Western Australia Road Trip: 9-Day Perth to Esperance

By Ellen – (Updated Sep 2023)

⏱10 min

Dreaming of gem tone waters and white sand beaches that aren’t crowded? An Australia road trip through the state of Western Australia will have you saying “wow” at every turn. A Western Australia road trip is what many tourists imagine Australia to be. It has a wondrous coastline and near-empty beaches that stretch for kilometers, red dirt roads, and endless wildlife. It should definitely be at the top of your road trip bucket list.

I’m shocked that many Australians haven’t visited WA, but it does take 5 hours to fly from Sydney to Perth. True, Australia’s east coast has a lot to offer, but I would argue that the beaches of WA are superior. You could spend several weeks road-tripping through the state as there is so much to see. Fortunately, exploring the state can be split up into different trips. This blog post will detail our 9-day Western Australia road trip in a campervan in the southern part of the state.

Summary

When to go	We did our trip in March which was still warm enough at the end of summer, but at the end of peak-season so there were less people.
How to get there	Start this epic Australia road trip in Perth.
Where to stay	Our recommendation is to do the road trip in a campervan and sleep at caravan parks along the way. I include the exact parks we stayed at throughout the post. Else, if you do not choose to travel in a campervan your accommodation options will range from AirBnBs, campsites (camping in a tent), or hotels/inns.
Don’t forget	Beach essentials, sunscreen (the sun in Australia is STRONG), camera
Cost	(depending on how you travel and your accommodation – it may be more expensive if you do not travel and sleep in a van, and eat most of your meals in restaurants)

Before you go to a Western Australia

Before everything else, start by renting a vehicle and plan when/where you want to go. Download the WikiCamps Australia app (listing most of the campsites with contact info and reviews) or book accommodation.

Renting a Campervan for the road trip

The first thing we did after arriving in Perth, was pick up our rental campervan from Go Camper. Go Camper is located in Rockingham, just south of Perth, and is a family run business. We were very happy with our van and the service we were provided. The van we hired was a Fiat Ducato Explorer 2B/3SB Auto TV/DVD 2019.

We didn’t rent a 4WD, but that meant we missed out on some beaches that are only accessible by 4WD. Make sure to do your research on the places you want to go when deciding on your rental vehicle.

Campervan Alternative

An alternative to renting a campervan is doing the road trip in a car and booking accommodation along the way. Personally, we wouldn’t have done our Australia road trip any other way. Traveling in the campervan gave us greater flexibility with our schedules. It allowed us to improvise destinations, and cook some of our meals in the van rather than dine-out constantly. Our van’s bed was spacious and comfortable and there were plenty of well-maintained campsites to stay at.

Besides, what could be better than waking up and opening your “bedroom door” up to views like this?

We did our road trip in early March 2020, which is the end of summer and there is less tourism. This meant that for us, many of the beaches were close to empty. You might have a different experience, especially if you go during peak season.

Day 1: Perth to Margaret River via Injidup Beach

It takes about 3 hours to drive from Perth to Margaret River, but there are some places to stop along the way. We headed for Injidup Beach and Injidup Natural Spa, which is a little off the beaten track.

Injidup Beach

It was a slightly cloudy day in March and later in the afternoon, but even so, Injidup Beach was stunning. When I descended the stairs from the car park to the beach, the view opened up and I simply stated “wow”. Injidup Beach is a large beach, and there was NO ONE ELSE there! We had this incredible stretch of sand and calm waters all to ourselves.

Injidup Natural Spa

Back up the same road that leads to the beach, there is another car park to access the Injidup Natural Spa. The Injidup Natural Spa is a grouping of rocks that make up a natural pool of water that is refreshed by the ocean waves. We visited late afternoon on a weekday and therefore avoided the crowds. Alternatively, you could try visiting early in the day. The rocks can be slippery and big waves can surprise you so please be careful, especially if/when you’re standing up on the rocks.

After we finished enjoying the beach and spa, it was only a 35-minute drive down to Margaret River. The Margaret River region is one of Australia’s reputable wine regions so if you have more time, you could stay a bit longer and go wine-tasting and explore the rest of what the region has to offer.

We ended our first day by parking our camper at Riverview Tourist Park and then walked into town to enjoy dinner and local wine at Swings & Roundabouts Taphouse and Kitchen.

Day 2: Margaret River to Denmark via Hamelin Bay

Day 2 included the drive from Margaret River to Denmark. This is about 3 hours and 45 minutes without stopping.

Hamelin Bay

Before starting this long stretch of driving, we started the day with a stop at Hamelin Bay (just 23 min south of Margaret River). The historic Hameline Bay Jetty remains are still visible but the stars here are the massive gentle stingrays. You can find the rays swimming along the shoreline near the jetty. I’m not exaggerating when I say that some of the stingrays were massive, and watching them elegantly glide through the water was a sight to see.

Some local fishermen had buckets of fish to feed the stingrays so that visitors had a chance to see them up-close. Even without feeding them, the rays might come up to you and glide over your feet. They are quite friendly but of course please exercise caution while interacting with wildlife.

After Hamelin Bay, we drove for a few hours until we stopped at Lights Beach. Lights Beach is a pocket of white sand and azure blue waters, and when the tide is low, visitors can walk out to a rock formation. It was the perfect spot to end our afternoon.

We stayed overnight at the BIG4 Denmark Ocean Holiday Beach Park (facilities were great) and enjoyed a beverage at Boston Brewing Co. to end the day.

Day 3: Denmark to Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve

From Denmark to Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, it only takes about 1 hour to drive straight there. We made stops at Shelley Beach, Albany, and Little Beach to fill the day up.

