Travel expert reveals the ultimate Western Australia itinerary - from secluded beaches to a 19th century prison
Around the size of Western Europe, Australia's largest state remains blissfully far removed from the bright lights of Sydney and the well-trodden tourist trail of the East Coast.
You'd need months to explore all that wildly beautiful Western Australia has to offer, but our 10-day taster is a great way to kickstart your love affair with WA…
Day 1: Perth
Western Australia's sun-drenched capital offers a cool, comfortable launchpad for your WA vacay, with a handful of boutique and high-end hotels, a Downtown decked with handsome, turn-of-the-century buildings and street art, plus dreamy stretches of beaches.
After you've had your culture fix at the Art Gallery of Western Australia – which hosts the state's largest art collection – head to Kings Park and Botanic Garden for some downtime among the trees.
Join Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide and founder of Mindful in Nature, Belinda McCawley, on a hosted Forest Bathing session, where you'll learn about WA's fabulous flora and fauna, and prep yourself to embrace the outdoor adventures to come.
Experience: A three-hour Forest Bathing Experience in Kings Park and Botanic Garden with Mindful in Nature costs from £70 per person (mindfulinnature.rezdy.com).
Stay: The Adnate Perth – Art Series hotel is home to the Caribbean-inspired BAHA Poolside Bar & Kitchen and offers complimentary art tours. King rooms starts from £154.72 per person (all.accor.com).
Day 2: Rottnest Island
Regular daily ferries run from Perth City, Fremantle, North Fremantle and Hillarys Boat Harbour to Rottnest Island or Wadjemup, home of the famous quokkas: cute, friendly marsupials which roam wild around the island.
Fringed by white-sand beaches and rugged coastal trails, you'll find plenty of ways to explore and meet them.
With few cars on the island, cycling or riding an e-bike is a breeze, and visitors can hire both from Pedal & Flipper, a short stroll from the main jetty.
Learn about the island's Aboriginal history walking the Wadjemup Bidi trail, or join a guided Segway tour to discover Rottnest's military past, coastal lookouts and secluded bays.
Experience: Segway Tours WA offer three guided tours of Rottnest to uncover the culture, history and natural beauty of the island, from £47 per person (segwaytourswa.com.au).
Stay: Drawing on the pastel hues of Rottnest, The Lodge Wadjemup, formerly Rottnest Island Lodge, has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation, with spacious new Courtyard, Poolhouse and Lake Rooms, plus the open bar and dining space, Sunsets, which overlooks the island's scenic salt lakes.
Listen to live music from local artists every Friday, or enjoy a Mediterranean feast at the weekly Sunday Escapes (thelodgewadjemup.com).
Days 3 & 4: Margaret River
Just three hours' drive south of Perth, one of the world's best wine regions awaits, with well-established vineyards offering, pretty villages, breathtaking forests and some of Australia's best surf beaches.
The Margaret River region is small but mighty, and you'll need a few days to experience all there is on offer.
Sign up for a 4WD adventure with The Margaret River Discovery Co. and visit secluded beaches, ancient waterholes, canoe along the sleepy river, hike the Cape-to-Cape Track, and sample award-winning wines over a lunch at Fraser Gallop Estate.
Experience: The Margaret River Discovery Tour costs from £104 per person, including canoeing, hiking and an exclusive wine tasting and gourmet lunch (margaretriverdiscovery.co.au).
Stay: With its brewhouse, restaurant, beer garden and community café, South Camp is your very own laid-back mini-village in the heart of Dunsborough.
Stay in one of 18 contemporary timber cabins or two apartments set around a peaceful garden, each with a large comfy bed, record player, rainfall shower and an outdoor deck
Cabins start from £95 per night (southcamp.com.au).
Day 5 : Fremantle
Head back towards Perth, but stay in the capital's sister city, Fremantle – or 'Freo' – which offers an exciting mix of history, arts and culture, wrapped in a beachy vibe.
Connected to Perth by a 25-minute train ride, Freo has a busy port and a historic centre, with nineteenth-century 'Gold Boom' buildings, which now house an eclectic mix of chic restaurants, boutiques and bars.
Linger over coffee on Market Street's famous 'Cappuccino Strip' before visiting Fremantle Prison, WA's only UNESCO World Heritage-listed building.
