Hi there,

My wife, daughter and myself will have about a week's vacation time this upcoming August and utilising our airline miles we have enough for 3 business class tickets to either Dubai, Japan or Western Australia. We decided on Western Australia!

The last time I was in Perth was in 1987, when the casino was first open, and I have not return since then. Now, as a family man, I would love to do a driving vacation from Perth down to Margaret River for 3 or 4 nights but have no idea on places to stay or things to do. I understand that it will be the low season there and I am willing to splurge on the best accomodation there, since it will be my birthday!

Can anyone help with suggestions on a 4 day itinerary, accomodation and restaurant advice? I love the Leeuwin's Art Series wines so we will definitely visit their winery but I don't know much else.

Appreciate any help you guys can give and thank you in advance.

Melnq8 did this trip last year, I think. Good to see you're coming back to visit us, Hanuman.

we did this trip in january. Picked up a car in Perth and drove to Margaret River which was our base for 4 days.Stayed in an apartment and explored the area.Picked 3 wineries to vist-lenton Brae, Wise another that was closed but had a fab art gallery nearby. had a magnificient lunch at Wise's with views overlooking the ocean. Went to the lighthouse and Cape leeuwin, visited one lot of caves-plenty of them but chose just to do one, went to the Margaret River beach where the surfers are big time. Took adya to driv eback to Perth visiting towns like Busselton on the way.
beautiful area-great information centre in MR

Thank you for your replies guys.

Bokhara2 - yes it will be nice to visit Australia again. Thank you for the information on Melnq8's report and I'll search for it.

northie - I spent several hours last night researching about the drive and the area around Margaret River. Sound like a good plan to spend 4 days there. Did you visit the Leeuwin Estate? I love their "Art Series" wines.

Anybody know how crowded it will be for early August?

Hi Hanuman -

You probably won't even recognize Perth if you haven't been here since 1987!

You have very good taste, Leeuwin Estate's Art Series is fantastic.

August is low season, but keep in mind that weekends in MR can be busy year round.

One of my favorite activities in MR is eating (and drinking wine of course).

There are literally LOADS of fantastic wineries that serve meals. The MR River Chocolate Factory will be a hit with the kids as would the caves I'd imagine. There are a couple of cheese producers, a few breweries, a meadery or two, a wonderful olive oil producer that serves great meals (Olio Bello) a few local producers of jams/chutneys,sauces, Yallingup wood fired bread...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. There are also some good walks if you're so inclined.

We've visited MR several times. My detailed trip report for our most recent visit is here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...rip-report.cfm

We stayed at Windance Cottages in Yallingup on that trip and we loved it.

A friend of mine spoke highly of this place:

http://www.burnsidebungalows.com.au/info.html

I have the following accommodation earmarked for future trips, but have no first hand experience with them and a few might be couples only, but they might be worth a look:

http://www.hilltopstudios.com.au/
http://www.boranupcottage.com.au/
http://www.pindalodge.com.au/
http://www.margaretriverstonecottages.com/

I've found this site very helpful when planning my trips to MR:

http://www.margaretriver.com/

Melng8,

Thank you so much for the detail reply!

So far I plan to arrive in Perth on a Friday an stay there for a few days. Start my driving excursion to M.R. on a Monday and stay there until Friday then head back to Perth for a night before my morning flight back home.

Can you please tell me what is Perth like on a Sunday? I ask because in England everything is close on Sunday and I hope Australia will not be the same!

I will study your recommendations tonight and start making reservation over the weekend.

Thanks again.

The Perth CBD is pretty dead on Sundays. Just about everything in the CBD is closed, save a few bars and cafes attached to hotels, some of which apply a 15% surcharge just because they're open. Cafes in/around the foreshore and Barrack Street Jetty, retailers at Kings Park and some places in South Perth will be open. Hillary's Boat Harbour is open on the weekends as are cafes near the beaches, etc. Burswood (casino and entertainment complex) will be open too.

Freo is a happening place on a Sunday afternoon, suggest you head there. You can take a scenic ferry from Barrack Street Jetty to Freo for about $22, have a nice lunch and poke around in Freo for a few hours, then take the train back.

Caversham Wildlife Park is open every day except Christmas. I took a visitor there last month and we both really enjoyed it. Your daughter would probably love it.

http://www.cavershamwildlife.com.au/

The Perth Zoo is open too. You can get there by taking the ferry from Barrack Street Jetty to South Perth and walking 10 minutes to the zoo.

http://www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au/Visit-...Opening-Times/

Welcome back to Oz, Hanuman! Wow, after 23 years you will be amazed at the changes, and yet so much will be the same.

And oh, [insert ironic smiley] if you need an Oz political protest update, there's a current thread in The Lounge. (Overnight, we have a new Prime Minister ... sound familiar?)

Am sure you'll have a wonderful time in WA, especially with the wealth of info provided by WA experts on the forum.

So cool to see you here - as I'm preparing for my next trip to Europe via Bangkok in August, our planes may cross

Thank you Melnq8. I fear as much about Sunday so I will try and work around that and perhaps plan on it to be my driving to M.R. day.

FurryTiles,

Yes it will be good to return to Perth after all these years. All I can remember was the brand new Burswood casino, who flew us out there and took care of our rooms and board, and the relatively small town of Perth. Actually I didn't get to see much of Perth only the casino where I had a very successful trip! I usually visit Cairns every year for the fishing but haven't been back since 2004 as well.