Shelley Beach

First stop: Shelley Beach is located in West Cape Howe National Park and it isn’t an “easy” beach to get to. From Denmark, it took 45 minutes of winding through country gravel-roads, but it was well worth it. Upon arriving, we were welcomed by another pristine, white-sand, empty beach. We chilled out on the beach for a few hours and only saw one other group come down to enjoy the beach in the morning. There is a National Park Entrance Fee here. $15 AUD is the starting Standard fee for a private vehicle.

Albany

From Shelley Beach, we drove into the town of Albany where we stopped for lunch and groceries. Albany is a charming, historic port city where the first European settlers landed in Western Australia. We didn’t have time to explore, but if you’d like, explore some of the colonial buildings which are now museums, galleries, and restaurants. There are also convict prisons, whaling ships, and the spot where the first convoy of ANZACs (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) departed to go to war during WWI.

Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve

After lunch, we got back to the road trip. Our next destination: Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, which is regularly voted one of Western Australia’s best beaches. Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is a breathtaking ecological area. This was one of our favorite spots. Little Beach is a small picturesque beach with fine white sand, blue water, and is surrounded by granite boulders. If you climb atop the surrounding boulders, you can enjoy stunning ocean views. There is a National Park Entrance Fee which starts at $15 AUD for the private vehicles Standard Fee.

We stayed at Kalgan River Caravan Park – watch out for the kangaroos as you’re coming and going!

Cape Le Grand National Park covers an area of 31,801 hectares. It is a place where you can find stunning landscape including granite coastlines, swamps and freshwater pools, and stretches of idyllic white-sand beaches. You might also get “lucky” and see some kangaroos at Lucky Bay! To enter the park, you have to pay the standard National Park fee (starting at $15 AUD). We visited Lucky Bay, Hellfire Bay, and Cape Le Grand Beach.

Lucky Bay

This has to be one of our favorite beaches. As we walked down the car park to the beach, two friendly kangaroos approached us and other visitors. Yes, they were looking for food but you’re not supposed to feed them. We captured a few photos of these adorable marsupials before heading to the beach.

From the car park, the view of the beach took my breath away. Lucky Bay has been rated as Australia’s whitest sand beach. As we walked along the beach, the white sand is so fine that it squeaks under your feet as you walk on it. The colors of the water are magnificent, with light turquoise shallow waters turning into a deep, impactful blue.

We enjoyed ourselves for a few hours, and I was hoping we’d see the family of kangaroos hop across the sandy beach like I’ve seen in some photos, but that didn’t happen. If you want to see them on the beach, they’re most likely out there early in the morning or late in the afternoon when it isn’t as hot.

Hellfire and Cape Le Grand

We didn’t really want to leave Lucky Bay, but we also wanted to make the most of our day in Cape Le Grand and stop by a couple of more beaches. Hellfire Bay has the same beautiful water and white sand, and Cape Le Grand Beach is a wide long beach that 4x4s can drive on.

Day 6: Esperance to Albany

Like I said, Day 6 was another long drive as we departed Esperance to head back to Albany. We decided to return to Albany because we only got to enjoy Little Beach at Two Peoples Bay at dusk. We wanted to enjoy it during the day under some sun and swimming in its clear waters. Since we spent all of Day 6 driving, the beach would have to wait until the next day. We spent the night again at Kalgan River Caravan Park and were greeted by the kangaroos again.

Day 7: Little Beach and Waterfall Beach

We woke up early with the birds, excited to get down to the beach. We wanted to get there early, so we drove straight to Two Peoples Bay and cooked up our breakfast in the van with beautiful ocean views. It was set to be another gorgeous day and we were all set for a morning/afternoon at the beach – towels, a couple of beers, snacks, water, sunscreen, and books in hand.

Waterfall Beach

At the far end of Little Beach, there is a tiny and somewhat covered path. Through the path, there is another smaller and more enclosed beach, which means that it also has calmer water. This beautiful beach is Waterfall beach. There wasn’t actually a waterfall when we visited, but I understand that sometimes there is water that runs down from the boulders and into the ocean.

Getting down to the beach you have to climb around on the boulders, and there isn’t any shade on the beach so it might not be the best beach for small children. While we were there, there was only one other couple. It was the perfect place for us to enjoy another couple of hours.

We packed up around 2 pm and headed back to the van to make our lunch before we hit the road again. Our next stop was Denmark and Big 4 Oceans Caravan Park again, where we stayed another night.

Day 8: Denmark to Perth

This was the last day of our great Western Australia road trip, which was another 4.5 hours back to Perth. Instead of going the long way back through Margaret River, we cut through inland on Albany Hwy/State 30. There was absolutely nothing to see on this drive, so we only stopped as needed for breaks.

Once we reached Rockingham, we said goodbye to our campervan, took an Uber back into Perth, and arrived at an AirBnB. We’d be spending the next 24 hours or so in Perth. It turns out that our good friends who currently live in Singapore were coming for the long weekend, so we coordinated a brief overlap and shared the AirBnB.

Day 9: Rottnest Island

We had a full day of sun and fun on Rottnest Island before we had to hop on a redeye flight back to Sydney. We would have loved to stay another day with our friends, but changing our flights wasn’t an option.

To get to Rottnest Island, take the ferry from Fremantle. You can either book the SeaLink Ferry or the Rottnest Express. We took the Rottnest Express and also hired their bicycles for the day, to get around the island. Coming soon is a post on A Day on Rottnest Island, which will have more information about how to enjoy your time there.

That concludes our epic 9-day road trip through stunning Western Australia. Have you been to Western Australia? If so, what were some of your favorite spots? If you haven’t been yet, is it on your list of “places to visit” now? Leave a comment below and let us know! Or, check out our other blog post on 7 Best Beaches of Western Australia.