Author: Matt and Danielle
26 November 2023
Western Australia is as big as it is beautiful. It's an incredible state, but one you do not take lightly when it comes to road trips. It's not uncommon to find long stretches of road without even as much as a petrol station for over 500km. It's somewhere packed with the most beautiful places we have ever seen, but between those epic stops is a big bunch of...nothing. When it comes to travelling WA you need to prepare well. You need to have done your research and know all your stops along the way. It sounds ominous, but it is vital. Once you've prepped enough you can rest assured that you are in for one of the most incredible trips of your life. If you have the time then we would recommend spending a couple of months driving around Western Australia. Start in the North and go all the way down to the South leaving no stone unturned. If you're on a deadline then you will need a more direct route.
Here is the perfect itinerary if you are planning a road trip from Perth to Broome, packed with all the best things to see along the way.
Disclaimer: To visit the National Parks throughout Western Australia you will need a National Park Pass. You can buy yours from the government website here.
The West Coast of Australia is packed with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. There are also National Parks, unique wonders and awesome sights all over this big and beautiful state. If you want to see all of WA then give yourself plenty of time. If you have 2-4 weeks spare then you can still travel enough of it to wet your whistle.
This route is going to make its way North towards Broome, with all the must-see spots along the way.
Your first stop along any West Coast road trip is going to be Perth. If you have the time then spend at least a full day exploring Perth and living your best city life. Kings Park is a great lookout spot, which gives you incredible views of the city and Lake Monger. The public transport around the city is very good so you don't need to drive from place to place. Cottesloe Beach is the best beach we've seen in a city before and it's perfect for spending a whole day. Scarbrough is also a very nice area with a great beach. Freemantle is quirky with some great street art, cafes, bars and restaurants. The Technology Museum and WA Museum Boola Bardip are worth a visit too. A little further on the outskirts of Perth, you can find Yanchep National Park. This is a beautiful area full of nature and an intricate cave system beneath the surface. You can take a guided tour of some of the caves and learn all about the local aboriginal culture. Finding somewhere to stay shouldn't be difficult around Perth. You can easily find a caravan park or hostel if you want to stick around for a few days.
The best thing to do near Perth is to visit Rottnest Island. We went twice because we loved it so much! You hop on a ferry from Freemantle and make the short ferry ride across to the island. Here you can spend the day biking around the beautiful beaches, see the cutest little wild animals and take in all the picture-perfect nature. The beaches are white sandy beaches with beautiful coral reefs packed with ocean life. Those cute animals are quokkas, and they're known as the friendliest animals in the world. These little marsupials have no natural predators, so they don't fear people. They are still wild animals so we must stress you should not try to stroke them, but you can get close enough to take amazing selfies.
Book your Rottnest Island ferry and bike here.
That covers Perth, so now you'll want to hit the road and head North.
It's time to head along the Turquoise Coast towards Jurien Bay. There are some great stops en route, and the first North of Perth is in Lancelin. Hop on a sandboard, or an ATV, and have so much fun exploring the sand dunes here. It's a great pit stop. Another popular tourist destination nearby is Nambung National Park. This is where you can find The Pinnacles Desert. Drive and walk around the tall limestone structures dotted around and take in the unique landscape. Both the Lancelin sand dunes and Pinnacles Desert are close enough to Perth to do as a day trip if you want to visit from there. Book your tour here.
Jurien Bay is only 220km from Perth, which you can drive in 2-3 hours. If you've stopped off at the other places along the way then you may want to rest up for a night before continuing on. Even if you haven't stopped at the other places above you may still want to spend the night here because it is such a beautiful area. The whole coastline from Perth to Exmouth is known as the Coral Coast. It's more than 1000km of beautiful beaches, coral reefs and coastal towns. Each place offers something unique, which for Jurien Bay is its population of rare Australian sea lions. It's one of the only places in WA where you can see these beautiful animals. Sandy Cape is a great spot to stay if you want to spend the night and enjoy some amazing beachside camping. There is nothing quite like having the waves to send you to sleep and waking up next to a bright turquoise ocean.
Get an early start and continue North along Indian Ocean Drive. The first place you can stop here is a few hours away in Geraldton. It's a small town that you can bypass if you have less time. If you're ready to stop then the main attractions are the Museum of Geraldton and the HMAS Sydney Memorial. Also, if you didn't spend the night in Jurien Bay then there is an amazing free campsite on the outskirts of town. It was one of our favourite free camps in WA. It's tucked off the highway, up on a hill that overlooks the beautiful fields teaming with wildflowers. It's called Bringo Lookout and is one of the best spots for a free night stay if you're looking to keep your costs down.
