When it comes to day trips from Perth, besides the Pinnacles, Rottnest Island with its quokkas
is definitely another must-visit spot outside Perth. Quokkas mainly live on a few small islands off the coast of Western Australia, and Rottnest Island is also known as
"Quokka Island" — its unspoiled ecology lets the quokkas live freely on the island.
🚃 Getting There
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| The Rottnest Express ticket counter |
To get to Rottnest Island you have to take a ferry, and in Perth there are three ports you can depart from:
the city centre, Fremantle or Hillary.
Basically, if you're staying in central Perth, the most convenient option is to take the ferry straight from the city to Rottnest
Island — both Fremantle
and Hillary are actually quite far from the city.
If you're looking for cheaper tickets, you can also buy through KKday or Klook, which are sometimes cheaper than the official sites. We originally chose a Klook ticket, but after paying we never received a booking confirmation. Customer service kept saying it was still being processed, and then just two days before the trip they told us the tickets were sold out... which forced us to rush back to the official website and book again. After that experience, Klook really lost a lot of points in our book, and we probably won't buy from Klook again in the future.
If you book on the official website, you get your e-ticket immediately after paying by card. On the day, you just show the QR code for staff to scan before boarding.
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| Bicycles are carried on the ferry too — if you rent one with your ticket, you can pick it up right after disembarking |
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| A fairly new boat, nice and clean |
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| There are two decks to sit on |
🚲 Renting a Bike
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| The price list of the island's only bike rental shop |
On Rottnest Island, your transport options are the train, the bus or a bicycle. The train is a tourist line and only covers one short route, so unless you're heading to the centre of the island it isn't very useful.
Most people rent a bike — it's flexible and convenient. You can rent one directly from the ferry company so you have a bike as soon as you step off the boat, or rent one once you're on the island.
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| The left side is the reservation counter; the long queue on the right is for walk-in rentals... |
Before the trip we'd seen people recommend definitely renting an e-bike, but e-bikes cost more than twice as much as regular bikes and can only be rented on the island, so weigh it up for yourself. We went with e-bikes this time, and thank goodness we did — Rottnest Island is actually quite big, with plenty of ups and downs, so riding a regular bike would have been exhausting.
If you're sure you want to rent a bike, we suggest booking online in advance. We didn't, and just waiting in line took ages... which wasted quite a lot of our sightseeing time on the island.
The rental process here starts with picking your helmet — there are helmets in different sizes next to the queue, so remember to pick one that fits before you reach the counter. At the counter you simply rent and pay, then collect your bike and you're off.
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| The e-bike |
Also, there's a deposit charged when you rent, so keep your receipt safe — when you return the bike you need to go back to the counter to have the charge refunded to get your deposit back!
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| Remember to get your deposit refunded after returning the bike and before you leave |
🏞️ Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island is one of the must-visit spots for independent travellers coming to Perth. This peaceful island has an unspoiled natural environment with many beautiful beaches and quiet bays, and lots of people come here to dive, swim and snorkel. The biggest highlight has to be the quokkas — these wild little creatures aren't afraid of people, and they most often appear right where tourists gather, so you'll see the most quokkas near the ferry terminal area.
If, like us, you arrive in the morning and have to leave on the 4:30 pm ferry, it's very hard to cover the whole island and try all the different activities, so you'll probably need to pick a few target spots. We focused on spending more time with the quokkas and cruising around to enjoy the coastal scenery — we didn't feel we had to circle the entire island.
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| A quokka we met by the roadside not long after setting off |
Rottnest Island can be divided into five areas — east, west, south, north and central:
- East: the harbour, shops and restaurants. This is where the most tourists gather, and also where you'll find the most quokkas.
- North and south: plenty of beaches and bays, great for snorkelling and water activities.
- West: farther away, and known for whale and dolphin watching.
- Central: a few lakes and some historic sites.
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| Coastal scenery along the way |
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| Lots of people relaxing and playing in the water by the beach |
After lunch we left the harbour area and rode north along the coastline. The sky was incredibly blue and the water crystal clear — the scenery along the way was gorgeous. It was quite hot, though, so we stopped at The Basin in the north, where there are shelters, toilets and ice cream for sale, perfect for a short rest.
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| The Basin |
It really was too hot, though, so we didn't continue west. Once we reached roughly the middle of the north coast, we headed towards the pink lake in the centre of the island and made our way back to the harbour area.
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| The pink lake |
Australia's pink lakes get their colour from a huge bloom of algae in the water; the lakes are very salty, and the colour changes with the salt concentration. In summer the water dries up, so the pink is less obvious.
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| The lakes in the middle of Rottnest Island all have a faint pink tint |
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| We came across a quokka about to eat a berry |
Once you get close to the harbour area, quokkas are easy to spot everywhere — under roadside trees, at restaurant entrances, even beside the rubbish bins, although the ones by the bins really do look a bit like giant rats...
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| A quokka that looks like a giant rat |
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| A quokka sleeping by the roadside |
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| A bleary-eyed quokka |
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| A quokka with a sly grin |
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| A smiling quokka |
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| The visitor centre in the harbour area |
Overall, Rottnest Island is a great place for a holiday and a proper relaxing break. On a fine day the blue sky and crystal-clear water are beautiful, the island is full of open natural scenery, and there are all sorts of activities from snorkelling and whale watching to skydiving. There's also accommodation on the island, so if you have more time you might consider staying overnight — it isn't cheap, but it gives you far more time to soak up the island's natural environment.
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