6 reasons to add Perth to your Australian holiday

Perth in Western Australia is isolated from the rest of the country. But its beaches, islands, parks and wildlife are among the reasons to visit.

How many days do you need in Perth, and when should you visit?

Most travelers spend 3-5 days exploring Perth and its surroundings, which provides enough time to experience the city beaches, take a day trip to Rottnest Island, visit Fremantle, and explore Kings Park without feeling rushed.

Perth enjoys 3,200 hours of sunshine annually, more than any other Australian capital city, making it ideal year-round. That said, the best time to visit Perth is September to November (spring) or March to May (autumn) when temperatures sit comfortably between 19-26°C.

Summer (December-February) brings hot days perfect for beach activities but can reach 35°C+, while winter (June-August) remains mild at 18°C with occasional rain. Perth is 4 hours behind Australia’s east coast, meaning you can arrive from London or Dubai in the morning, settle into your accommodation, and still have a full afternoon to explore Cottesloe Beach or the city center.

The time zone difference also means Perth is one of the first major Australian cities UK travelers can reach without jet lag being quite as brutal as Sydney or Melbourne.

It’s cheaper to get to than the rest of Australia

OK not by much, but flights to Perth tend to be £50 to £100 cheaper than flights to other Australian cities. It’s one of the Australian cities that Emirates flies to.

The beaches

Think Sydney’s the only Aussie city with good beaches? Well think again. Perth is pressed up against the Indian Ocean, and a line of gorgeous sandy beaches stretches up the west of the city. Scarborough and Cottesloe are the most popular, but there’s not exactly a shortage.

5 great things to do in Perth

🚲 Take the ferry to Rottnest Island – then cycle to the beaches and quokkas.
🌌 Dine in the desert and go stargazing – on an evening Pinnacles tour.
🐬 Swim with wild dolphins – on a wildlife adventure to Rockingham.
🍷 Combine a Swan River cruise with wine-tasting in the Swan Valley.
🏟️ Go behind the scenes – on an Optus Stadium tour.

👉 Discover more great Perth experiences

Fremantle

It’s very hard not to like Fremantle, which is technically a separate city surrounded by Perth, but to all intents and purposes it’s a coastal suburb. It’s one with tremendous charm, dotted with colonial-era buildings, seemingly endless strips of cafés and far more than its fair share of microbrewers.

If you can do just one thing while there, make it a tour of the Old Fremantle Prison, which offers up gory tales of prison life and a heart-stopping moment at the gallows where murderers were once hanged.

Rottnest Island

A short ferry ride offshore from Fremantle, Rotto is justifiably Perth’s favourite day out.

An island of little beaches, old World War II forts and blissful cycling/ walking tracks, it’s a marvellous place to spend a sunny day.

It’s also the best place in the world to see quokkas, the extraordinarily cute little marsupials who hop around the island trying to snaffle picnics.

Kings Park

The gargantuan green space that sprawls to the west of Perth city centre is one the finest urban parks in the world.

Kings Park offers tremendous views out over the city and the Swan River, while the salmon-tinged gum trees lining the main road into it have an unimpeachable majesty.

Whether you want to stroll in forest, sunbathe on the grass or visit the Botanic Gardens, there are few finer spots in Australia.