock wallabies. On the last day, a short drive to Learmonth airport and a flight to Perth.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Rottnest by bike

    A car-free day between clear bays and curious quokkas.

  2. 02

    The Pinnacles at dawn

    Thousands of limestone pillars and long shadows in an empty desert.

  3. 03

    Shark Bay

    Stromatolites, a beach of shells and red dunes beside blue water.

  4. 04

    With whale sharks

    In the right season, swimming beside the world's largest fish, if it appears.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • With a flight north

    If the long drives feel like too much, you can fly from Perth straight to Learmonth and shorten the journey to Margaret River and Ningaloo, leaving the Pinnacles and Kalbarri for another time.

  • With children

    Rottnest, the lagoons of Margaret River and the shallows at Coral Bay suit children especially well. We'd break the drives more often and plan any whale-shark swim around the children's ages and swimming skills.

  • The Southern Ocean

    From Margaret River you can turn south and east, to the giant karri forests, Pemberton and the Albany coast, before returning to Perth. It adds three or four days.

  • On to the Kimberley

    In the dry season you can fly from Perth to Broome and continue into the Kimberley: gorges, Purnululu and Cable Beach.

Practical considerations

  • Distances are very large: from Perth to Exmouth is more than a thousand kilometres, and some travel days take five hours or more. Roads are good but empty; in the north it's worth avoiding driving after dark because of wildlife.
  • Swimming with whale sharks happens only with licensed operators and usually from roughly March to July; encounters are common but not guaranteed. Humpback whales are most often seen along the coast in winter and spring.
  • In the north, summer (December to February) is very hot, and cyclones sometimes pass through. The whole route is most comfortable from autumn to spring (roughly March to October), and early starts and sun protection are essential here.
  • Hire-car conditions often restrict driving on unsealed roads, so days such as Cape Peron are planned with local four-wheel-drive guides.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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