Rottnest Island Perth

"Rottnest Island Perth - Stunning beaches and small enough to cycle round and explore!"

We loved our day trip to this beautiful Island not far from Perth and Fremantle in Western Australia. This is a "must do" for anyone planning a Perth Travel trip.

The beaches are sublime, the island is a good size making it suitable for cycling (although I distinctly remember a couple of hills!) and there is a feel good atmosphere wherever you go.

Where Is Rottnest Island Perth

No surprises - It's not too far from Perth.

Fremantle is a lovely suburb south of Perth which is well worth visiting in its own right. Here you will also find a ferry that runs regularly from Fremantle over to Rottnest Island.

You can also get a ferry from a more central place in Perth at Barrack Street Jetty in the city.

If you've got your own boat then you can moor up at the island but you need to arrange this in advance.

Things To Do On Rottnest Island Perth

As soon as you get off the ferry you'll see a wooden hut where you can hire bikes. Given this is what most people do when they come here, the operation is pretty slick - a bit of paperwork and then you are off on your bike with a map.

There are over 1000 bikes available to hire including kids bikes, kids seats, trailers etc. If you do get a puncture, they'll come and find you and fix it! There's also plenty of bike stands around so you can easily leave the bike and head to the beach for example.

There are over 50km of roads and cycle tracks to explore so you really could spend more than a day here if you wanted to.

There are over 63 beaches to explore and the water is really beautiful - turquoise waters and white sands. There's often a story behind many of the bays too as there have been plenty of shipwrecks off the coast of the island.

The water really does look incredibly inviting and there's generally plenty without a soul on them.

Basin, Geordie Bay, Longreach Bay and Little Parakeet Bay, are all popular beaches (especially good for swimming)

Go underwater too for some snorkelling or diving in this area too. There are beautiful bright coloured fish as well as the shipwrecks to explore.

Go in search of some interesting wildlife in particular, the Quokka - its like a mini Kangaroo and is only found in a handful of places in Western Australia. There's also plenty of birdlife and if you are really lucky you may see a sea turtle (these are pretty rare though)

Where To Stay

We only did a day trip to Rottnest Island but I can certainly see the appeal of staying a bit longer - especially if you have kids as it feels really safe with plenty for them to do and explore.

That said, there's not many places to stay on the island which means the accommodation is a little over priced for what you get.

Rottnest Lodge is probably slightly better than the hotel.

Top of Rottnest Island Perth

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