If you're not spending the night, or the next morning if you are, it's time to head to a very unique and wonderful place. Hop on the North West Coastal Highway towards Hutt Lagoon near Port Gregory. This is a large bright pink lake that gets its unique colour from the algae that live in the water. It's not somewhere you will stay for longer than an hour or two, but definitely still make sure to stop. It's an amazing sight.
The final place to visit around here is Kalbarri National Park which is full of beautiful views and nature hikes. Walk along the skywalk to see the breathtaking views of the valleys and the Murchison River below. After that, you should go to Nature's Window. This natural wonder is a rock formation with a hole in the middle which gives you a "window" that looks out to the beautiful nature ahead. You will want to find somewhere to sleep near Kalbarri because our next stop is still a 4-hour drive away.
Get another early start and make your way to the Shark Bay World Heritage Site. You can stay at Monkey Mia nearby. There are a bunch of awesome water activities to keep you entertained, and you can see bottlenose dolphins being fed. The small seaside town of Denham is somewhere you can explore a little. It's also where you'll want to stock up on any food, drinks or fuel you may need but there isn't a huge amount to do. Shell Beach is a nice stop on your way to Monkey Mia, which as the name suggests is not a sandy beach. It's packed with trillions of tiny white cockle shells. The ocean here is very high in salt so you can float and cool down on a hot day. Hamelin Pool is another interesting stop where you can see stromatolites, which are 3.5 million-year-old fossils.
Francois Peron National Park is the perfect place to stop if you're in a 4-wheel drive. This part of the Shark Bay World Heritage area is around a half-hour's drive from the Monkey Mia Resort. It's one of the more remote places, but it also has some of the best beaches in the area. There are coastal cliffs that stretch out to the beautiful blue waters and coral reefs packed with marine life. Swimming and snorkelling are a must if you can get here.
When you get to Monkey Mia it's time to rest up. Head out to the ocean for a swim and enjoy the great amenities of this campsite. You can paddleboard, swim, snorkel or kayak, but the dolphin feeding is what people visit for the most.
Book your stay at the RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort here.
It's time to leave Monkey Mia and start making our way towards one of the best places on this entire road trip. Exmouth, the Ningaloo Reef and the Cape Range National Park. You can stop by Coral Bay on the way up for the night if you have a bit of extra time. This is still part of the Ningaloo Marine Park. It's full of the same diverse marine life, beautiful white beaches and clear turquoise waters. If you have the time then definitely stop by. If you're in a hurry then keep going straight to Exmouth so you have more time there.
Finally! We make it to one of our favourite spots in Australia. Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef in the superb Cape Range National Park. You couldn't have one of the best road trips in WA without stopping off at this incredible national park. Exmouth is the nearest town to the Ningaloo Reef, which is like The Great Barrier Reef. The town of Exmouth is a small seaside town where you can get supplies for living off-grid. You can also get a nice meal or a drink at one of the breweries, cafes or restaurants. The Ningaloo Reef is 260km long and it stretches all the way down from Exmouth to Coral Bay. It's packed with beautiful beaches, crystal clear waters and diverse marine life. You can see wild manta rays, bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, reef sharks and lots and lots of fish. This is also one of the best sites in Western Australia to see and swim with whale sharks. This unforgettable, and often once-in-a-lifetime experience, is one you should absolutely do if you're there at the right time.
Once you get out of the town and towards the coast there is plenty for you to stop and see here. The first places you will drive past are the Mildura Shipwreck and Vlamingh Head Lighthouse. The shipwreck is a great snorkel spot where you can see bright colourful fish that have made this their home. The lighthouse sits high up on a hill, which gives you an amazing vantage point of the beautiful ocean that lies ahead. One of the best ways of exploring this long stretch of coastline is by camping in the various sites dotted along the way. There are a bunch of national park campsites to stay at, and you can book your stay 6 months in advance through the government website here. It's $15 per adult and $5 for children. There are some incredible beaches and snorkelling spots all along the way. The best part is that most of them have campsites right nearby too.
