A guide to great experiences all within a day trip from Perth city.
While Perth is known as the most isolated city in the world, being closer to Singapore than Sydney, there are a number of amazing things to do within a few hours’ drive away making for wonderful day trips.
Swan River Valley
Western Australia’s oldest wine region is a mere 30 minutes drive from Perth’s City Centre. We visited Ugly Duckling Winery where they offer free wine tasting (equivalent of 1 whole glass per guest), amazing wines and cheeseboards. The day we went they also had a market and there are beautiful horses next door. Although parking is limited when it is busy you can park between the vines and take in the stunning view of the valley. There are heaps of wineries to choose from in the area as well as farm shops with local produce and a chocolate shop.
Rottnest Island
You can’t come all the way to WA and not try to get a selfie with a quokka. Rottnest Island is also home to stunning beaches and coves and other wildlife such as New Zealand Fur Seals. This must be the number 1 day trip from Perth and I highly recommend. Read the full Guide to a Day at Rotto to help plan your day.
Fremantle
While technically still part of Perth, Freo feels like its own mini city. Visit Little Creatures and Gage Roads Breweries for proud local hops, the famous weekend markets and enjoy a coffee at one of the numerous coffee shops. For sunset views, The National and The Synagogue have great views and nice cocktails.
Lancelin
90 minutes north of Perth you can slide down the sand dunes (best sand boarding in WA) and enjoy the stunning beach. White powder sand and crystal blue water, you get a taste of how good the beaches get the further north you go.
Jurien Bay
Nestled along the Turquoise Coast, this is just over 2 hours drive north of Perth so could be a weekend as well as a day trip. I did this drive there and back in one day which was very manageable. My main reason for making the journey was to swim with sea lions with Turquoise Safaris which has been one of my favourite experiences in Australia. Known as puppies of the sea these playful creatures got so close to us, even showing off with flips out of the water. With marine experts in the water with us, we didn’t approach the animals but let them come to us so both customers and animals were safe and happy. This tour lasted 2 hours and would 10/10 recommend. I opted for the 9.30am tour rather than sunrise so that I didn’t have to drive from Perth at the crack of dawn where kangaroos are most likely to jump out in front of your car on the Indian Ocean Highway. Sadly on my drive up I saw up to 10 dead roos on the road (which you also need to be mindful swerving if there is a bend).
After the tour I parked near Jurien Bay jetty for a swim in the beautiful water and grabbed a chicken satay pie and caramel slice from the Bay Bakery. The chicken satay pie is one of the best pies I’ve had in Australia and that is really saying something.
Yanchep
Only 45 minutes from Perth I’d argue this is the best day trip from Perth. Yanchep National Park is a great place to spot Western Australia’s Grey Kangaroo, we even saw a little Joey in his Mum’s pouch which was very sweet. While koalas are not indigenous to WA, there are two koalas at the boardwalk who have been placed there. They are hard to spot but that is part of the fun!
10 minutes down the road there is Yanchep Lagoon which is one of my favourite swimming spots. The lagoon sits within coral reef that you can snorkel around and are protected from the big waves out at sea. The view from the car park is stunning.
Serpentine Falls
Around 1 hour from Perth is Serpentine Falls which includes a couple of walking tracks with stunning views as well as a glorious swimming spot. Cooling down after a hike in the fresh water is so refreshing while admiring the falls down the rock. There are toilets you can change in and like all national parks there is a $17 entrance fee so best to bring an sky with drinks and snacks and make more of a day of it. As we visited in the afternoon as we were leaving we saw a few Kangaroos with their baby joeys in their pouches which was an added bonus!
