hi
ive lived approx 25+ years of my life in perth & know it well.( now in london for my sins!!) i think with kids you may be best off with an apartment & probably near the beach. i dont have specific recommendations im afraid cos when you live in a place you dont really look into things like hotels etc. perth although not that big in popoulation spreads for miles & id say hiring a car is definitely the best option if any of you drive. driving is easy in perth big wide roads, pretty well signed, no big multi laned roundabouts ( traffic lights are the norm) but if you drive in perth please remember drink driving laws are very strictly enforced ( they have random breath testing road blocks - no escape any time night & day & the limit is lower than the uk - 0.05) they also have loads of sneaky speed cameras everywhere (no brightly painted yellow boxes on poles like the uk, they are hidden in bushes,bustops etc)

theres loads of fantastic places to go but remember that west australia is a big place & a lot of places are a good few hrs or more drive away. the tree tops walk is fantastic but is not a day trip but you could head down south & stop off along the way at margaret river or yallingup where all the vineyards/wineries are. theres beautiful scenery down that way & worth seeing. up the other end (north)is also gorgeous in a totally different way( broome,exmouth, coral bay) but it is a long long way so flying is the only reasonable option if time is restricted.

when are you going??? summer can be extremely hot in perth ( 45C)
if you give me more ideas on what sort of things you're interested in i'll reply the best i can for you (post or pm) how old are your kids???will give me a better idea of what you might enjoy.

cheers

millym
Its great to have an expert! If you could put any further info on the forum rather than by pm you will be helping others as well. For instance, if a tourist had only 4 or 5 days to make the most of Perth what would you suggest? Is it a "foodies" place like Sydney?

Thanks Millym
We will be going at Christmas time (next year) so hopefully it wont be 45 degrees then!
Our children will be 12 and 10 when we go. They have already been to Thailand with us so are used to long journey times etc.
We like to see some sights and then relax at the pool aswell to give the kids a break. We have looked at several trips in brochures such as the Pinnacles which I was told was about an hour and half from the city. Does that sound right?
Also an island called Rockingham. My son doesnt travel on water very well though so I wondered how far the island is?
Thanks for your help

Hi

You have been given good advice by Millym the 45 c it can get to that it wil most likely be in the mid 30s
The pinnacals in the Nambung National Park would be a 430kls round trip from Perth the tree top walk is very good but more than a day trip from Perth
There is 2 ways of getting apartments or cabins I will give you some web sites that might help the cabins are in carvan parks they are basic one and two bedroom with one double bed and two single beds in the two bedroom unit with a small kitchen lounge you would want to book early as it will be holiday season over hear then.
The boat trip to Rottnest Island takes about one hour
The web sites for apartments

http://www.quickbeds.com
http://www.totaltravel.com.au
http://www.discoverwest.com.au

the cabins

http://www.caravan-wa.com.au
http://www.toptouristparks.com.au
Hope this helps you are you hireing a car

hi
sorry for the delay in answering i wrote a big reply on saturday then tried to post found my internet had disconnected & lost the post arrrgghhh!!!

anyway enough moaning.
the pinnacles took me about an hour & a half to drive to & that was with my foot pressed flat to the floor of a fast car!!!! well worth a look, you could stop on the way there or back at yanchep national park which has a nice area near a lake for a picnic.they also have some koalas up there in a sanctuary(not native to wa though) there is nothing actually at the pinnacles though except the rocks obviously but a couple of petrol stations on the way. so make sure you take enough munchies drinks etc.

rottnest is a beautiful unspoilt little island (no cars allowed) it takes about an hour from fremantle or you can get the ferry from perth which takes longer as you first cruise up the swan river.( enjoyable) if your son isnt too good on boats maybe getting the ferry from fremantle would be the best option. but the ferrys are big & he wouldnt have to go on a small boat. the ferry terminal is a litttle drive outside freo city but loads of carparking. rottnest has gorgeous beaches & best way of getting round(although its quite small) is bikes which you can hire cheaply over there. theres a couple of resteraunts/cafes, outdoor pub & some shops including a fab bakery. theres villas & camping accomodation & a small hotel but really i doubt you would be able to stay as accommodation on the island is VERY hard to come by esp around xmas,summer & you have to apply well in advance. my favourite beach at rottnest was the basin ( 10 mins walk from the ferry drop off or at the back of the island little & big parakeet bays. dont miss rottnest its gorgeous!

