Welcome to Perth, the sunniest and most isolated capital in the world! Most tourists plan their Australian adventure with a focus on the East coast… but the travelers who only visit Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef are missing out. Everyone knows, West is best!
Note: This post is sponsored by ALL: Accor Live Limited and may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own and I’ll never recommend anything to you that’s not awesome!
Welcome to Western Australia! Here’s how to make the most of 48 hours in Perth!
Book your travel insurance for Perth
Before you take off for your Perth adventure, don’t forget to purchase travel insurance. I recommend SafetyWing, which I personally use for all of my travels! Sign up here.
First things first: check into your hotel
Upon arrival, check into your hotel and drop off your bags. I’ve stayed at the ALL Hotel TRIBE Perth and loved their millennial-friendly design, focused on minimalistic rooms and an inviting common area. If you’re a bit more independent in your travels, though, a serviced apartment may be the best option for you! Cook in your very own kitchen, lounge in your sitting area, and enjoy the fully luxurious experience you’ve come to expect from the Accor brand. Book your stay here.
Let’s get freaky…. With some of the craziest freakshakes in Australia
Sure, Melbourne and Sydney get all the credit for their incredible OTT desserts and foodie scene, but Perth shouldn’t be overlooked. In fact, I had the most insane freakshake of my life in Perth: the red velvet-crusted chicken freakshake at MOP Donuts!
MOP Donuts Perth’s red velvet chicken freakshake
You ate dessert first… it’s time for lunch!
If you’re hungry for lunch after eating dessert first (the correct order, for sure), head on over to Lucky Chan’s Laundry + Noodle Bar! The website claims “Lucky Chan is an enigma wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a dumpling then deep-fried.”
You’re on holiday… kick it off with a Hubba Bubbletini, made with sloe gin, bubble gum, lime, grapefruit soda, strawberry pearls.
Lucky Chan’s Perth
Learn to play the digeridoo
The digeri-WHAT? A digeridoo is a hollow wind instrument created by the indigineous people of Australia thousands of years ago.
At Digeridoo Breath, you can take a 1-hour lesson in this incredible art form and buy your own Australian Eucalyptus digeridoo to take home as a souvenir!
Keep the party going with a brewery tour at Little Creatures Brewing
Little Creatures beers and cider are an Australian staple. Visit the brewery for a $25AUD behind the scenes tour and tasting and you’ll understand that the hype is warranted.
If you’re feeling peckish, grab a pizza or snack, because next up on the itinerary is a tour that’s not for the faint of heart!
Take a spooky torchlight tour of the Fremantle Prison… if you dare!
Australia is a country built by convicts, but that’s all in the past… or is it? Fremantle Prison, one of the most haunted places in Australia, was built in the 1850s by 10,000 male convicts from Great Britain and Ireland, and imprisoned criminals until 1991.
If you visit on a Wednesday or Friday, join a 1.5 hour nighttime tour of the Fremantle Prison, where you’ll hear tales of executions gone wrong, wrongful convictions and — of course– ghost stories! Visit if you dare… you never know who you might meet!
Other tours include:
- Tunnels Tour – a hard-hatted adventure through the prison’s tunnel system– partly on foot, partly in replica convict punts
- True Crime Tour – hear the stories of some of Australia’s most notorious criminals
- Convict Prison Tour – a tour focused on the World Heritage-listed prison’s convict era told through the prisoners’ stories
- Behind Bars Tour – learn about the convict-built prison’s transformation from convict prison to a place of incarceration for men, women, and even children from 1887 to 1991.
From Western Australia to modern Middle Eastern
Encounters with ghosts can really work up an appetite! Head to Propeller, a funky Fremantle eatery build in and around an old bus garage. Fill up on Modern Middle Eastern food and don’t miss the Turkish delight martini!
After dinner, keep partying at one of Freo’s top bars or head back to the comfort of your ALL serviced apartment to catch a few winks before your island adventure tomorrow!
Catch the first ferry to Rottnest Island
You can’t visit Perth without taking a trip to Rottnest Island! I recommend catching the first ferry from Perth or Fremantle to make the most of your day on the island.
Choose from ferry only tickets or a ferry + bike combination.
Book your round-trip ferry here.
Book your Rottnest bike + ferry combo here.
Bike around Rottnest Island
Take a quokka selfie
If you go to Rottnest and don’t take a #quokkaselfie, did you even go to Rottnest? Check out my Rottnest Island one day itinerary for top spots to click a pic with a quokka and expert tips on getting the perfect quokka selfie!
Rottnest Island quokka selfie
More than just quokkas
It can be tempting to spend your entire day selfie-ing with quokkas. I get it. The happiest animals in the world are adorable. But Rottnest Island has so much to offer! Check out its pink lakes, lighthouse, beautiful beaches and amazing reefs.
Rottnest Island Pink Lake
Want to have an extra special lunch experience? Book a 3-hour seafood cruise where you can catch your own lobster, watch a chef prepare it in front of your eyes, and eat it as part of a 5-course seafood banquet while cruising the turquoise waters around Rottnest.
Book your seafood cruise from Rottnest here.
Head back to the mainland
When your memory card and belly are full, head back to Perth for one more evening in this sunny city.
Quokka Rottnest Island
Take in the best views of the city
Pay a visit to Kings Park Botanic Gardens at sunset for beautiful panoramic views of Perth city and Swan River as the sky turns cotton candy pink before your eyes. Visiting in September? Arrive a little before sunset to take in all the wildflowers!
Visit Friends for dinner
For your last meal in Perth, how about some elevated Australian cuisine at Friends? Here, you can enjoy kangaroo loin, Geraldton lobster, or grass-fed Harvey beef. After a dinner enjoying fancy food and drinks from the best wine list in Western Australia, head back to your ALL serviced apartment and sleep soundly, dreaming of the amazing 2 days in Perth you’ve just had!
This is really only the tip of the Iceberg when it comes to Perth, but if you follow my lead, you’ll have such a great 48 hours in Perth, I’m sure you’ll be back again soon!
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