Is Western Australia worth visiting?
YesIf you have a week for it. Not as a side trip from the east.
Yes, if you can give it a week. No, as a three-day add-on to an east coast trip. Western Australia is a third of Australia with a fraction of its visitors, and the single best argument for it is Ningaloo Reef, where the coral starts at the beach — you walk in at Turquoise Bay rather than taking a boat 50km offshore. Add the whale sharks from March to August, Lucky Bay's white sand with kangaroos on it, and the Kimberley. The cost is travel time: Perth to Ningaloo is six days of trip, not an afternoon.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
This gets asked by people already planning the east coast, and the honest answer depends almost entirely on how much time you have, because the west does not reward a quick look.
What the west has that the east does not
- Ningaloo Reef, which you walk into.The Great Barrier Reef is an hour or two offshore by boat. At Turquoise Bay the coral is a few steps from the sand. That difference is bigger than it sounds.
- Whale sharksroughly March to August, with a spotter plane finding them and multiple guided swims. There is nothing comparable on the east coast.
- Lucky Bayamong the whitest sand in Australia, with kangaroos on the beach, and four more beaches as good beside it in Cape Le Grand.
- The Kimberleythe Gibb River Road, the Bungle Bungles and country almost nobody gets to.
- Emptiness.You will have beaches to yourself in a way that does not happen between Sydney and Cairns.
What it costs you
- Distance.Perth to Exmouth is a six day trip with the stops that make it worth doing. There is no quick version.
- Flights.Perth is five hours from Sydney, so getting there eats most of a day each way.
- Heat.Exmouth averages 38°C at its warmest, and Broome 34°C with high humidity. The good months are narrower than on the east coast.
- Fewer people also means fewer services.Towns are a long way apart and so is fuel.
The weather, which decides your dates
| Where | Warmest | Coolest | Go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perth | 32°C | 18°C | September to November, March to May — the shoulders |
| Margaret River | 27°C | 16°C | Spring and autumn. Mediterranean, wet mild winters |
| Exmouth and Ningaloo | 38°C | 24°C | April to October. Whale sharks March to August |
| Broome and the Kimberley | 34°C | 29°C | May to September only. The Gibb closes in the wet |
Bureau of Meteorology long-term monthly averages for Perth Airport, Witchcliffe, Learmonth and Broome Airport.
Is it worth it in three days?
Honestly, no — not instead of somewhere else. Three days out of Perth gets you Rottnest, the Pinnacles and Margaret River, which is a pleasant weekend rather than a reason to cross the country. The west earns its place at about a week, which is when Ningaloo comes into range.
What a week actually gets you
| Trip | Length | Starts and finishes | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day Perth to Exmouth & Return | 7 days, 6 nights | Perth / Perth | $1699 |
| 6 Day Perth to Exmouth | 6 days, 5 nights | Perth / Exmouth | $1449 |
| 6 Day Margaret River & Esperance Tour | 6 days, 5 nights | Perth / Perth | $1299 |
| 10 Day West Coast and Karijini | 10 days, 9 nights | Perth / Perth | $2799 |
| 10 Day Perth to Broome | 10 days, 9 nights | Perth / Broome | $2905 |
Six days one way to Exmouth, seven there and back, ten for the coast plus the Karijini gorges or all the way to Broome.
West or east, if you can only do one
- East coastif it is your first time in Australia, you want the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays, or you are travelling on a budget. It is cheaper and the infrastructure is built for it.
- West coastif you have been before, you want somewhere emptier, or swimming with whale sharks is the thing you came for.
- Bothif you have a month. There is a 52 day run from Cairns to Perth for anyone with a serious amount of time.
How long to give it
There is a breakdown by length — three, five, seven and ten days — on our Perth itinerary page, and the honest arithmetic on fitting Australia into the days you have on how many days do you need in Australia.
Where this comes from. Trip lengths, start and finish points and prices are each trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own. Temperatures are Bureau of Meteorology long-term monthly averages for Perth Airport, Witchcliffe, Learmonth and Broome Airport.