For us, Turquoise Bay is the best place. The sand is incredible and the snorkelling was amazing. There is a drift snorkel sight along the beach, and you can see so many fish and ocean creatures. We saw reef sharks, octopus, rays and so many fish. Always remember to be careful when drift snorkelling, and avoid being caught in a current. Oyster Stacks is another popular snorkel spot too, but you can only do it when the tide is high enough. Stop by the visitor centre when you get along the coast as they have a table for the best times to visit different places. Finally, a little further past Oyster Stacks, you'll find Mandu Mandu Gorge, which is a very popular hiking trail.
Once you've explored the coral reefs and beaches there is a less explored part of the Cape Range National Park. Head inland, through Exmouth, and you'll reach some tall towering cliffs and rock formations. There are some awesome 4WD tracks here, but the best sight of all is Charles Knife Canyon. You can get here in a 2WD easily enough, and the views from the top of the cliffs are incredible.
If you think that's the last of the great national parks along this road trip then you will be sorely mistaken. Make sure to rest up well the night before because this is no short drive. It's time to get back on the NW Coastal Highway and head to Karijini National Park. Nature Lovers are going to enjoy this one. This national park ranks high on the list of Australia's top tourist destinations. It's a 7 or 8-hour drive inland, and what awaits you is a brilliant place. Tom Price is the largest town near the national park, but don't expect too much. It's a small mining town, but still make sure to stock up on food, drinks and fuel for a few days of off-grid living.
If you want to break up the drive then we would recommend booking a night at Bullara Station. It's a quirky cattle ranch and campsite where you can stay en route. It's...unique to say the least, and is an iconic place to spend the night if you can fit it in. It is only open from April to October.
Like with the Cape Range National Park, you will want to spread your time across different campsites close to the places you want to see the most. Dales Campground is a paid campsite near Fern Pool and Fortescue Falls, but the best sight we stayed at in Karijini was a free site. Budhha's Overnighter is a stone's throw from Hammersly Gorge, which is one of the most amazing places to visit in the whole national park. It is about 50km of corrugated road to get there, but we managed it in our 2WD campervan. If you have a 4WD then you'll make light work of the long dirt road. Speaking of 4WD - There are some routes that you should completely avoid unless you're in a 4WD. The best way to ensure you avoid any wrong turns is to head straight to the visitor centre when you get there. Get your maps, bearings and some great local information on the best things that you'll be able to see.
There are a lot of epic places that you can see when visiting Karijini National Park. We would recommend Joffrey Gorge, Knox Gorge, Handrail Pool, Kermits Pool and the Mt Bruce Hike. Of course, Hammersley Gorge is a must too.
That's two huge and incredible national parks in Australia ticked off. Now it's time to head back towards the coast and continue up towards Broome. There isn't a huge deal between Karijini and Broome, but it's a long drive so you will want to stop off and likely spend the night somewhere along the way. Head along the Great Northern Highway to Port Hedland and possibly via Tom Price again if you need to refuel. It's a 3 or 4-hour drive to Port Hedland, and then another 2 or 3 hours up to Eighty Mile Beach. You may think you'd have a good guess at how long Eighty Mile Beach is, given the name, but the truth is you would be way off. Somebody way back when must have looked at the long stretch of white sand and thought it was probably about 80 miles... but they too were very wrong. This is a 140-mile-long stretch of beach, so try and avoid going for too long a beach walk and forgetting where you parked. If you're in a 4WD then you can drive along the beach here. Given the length of the sandy shores, you will likely be able to find a nice remote spot to camp up if you want to spend a night by the ocean.
You did it! You made it almost 3,000 km along the coast, into Karijini, back to the coast and up to Broome. Your reward at this point is visiting our favourite town in Australia. Broome is as beautiful as it is magical, it's such a great place. This is where you can see the bright red dirt and cliffs that stretch all the way out to the bright blue oceans. The beaches are amazing and there are some remarkable things to do and see here. If you are looking for some things to do in Broome then you can read more on all the things you cannot miss in Broome right here. You can also find a few of the key highlights just below as well.
Cable Beach is a popular beach where people flock every day to soak up the warm Australian sunshine. You can also visit for sunset to watch the sun fall right on the ocean on the horizon or take a sunset camel ride. Gantheume Point has some amazing lookout spots where you can see those red rocks next to the blue ocean. If you visit during low tide you can go hunting for dinosaur footprints and during high tide, you can try looking for a secret hidden rockpool. Our final recommendation is to go for a few drinks at Matsos Brewery. You will see their alcoholic gingerbeer on many bar taps around Australia, and an ice-cold glass of it is the perfect partner for a hot day.
