Western Australia trip

I trust you like really warm weather ... Exmouth / Ningaloo are very hot in February, and it's not the best time to be on the beach or in the water.

Similar issues confront Shark Bay / Monkey Mia ... being on the coast does not often relieve all these places of intense heat in summer.

What are you doing with the rest of your time in Australia ... it might influence your WA choices.

Personally I would spend my WA time south of Perth at that time of year - still potentially hot, but in general a lot milder than anywhere north of say Kalbarri.

Nambung NP (Pinnacles) is okay, but perhaps not quite warranting the effort to go (but again, it depends on how you're allocating your total time).

Hi Jingili

Yes, we like warm weather and have done lots of hot countries over the years. Love snorkelling and diving as well as sightseeing nice scenery/landscapes. From WA we are spending a few days in Adelaide and from there will fly to Queensland and possibly do one of the islands off of the GBR (Lady Elliot perhaps)? We are then planning on driving down the coast to Sydney which is where we fly from when our trip finishes on the 25th March.

Can someone please advise me of an itinerary for WA. Really want to do Ningaloo region and possibly Rottnest island. Have 7 - 10 days. Is this possible? Any suggestions?

You can look at www.rentalcars.com - we've used them quite happily for many years. Outside that, we have used Bayswater car rentals in Perth a few times too.

If you're determined to visit Coral Bay / Exmouth, then your itinerary is just about set ... it is a very long way to drive one way, let alone both ways, so you need to check car rentals in Learmonth. I would not be too confident that you can find a one-way car rental in either Perth or Learmonth.

If you can, please advise, and we can discuss an itinerary. If you cannot, then you'll need to fly both ways and rent a car locally. And Rottnest Island is nice - just need to pick a good weather day (it's a very windy coastline).

Many thanks, that's really helpful.

I will look into this and get back to you. I was thinking of doing 3 - 4 days in the Ningaloo region and then 4 days in Rottnest, with a couple of days exploring Perth and surrounding areas.

Don

Fly Perth > Learmonth return, and rent a local car up there?

And I would look at six days Ningaloo (combination of Exmouth and Coral Bay) and two days Rottnest Island.

You don't need four days on Rottnest! You can get round the whole island on a bicycle in one day.... We go for day trips when in WA and have stayed on the island only once, years ago, and found one night was plenty.

Ningaloo reef is amazing but you're also visiting the GBR, so not sure if you really need to see both, except of course, if you were gong in whaleshark season, as they're incredible to swim with, but that doesn't start until late April/May till July. Ningaloo is a frond reef, so different from the GBR, but you will see the same fish and wildlife there as the GBR.

One way hire car from there is ridiculously expensive if indeed possible and it's a VERY long drive in intense heat - simply not worth it really. In January, and for a contrast to the east coast, I'd look at the south coast, Esperance is incredible, easier to get to - you can fly there and drive back through Bremer Bay (and go on an Orca watching charter - fabulous) then Albany, Demark, Walpole, Margaret River - Perth. That is much more doable and Esperance's beaches are the most beautiful in the world. It won't be as stifling hot as the north either and more manageable.

Save Ningaloo for when the whalesharks are there!

Thanks bellart1
> You don't need four days on Rottnest! You can get round the whole island on a bicycle in one day.... We go for day trips when in WA and have stayed on the island only once, years ago, and found one night was plenty.
>
We wanted to spend a few days somewhere, just chilling out and relaxing after our long flight from the UK and Rottnest seemed appealing. Is there any other places near Perth that you can recommend for this?

One way hire car from there is ridiculously expensive if indeed possible and it's a VERY long drive in intense heat - simply not worth it really. In January, and for a contrast to the east coast, I'd look at the south coast, Esperance is incredible, easier to get to - you can fly there and drive back through Bremer Bay (and go on an Orca watching charter - fabulous) then Albany, Demark, Walpole, Margaret River - Perth. That is much more doable and Esperance's beaches are the most beautiful in the world. It won't be as stifling hot as the north either and more manageable.

Yes, I did wonder about the one way car rentals - thanks for the advice, that's really helpful to know!

Gonna work on a new itinerary and post on here so any advice would be much appreciated.

thanks for the advice, that's really helpful to know!

What am I - chopped liver? I've already provided all that obvious advice, but no thanks were forthcoming.

Oh well. Not unusual. Enjoy your trip. Four nights on Rottnest is three too many. Perth is dreadful ... head south to Dunsborough for 3-4 days to chill ... it's nice.