kings park which overlooks the city is a huge natural bush park, you get great views up there of the city & surrounding area. they also run cinema nights where they put on films in the outdoors you bring your own rugs,picnic,wine etc & enjoy a film under the stars.

for other good views of the city get the ferry accross the river to south perth (good resteraunts there, i used to live in south perth) the zoo is over there too. im not usually keen on zoos but perth zoo is doing a good job & really try to make the habitats near normal for the animals in there & do a lot for conservation. the zoo used to run 'twilight nights' where you go & see the animals at dusk, take a picnic & listen to bands on the big grassy area (bands more like the jazz type) im sure the zoo still runs them as it was v popular.
you can also hire out small twinned hull sailing boats called surfcats from south perth foreshore easy to sail. windsurfers can be hired at various places on the swan river as well ( nedlands foreshore near wa university)

there are hundreds of cheap resteraunts in perth not just in the main city area but most suburbs have a strip of local places to eat too. most resteraunts apart from the posher ones are byo, which means you bring your own wine/beer they charge a couple of $$$ for corkage & will bring your booze out to you when you want it. makes eating out even cheaper. resteraunts are generally pretty child friendly as well ( all but the posher ones again) the big pub/club area is northbridge but it can get VERY packed in summer on fri/sat nights so if your going with kids early evening would be a better time before it gets rowdy!!
quite a few pubs generally do not tolerate kids ( the law is different to that here)even in a lot of beer gardens so check before you get comfy & order drinks (i know there is places that do allow kids outside but cant
remember offhand..sorry)

to see some native animals cohunu wildlife sanctuary is brillinat it has kangaroos etc and is a nice place to visit. its about a 30 min drive from perth city up in the hills. most of the animals have been rescued & great place to see kangaroos & koalas close up

fremantle itself is worth a visit, loads of shops & pubs & resteraunts & of course the old original fremantle market. theres another market in fremantle near the quay which has some interesting shops but the old market is definately the best for atmosphere, its right in the centre of freo. not far from there is the old fremantle prison which you can also go inside. was made by convicts & unbelievably was in use for max security prisoners right up until the late 1980's.

up the other end of perth is hilarys marina which next to it has a huge aquarium/underwater world. the marina itself has loads of shops & cafes & resteraunts as well.

perth also has several huge indoor shopping centres (like bluewater,trafford centre etc) that are good for general shopping garden city( in the suburb booragoon) is one i used to like. most of them have big cinema complexes attatched & usually have big food halls with stalls selling every sort of food you can imagine cheaply.

well i think id better stop here as this is a rather long post!!!! but any other q's please ask.

i dont really have up to date info on internal flights but id say to anyone check carefully on your options before you go as i know there used to be very good deals when booked outside australia. up until very recently internal flights in oz cost an arm & a leg & as the other options (train or god forbid you'd do it to yourself the bus!!! take DAYS to get from say perth to sydney not practical.

august temps in oz really depend on where youre going, top end( queensland,northern territory top of wa) will be lovely & warm. perth can be cool in august(& wet) but hard to predict you're just as likely to get weeks of temps 21-25C & sun)victoria,nsw,tasmania could be cold at this time of the year.

cheers

oops meant to say that rockingham is actually one of perths southern suburbs.
you used to be able to go on a trip to swim with dolphins down there somewhere, i havent done it & i think it was quite expensive. rockingham is not a place id recommend stay as its a bit of a drive to the city.

great info! Thanks ( have lost a long reply before and it is very frustrating!)