We only saw or read about your old PM crying and how his own party got rid of him. At least it's all peaceful. Let us hope that our planes will only cross each other and don't actually collide

Just a note to say thanks for a very timely Q&A! We will be in WA for a few days in November, before taking the Indian-Pacific train to Adelaide. We want to visit Margaret River and the Capes, and weren't sure how to make the plan work, or where to stay.

This thread, and Mel's excellent TR, have been a great read! I originally thought of driving Perth-Albany and heading along the coast and around the rest of the "triangle" back to Perth (hope I'm explaining that okay). But now I think that's too much to cram into a few days. We'd be better off driving Perth to MR and basing ourselves there to visit Capes and wineries, then back to Perth for the train. Any thoughts? Accommodation links are a big help, thanks!

Hi SB,

Looks like we are in the same boat. Check out this YouTube video of the drive from Perth to MR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r138yxG75-4

Melqn8 & others,

I have confirmed and redeemed my tickets to Perth - yeah! Will arrive on a Saturday and drive to MR the next day. Will spend a few more nights in Perth on the return trip from MR.

I have a few more questions regarding the lodgings. Apart from your very nice recommendations, friends have suggested these other places so I would appreciate your comment on them.

Cape Lodge - can only fit the 3 of us in their most expensive suite which is way over the top $ wise. Can splurge if you think it's worth it. http://capelodge.com.au/

Yallingup Luxury Retreat - good rate, big size units for 3, fire place, close to MR etc. One of my favorite so far. http://www.yallingupluxuryretreat.com.au/default.htm

Bunker Bay Resort - can accommodate 3 but are there restaurants near there? Will it be nicer to stay near the beach in winter? http://www.mirvachotels.com/quay-west-resort-bunker-bay

Perth - What is a good hotel in Perth that is within walking distant to the shopping streets or the malls?

Last questions - What is the best company to rent a car from in Perth? I've read from your TR that you used a company call "Bayswater" - is that better than places like Budget, Hertz etc?

Thank you in advance!

To anybody else, if you have any inputs on the above please let me know.

SB_Travlr -

Regarding that Perth-Albany triangle, I know exactly what you're talking about, we've made that trip a few times ourselves (those reports posted here as well). It's a great trip and showcases some of the best of WA, but you need time to do the trip justice. Perth to Albany takes about five hours, and there's just so much to see once you get down that way that you won't want to be rushed.

Going to MR is a viable alternative - the trip takes about three hours from Perth. If you want to go just a bit further, or want something more sedate, you might consider Pemberton. How many days do you have to work with?

Hanuman -

All of your accommodation choices look wonderful - I can't comment on any of them personally, but I'd happily stay in any of them! I think Bunker Bay is near Dunsborough, which is a town of about 1,600, so I doubt you'll have trouble finding meals - the resort has a restaurant too. It's north of the town of Margaret River, but MR is a region, so you'll find wineries and cafes scattered about the entire area, many of which may not be obvious at first. You'll want to get yourself a MR region map at your first opportunity - there's a visitor's center in Dunsborough. Bear in mind that some cafe wineries may not be open on Mon & Tue, as they do most of their business at the weekend.

Centrally located services apartments that you might consider in Perth include - The Medina Grand & The Medina Executive Barracks (that's a street name, not a reference to military barracks!) - I've stayed at both of these.

Other options that are within walking distance of just about anything in the CBD include: Parmelia Hilton, Somerset, Mantra on Murray and Citigate. I haven't stayed at these, I just know where they are.

Here's a comprehensive list of Perth accommodation:

http://www.hotel.com.au/perth/

Don't discount staying in South Perth. Most hotels there are located near the Swan River foreshore, and you can hop on a ferry and be in the CBD in 8 minutes.

For car rental, we've used Bayswater and M2000. Both are local. I've found Bayswater to be more competitively priced than the majors, but they rent white Toyota Corollas and that's it. They're located in the CBD, so you need to pick up/drop off your car there.

M2000 has a wider range of cars and they will leave your car at the airport or drop at hotels within a certain radius of their depots for a fee. I find M2000 more convenient, but it really depends on what works best for you.

Thank you Melnq8 and I really appreciate your help. Look forward to our visit in August.

Melnq8,

Just one more question if you don't mind. I see a lot of photos(advertisement) of people driving on the deserted beaches in Western Australia. Is this permited, wise and/or fun? If the answer is yes then I will try and find a 4WD rental.

Hanuman -

Yes, you can drive on some of the beaches in WA. I'm certainly not a 4x4 expert, but I think you need to adjust the pressure in your tires before driving on sand. Suggest you check with your car rental company about their guidelines before you commit.

we drive on them all the time in the Kimberleys.
Some other places to see-Augusta, Cape Leeuwin, Geographe Bay -try Wise's winery and restaurant with regional food and fab views over the bay.
You may be fortunaate ebough to see Humpback, Southern Right and maybe endangered Blue whales around the area-from Sept to Dec.

Thank you Melnq8 and northie!

I have switched from a Mini Cooper convertible to a 4wd "Kluger" so that should do the trick.

Anything worthwhile to see or do or eat at while driving from Perth to Margaret River?

I enjoyed the Busselton Jetty. It's undergoing renovation, but it's due to re-open in August.

http://www.busseltonjetty.net/default.aspx

There's also a dolphin center in Bunbury (I've not been).

http://www.mybunbury.com/dolphindiscovery.html

Mundaring Weir is another possiblity - I hesitate to suggest it as it's really not that exciting, but worth a look see on the drive down if you've got time to spare. Loads to do in/around the Perth Hills too, but most are time consuming.

http://www.mundaringtourism.com.au/thingstodo.html