Perth

The Far Side of a Very Large Country

Perth is the most isolated major city in the world, and the flight time makes the point: around five hours from Sydney or Melbourne, further from the rest of Australia than London is from Cairo. It is closer to Singapore and Bali than to its own east coast. That isolation has shaped a city that feels calm, unhurried and slightly separate from everything, sitting on a wide river with the Indian Ocean on one side and an enormous quantity of empty country behind it. The city itself is pleasant rather than compelling. What justifies the journey is what Western Australia holds beyond it.

The planning decision: Perth as a stop or as a gateway

Almost nobody should fly this far for the city alone. The question is which of the state's three great regions you are here for. Margaret River, three hours south, is wine country with surf beaches, karri forest and some of the best small producers in Australia, and it wants three nights. Ningaloo, on the coast well to the north, is a fringing reef you can swim to from the beach, with whale sharks present roughly March to July, and it is a genuine expedition. The Kimberley, in the far north, is one of the last truly remote landscapes on the planet, reached through Broome and travelled by four wheel drive or by expedition ship, and it is a trip in its own right. Perth is the hinge for all three.

A Mediterranean climate, and the season the wind arrives

Perth has one of the most reliable climates of any Australian city. Summer, December to February, is hot and dry, frequently well into the thirties in Celsius, cooled most afternoons by the sea breeze locals call the Fremantle Doctor. Winter, June to August, is mild and green with most of the year's rain. The best months are September to November, when the wildflowers come out across the state in one of the largest displays anywhere, and March to May, which is warm, settled and quiet. The northern regions run on a different calendar entirely: the Kimberley and Ningaloo are dry season destinations from roughly May to October, and the wet season up there closes much of the country off.

Where to base, and the flights that get you there

The city centre and Elizabeth Quay put you on the river and close to Kings Park, which is one of the largest inner city parks in the world and worth an early morning. Cottesloe and the western suburbs are where the beaches are, and where you want to be if the ocean is the point. Fremantle, at the mouth of the river, is a port town of preserved nineteenth century buildings with its own character and the ferry to Rottnest. Perth Airport takes direct flights from Singapore, the Gulf and, seasonally, London, plus the domestic east coast services, and sits around twenty minutes from the centre. Internal distances here are vast and the northern regions are reached by flying.

Stay strategy in a city that has improved quickly

COMO The Treasury, in a restored government building in the centre, is the best hotel in the city by a comfortable margin. The Ritz Carlton at Elizabeth Quay has the river views. The properties that matter most, though, are outside: Cape Lodge and the small vineyard stays in Margaret River, Injidup on the coast nearby, and the lodges and expedition ships that serve Ningaloo and the Kimberley, which is where the trip's real spending should go.

When to begin

Six months for the city and Margaret River. The northern trips need serious lead time: Kimberley expedition ships and the small lodges up there sell out nine to twelve months ahead for the dry season, and Ningaloo's whale shark season works to a similarly early calendar with few licensed operators. Long haul flight availability into Perth in premium cabins is thinner than into the east coast, so those seats want booking as early as the accommodation, and schedules should be confirmed for your dates.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• Rottnest Island by ferry from Fremantle, cycling the coast between bays, with the quokkas that have made the island famous.
• Margaret River over three days, split between the cellar doors, the surf beaches at Yallingup and the caves and forest inland.
• Swimming with whale sharks at Ningaloo in season, which is the single best wildlife encounter in Australia.
• A stretch of the Kimberley, whether the gorges of the interior or the coast by ship, in country that very few people ever see.

Who this trip suits

Perth suits travelers who want space, and who are not bothered by long flights to get it. It suits wine and food travelers with Margaret River in the plan. It suits divers, snorkellers and wildlife travelers, since Ningaloo and the Kimberley are outstanding and largely uncrowded. It suits anyone with business in mining or energy, which is what this city actually runs on. And it works surprisingly well as a stopover between Australia and Southeast Asia, given how close it is to Singapore.

When another plan may fit better

If your Australian time is short, Perth is very hard to justify and Melbourne or Sydney with the reef is the better use of a week. If you want the reef specifically, that is on the opposite coast and the Great Barrier Reef is the trip. And if your dates fall in the northern wet season, from November to April, the Kimberley and Ningaloo largely close and there is little point coming this far.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us which part of Western Australia you actually want and how many nights you can give it, and we will build the flights, the northern legs and the wine country around the season rather than around the map. Our luxury leisure travel planning covers the whole route including the expedition legs.