Some great information Millym - thanks

What are the taxi prices like? Say for instance going from the city to Freemantle or from the city to Cohunu wildlife sanctuary?

gawd i cant remember taxi prices.not particularly cheap from memory but its all relative so if your taking pounds over it will seem cheaper when paying in $$$ when you convert im sure. i think northbridge in perth to my home in south perth was about $17.00 5 yrs ago ( i think about£7.50) but that was only about a 15 min trip.
i'll look up a few perth taxi companies for you ( swan taxis & black & white are 2 big taxi firms there) on the net later today & see if they can give an idea of rough cost. the problem with perth is that it does spread for miles, perth to fremantle takes about 40mins drive at a non peak hr time ( although peak hr traffic apart from in a few places like the freeway interchange in town is NOTHING like peak hr say in a place like london or manchester).
public transport in perth although improved is a bit erratci very good frequent service to some areas & some times & rather rubbish at others. there is a couple of train lines which have frequent service but the train route doesnt cover many parts of perth & to get to a lot of things you'd still need to get a bus/walk for miles after.
( unless theres been a huge overhaul of public transport over there since i last visited - which i seriously doubt.)
the prob with perth like most australian cities & towns is that people are practically born with 4 wheels & an engine over there, you once you get your licence asap at 17yrs old you NEVER ever walk anywhere ever again, you drive even if driving to the local shop round the corner takes longer once you've parked etc you still drive & dont think about walking.
before i got to london the last time id used public transport in perth was exactly the day before i got my licence (20+ yrs ago)

Thanks again Millym I'm getting a good idea of the sheer distances between places. Not as easy as getting around Sydney is it !!

hi
no sydney has a better rail network. but maybe im being hard on perths public transport as im comparing it to londons which despite being critisised constantly is actually very good. perth does have little buses that run all around the city centre frequently (i think theyre still called CAT buses) & are free they would be good to use to get around the centre & from memory they do go up to kings park.
for info on perths transport do a google the bus network is called TRANSPERTH.
i cant find much info on actual taxi prices but again if you google 'swan taxis' or 'black & white taxis' theres email addresses there that you could write to & im sure they'd be happy to send you up to date info on prices for taxi hire
but dont let me put you off & make you think that you'll be stuck unable to get anywhere.its not that bad & although a lot of people skip perth & head off over east its definitely worht a visit:wink: .

Thanks for this - I was going to enquire about the same thing.

Anthony Osude

Hi again Millym
Thanks for all your advice. I have some more questions!
I think we have decided to stay at Freemantle as it would suit the kids better to be near the beach when we are not on trips etc.
In your opinion how far away from Freemantle is the Tree top walk location?
Also how far is Rockingham Island from Freemantle as we are thinking of doing the swim with dophins trip. We are also interested in visiting Rottnest Island as you make it sound so good.
Are there plenty of restaurants in Freemantle that do the BYO thing? I like the sound of that.
Hope thats not too many questions in one hit!! Thankyou

Have been looking at all the brochures again and Scarborough Beach also looks lovely! Have you been there?

hi
rockingham is not an island its a suburb that stretches to beaches down there it would be approx ( i think!!!)25 -30 mins drive from fremantle to get there.there is a couple of islands just off rockingham though carnac is one where im sure you can get a little boat to go & see seals & theres also penguin island down there where you can again get a very short boat trip accross to see fairy penguins ( its v small but i enjoyed seeing the penguins!!!): http://www.penguinisland.com.au/
rottnest would take approx 45mins-1hr on the ferry from freo.
theres LOADS of resteraunts in fremantle & lots are BYO too.

