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How do I get from Perth to Exmouth or Broome?

By tour, because there is almost nothing in between. Perth to Exmouth takes 6 to 8 days, from $1,449: stopping at Monkey Mia, Kalbarri and Ningaloo Reef, which is the point of going. Perth to Broome is 10 days, from $2,905.

Checked on 5 October 2026.

The Western Australian coast north of Perth is one of the emptiest drives in the country, and that is its appeal rather than its problem. The operators' own day sheets put most driving days between 450 and 600km, with nothing much in between, so the trip is the transport and the accommodation as much as the sightseeing.

Perth to Exmouth

TripLengthRouteFrom
6 Day Perth to Exmouth6 days, 5 nightsPerth / Exmouth$1449
6 Day Perth to Exmouth6 days, 5 nightsPerth / Exmouth$1549
7 Day Perth to Exmouth & Return7 days, 6 nightsPerth / Perth$1699
8 Day Perth to Exmouth & Return8 days, 7 nightsPerth / Perth$1699
7 Day Perth to Exmouth & Return7 days, 6 nightsPerth / Perth$1799
8 Day Perth to Exmouth in Comfort8 days, 7 nightsPerth / Exmouth$4099

Some finish in Exmouth, some return to Perth. Prices update on their own.

What you stop for

  • Ningaloo Reefa fringing reef you can swim to off the beach, which is the thing the Great Barrier Reef cannot offer.
  • Monkey Miaand Shark Bay, where the dolphins come in to the shallows.
  • Kalbarririver gorges and sea cliffs, halfway up.
  • The Pinnaclesusually on the first day out of Perth.

One way or return?

  • One way to Exmouthat 6 days is the cheapest version — fly back from Learmonth, or carry on north.
  • Return to Perthat 7 or 8 days costs a few hundred more and saves you a flight, and the drive south takes a different route.
  • Eight days in comfortis the same coast with better beds, if camping is not for you.

Carrying on to Broome

Broome is a long way further north again. The trips that go the whole way take ten days and cross the Pilbara, which almost nobody sees.

TripLengthRouteFrom
10 Day Perth to Broome 10 days, 9 nightsPerth / Broome$2905
10 Day Broome to Perth10 days, 9 nightsBroome / Perth$2805
9 Days Darwin to Broome9 days, 8 nightsDarwin / Broome$2699
10 Days Darwin to Broome10 days, 9 nightsDarwin / Broome$3149
10 Days Broome to Darwin10 days, 9 nightsBroome / Darwin$3195

How long do you need?

  • Four daysreaches Monkey Mia and back — the short version, and still a long way north.
  • Six daysreaches Exmouth and Ningaloo, which is where the swimming is.
  • Ten daysgets you to Broome, and the drive between is the emptiest and best part.
  • Twenty-four daysruns the whole way to Darwin, if you have the month.

Whale sharks at Ningaloo

This is what Ningaloo is famous for, and it is seasonal — the whale sharks are on the reef roughly March to August. If that is why you're going, time the trip for those months. The swim itself is a separate day out of Exmouth.

Do you need a 4WD?

Not for this route. Perth up to Exmouth is sealed highway and a normal hire car will do it. Four wheel drive starts to matter at Karijini and on anything north of Broome — and on these trips the vehicle is a 4WD anyway, so it is not your problem either way. There is more on that on our 4WD or a trip page.

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Where this comes from. Each trip's own route, duration and inclusions sheet, as held on its page here. Prices are the current from price and update on their own.