Constructed as a convict barracks in the 1850s, the prison was in operation until 1991, and lively tours offer visitors the opportunity to delve into ghastly crimes and ghostly tunnels.
Experience: Tours of Fremantle Prison start from around £11 per adult and £6 per child, with family passes available from around £31.50. fremantleprison.com.au
Stay: A stone's throw from Market Street, The Hougoumont offers a stylish sanctuary in the heart of Fremantle.
With small-but-perfectly-formed modular cabin rooms, inspired by sea containers, guests enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast, bicycle hire and spin bikes, gym access and nightly wine and hors d'oeuvres in adjacent nano-brewery and bar, Calamity's Rod. Cabins cost from around £100 per night (hougoumonthotel.com).
Days 6 & 7: Shark Bay
Hop on a two-hour flight from Perth to Monkey Mia Airport to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shark Bay.
Stunning landscapes see ochre cliffs plunge onto dazzling white-sand beaches which stretch towards turquoise seas, teeming with dugongs (sea cows), turtles and rays.
Earth's oldest living life forms, dating back 3.5 billion years, stony stromatolites stand in the shallows of Hamelin Pool, while the world's largest seagrass beds sway offshore.
Explore Francois Peron (Wulyibidi) National Park or Dirk Hartog Island (Wirruwana) with Aboriginal guide Darren 'Capes' Capewell to discover what the region means to the Indigenous Nhanda and Malgana people, the traditional custodians of the land for more than 40,000 years.
Experience: A full-day Kayaking and Wildlife Adventure Tour with Capes' Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures costs around £107.50 per adult and £90 per child. (wulagura.com.au).
Stay: RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort has been a magnet for wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins for more than 50 years. Each morning, guests can watch them being fed a highly controlled amount of fish along the shoreline, while learning about their natural behaviours.
Accommodation includes beach-, garden- and pool-view rooms and villas, plus dorms, caravan sites and camping (parksandresorts.rac.com.au).
Days 8 & 9: Exmouth / Ningaloo Coast
A six-hour drive north from Shark Bay brings you to the coastal town of Exmouth, gateway to the amazing UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast, home to one of the longest fringing reefs in the world.
This paradise for ocean-lovers offers miles of sandy beaches, crystal-clear seas and the epic Ningaloo Reef, bursting with kaleidoscopic marine life.
Ningaloo is one of the best places in the world to swim with the largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark, and licensed operators supervise swim and snorkel sessions with the leviathans from late-March to August.
You'll also find seasonal tours to swim with humpback whales and manta rays, while turtles, dolphins and dugongs are regular year-round visitors.
Experience: Exmouth Dive & Whale Sharks offers swim and snorkel tours with Ningaloo's marine mega fauna, from £192 per adult (discounts for children aged 6+). exmouthdiving.rezdy.com
Stay: For a wild but comfortable glamping stay, check in to Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef, which has large eco-luxe safari-style tents, just a few barefoot steps away from the the Indian Ocean.
Kayak, paddle board and snorkel from the long stretch of talcum-soft sand, before enjoying sundowners and a communal three-course meal with fellow guests in The Lodge (salsalis.com.au).
Day 10: Cervantes / The Pinnacles Desert
An other-worldly landscape awaits visitors to Nambung National Park near the town of Cervantes, a two-hour drive north of Perth.
The Pinnacles Desert has a battalion of thousands of limestone pillars standing to attention across its sandy plain, surrounded by shifting dunes and lowland heaths, where delicate wildflowers bloom.
A sacred site for the Indigenous Noongar people, The Pinnacles started to form 30,000 years ago, when the region was covered by sea.
Weathered by wind and sand, the spires range from centimetres to more than three metres tall, providing a mystical setting for stunning sunsets and stargazing tours, as the Milky Way shimmers across WA's southern skies.
Experience: Lumineer Adventure Tours offer a Pinnacles Sunset Dinner Stargazing Tour, which departs from Perth and includes dinner and wine, from £83 per person. lumineertours.com.au
Stay: A short stroll from Perth Train Station, the Holiday Inn Perth City Centre has plenty to see and do on the doorstep, with Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Swan River and the RAC Arena all nearby.
Browse the shopping arcades of Hay Street Mall, then head to dinner at in-house industrial-chic restaurant, Ivy & Jack, and raise a goodbye glass to WA (ihg.com).
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