have a look at : http://www.valleyofthegiants.com.au - has lots of info on the treetops walk. the distance from perth to walpole or denmark - small towns near the treetops walk is approx 425km (remember they dont use miles over there all road signs etc are km per hr). the speed limit on open roads is 110km/hr (unless it has changed!!) so would take approx 5 hrs i would imagine allowing for the slower speeds you have to go through the towns on the way. most of the roads down that part of west oz are either 2 lane rds or dual carridgeway at biggest. but the first part of the trip from fremantle is on freeway(motorway) . once you get past a town called mandurah about 1 hr from freo you wont see many traffic lights unless your going through a small town. there is also no mega multi laned roundabouts from hell!!! so it really is quite an easy drive (although long!!)
other good websites that have info are: http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/
and : http://www.discoverwest.com.au/mapallfm.html ( second one has info on carnac island & loads of other stuff,maps etc)

theres a whole strip of beaches that stretch right up & down the coast from fremantle ones like leighton or port beach ( port has a cafe practically on the beach so good for kids who need snacks etc),are great for kids as most times its calm there with no big sort of shelf drop from the beach into the water. the beaches arent right in the city of freo as its actually a port so the bits of it near the water have big ships parked alongside.(does that make sense???) but a drive to beaches from anywhere in fremantle only takes minutes so its a good spot to stay.
are you getting a hire car??
anyway anymore q's just ask its no trouble to answer.

hi
i was so busy editing my 1st post 500 times i didnt see your post...scarborough beach is nicebut is prob the most developed along the coast as in theres a huge high rise hotel right next to it.( few backhanders to the council when that one was approved im sure!!!, the notorious aussie millionaire alan bond was responsible for the monstrosity)

it can get rough at scarborough (waves i mean not yobs!!!) as theres quite a bit of a drop/shelf from the beach into the water - just means you can get big waves & strong rips at times, it is patrolled by lifeguards though. not my fav beach but as i lived in south perth & other areas it was further to get to (further up the coast)
theres cafes there & an 'english' style pub. another place to go for a drink on the beach is cottesloe beach has the obh hotel & cottesloe hotel good pubs that can get v crowded on hot days weekends though. two of my fav places to eat on the beach were the 'blue duck cafe' & 'indianas' at cottesloe beach. blue duck does a great sunday brekfast - fixed price help yourself as much as you can eat fry up style heaven!!! best to book though on sunday as again can get busy.

Thanks again Millym.
The hotel I was looking at in Fremantle is called the Esplanade. Have you heard of it? It has family rooms which we always find hard to get so it would probably be a good choice for us. Though it doesnt state its exact location other than its in Fremantle. I will look on Google for its website. The penguins sound good, I'm sure the kids would love that.
It looks like the Valley of the Giants is out though as I really didn't realise it was as far from Perth as that. Hubby will be disappointed, he really wanted to see that.
Not sure about Scarborough now because of the rips etc.

hi
the esplanade is a beautiful old refurbished colonial style hotel right slap bang in the middle of fremantle. unfortunately ive never stayed there but always heard good reports. ive been inside (i think i had a drink or a coffee or something there once) & its beautiful & location for walking to everything in fremantle excellent.website: http://www.esplanadehotelfremantle.com.au/ im sure you'd have to drive or get a bus/train to the beach though....i cant think of a beach within easy walking distance from there as its right in the city of freo (all though freo city centre is not big at all & very walker friendly) there is nice beaches a short drive or bus ride away from freo centre &
you could always go up to scarborough for a day just to see what you think, its not always very rough but is generally rougher than quite a few of the other beaches. im sure you can get buses that run right past it.
could you get a bus trip down to the tree tops??? if you dont fancy the long self drive??? you could stay somewhere overnight or stay down there somewhere nearby overnight & drive part of the way back & stay somewhere else.
if your into wine theres some fantastic wineries & vineyards at a place called margaret river or another place nearby called yallingup where you could also stay on the way back just to break up the journey. if you do go to yallingup/marg river theres a nice old hotel with beautiful gardens there called the 'caves house hotel' definately worth a visit for a drink on the terrace.

Hi

To get a day trip to the valley of the giants and the tree top walk try
http://www.discoverwest.com.au
look up Perth trips and then the trip to( tree top walk Albany and great southern ) it is along day but it is there 7am to 11pm the price is there also and other trips