If you have more time, or you've fallen head over heels for van life and living out your best Australian adventure, then it doesn't have to end here. There are some remarkable spots in the surrounding area around Broome and up towards the Lesueur National Park. Why not tackle The Gibb River Road in The Kimberleys? It's one of the most famous drives you can do in Australia. Some of the nature around here is spectacular.
Check out more things to do and see in Broome right here!
If you're pressed for time and want to focus on seeing the best of the best then there are things you can cut out. Our favourite places along this route are Rottnest Island, Exmouth, Karijini and Broome. If you build your trip around those key places then you will finish up having fallen madly in love with Western Australia. Hutt Lagoon is another spot we really enjoyed, and it's a very quick stop-off along the way. Unlike other so-called "pink lakes" this was the only place that actually lived up to expectations. If you want to see something unique, weird and wonderful, then add that in too.
If you're not from WA then you will need to make your way to Perth first. Sure, you could fly to Broome and start there but it will cost you over double in flights alone. The best way to get to Western Australia, if you're already in the country or not, is to fly directly into Perth. Perth is the capital of Western Australia, but it is not a big city. It's probably one of the most remote cities in the world...but it's still awesome! There are beautiful beaches, awesome cafes and some amazing nature in this small city. We loved the time we spent there.
The best way to get from Perth to Broome is a good old-fashioned road trip. You could fly between them, but then you'd miss out on all the epic natural wonders nestled in between. It's not going to be quick, because Western Australia is BIG. If you drove the coastal route straight to Broome then it's going to take over 30 hours alone to get there, and believe us, you are going to want to stop along the way.
When it comes to driving around Australia you have a few options. 2-wheel drive or 4-wheel drive. 2WD is what most campervans are, you can get 4WD campers but they're rare and expensive. If this is the only trip you have in mind then you should look at some rental companies. If it's one of many Australia road trips you'll be taking then you should look into buying a campervan instead. 4WD brings you the most freedom because you can camp on beaches and live off-grid in some remarkable places. If you've never driven a 4WD, or you're more into sleeping indoors rather than in tents, then stick to the campervans. Some of the more popular campervan hire companies we saw on the road were Travellers Autobarn, Britz and Jucy. Jucy is more car hire but with a rooftop pop-up tent.
If this is one of many road trips you're looking at in Australia then here are some other blogs that you may be interested in too:
If you are going to do a Perth to Broome drive then you will want to make sure you hit all the best places at the perfect time. No one wants to be driving along a national highway for hours only for it to be raining when you get to the place you've been waiting so long to see. The Northwest of WA specifically can be heavily affected by cyclones and severe floods, so those are the seasons you want to avoid. The best time for the ultimate Perth to Broome road trip is to do it between April and November. The weather should be more bearable than in the peak summer, and you'll have the best chance at bright blue skies.
There are a few other very important things to know before you hit the road. One of the most important would be to avoid driving too early in the morning, or late afternoon. This is when wildlife can be at its most active. Seeing cute wild kangaroos is amazing, but be warned as they will jump out onto the road. Avoiding these particular times can help you avoid any nasty accidents.
Plan everything. Know where you will be stopping for fuel and food along the way because there can be some very long barren stretches of road. Make sure you have a spare tire, timing belt and first aid kit with you as well just to be safe.
Some important apps you should definitely download that will help you so much along the way:
Wikicamps - This will help you find the perfect place to sleep each night. You can filter it by free or paid sites, and even use it to help you find free hot showers!
PetrolSpy - Downloading this FREE app will save you a lot of money on fuel. This shows you all the stations nearby and the most up-to-date price for all of them so you can go to the cheapest one.
Maps.me - You can download the maps for entire states so that you can use them offline with this app. Another very helpful feature is that it will tell you if a road is corrugated or not, so you will know where to avoid if you're in a 2WD van.
There you have it, you have completed one mighty road trip totalling over 30 hours of driving and almost 3,000km. It's one epic trip full of some of the most incredible places we have visited in Australia. We loved WA, it quickly became our favourite state because our first stop in this state was Broome. Everything after that just continued to amaze us all the way down to the South. We know you are going to fall in love with it too.
Have we given you the travel bug? Book your flights, accommodation and travel insurance all here.
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