Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary
As most of you would have known, Australia is the nearest "Ang Moh" country to Asia and a flight to the nearest City, Perth takes just under 5 hours. It's been a country I've been contemplating visiting all these while.
I've heard about racism against Asian or Chinese and the locals passing not so nice remarks when an Asian walk past perhaps. This was perhaps more than 10 years ago hence I was apprehensive about visiting Australia. But the truth is, the locals we've met in Perth are so friendly and helpful, we had a few friendly locals coming up to us offering help.
Having done lots of reading and hearing from young families how they enjoy their Perth Trip, we decided to take a chance at this. The Keir family has always preferred a less hectic (nua) holiday and laid back Perth with the convenience of self-driving seems to fit the bill.
As we booked the flights relatively late, less than 3 months to flight date, the flight tickets were relatively expensive so we went with Scoot which is more affordable than our regular airlines, We top up SGD50 per pax for the extra leg space right in front of the wall and this was one of the best decision made.
We did the typical Singaporean-Perth-Margaret River itinerary in a less hectic way with only 2-3 places to visit per day and rented a Mitsubishi ASX (super smooth ride) from Bayswater Car Rental. Here's a preview of our 8-day 7-night kids friendly self-drive Perth Itinerary.
The details for each day shall be posted soon.
Travel period: Late November 2019
Duration: 8 days 7 nights
Weather: 23 - 28 degree, Summer with a cool breeze, can be cold at times but swarm of flies at farms
We had a comfortable flight timing at 11:35 am, this also means we do not have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning nor take a red-eye flight.
We've read plenty of reviews and advice against driving immediately after the flight, hence we planned to stay at Crown Plaza Hotel Perth for the 1st 2 nights
The rates at Crown Plaza Hotel was also reasonable and it came with breakfast as well. Bonus point: It is less than 5 minutes walk from Bayswater Car Rental Adelaide branch so we can easily collect the car the next morning.
- Singapore > Perth > Crown Plaza Hotel
It was a short day today, we went for dinner and pop by the RISE convenience shop and turning in early.
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| A spacious hotel room with the kids' tent set up |
Tip #1: The taxis are relatively expensive, our short 20 mins ride from Perth airport to Crown Plaza Hotel costs us AUD50 or so when an uber would have cost half the price.
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 1
We spent most of the day travelling today so there's nothing to shout about. We had a lovely sunset view facing Swan Lake at Crown Plaza Hotel and paid and additional AUD50 to set up the kids tent in our room.
The breakfast at the Crown Plaza Hotel is pretty decent. Went to collect our car an hour earlier from Bayswater Car Rental since we're ahead of time.
- 9.30 am collect Mitsubishi ASX from Bayswater Car Rental ( 5mins walk from Crown Plaza)
- A whole day in Fremantle
- Fremantle Market
- Freo streets
- Timezone @ Freo
- Shopping at Target, Freo
- Kailis Fish and Chips @ Freo
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| Kailis Fish and Chips |
Tip #2: Rent the GPS unit if you're driving to MR. There are areas where we do not get signals on our phone so if you're relying on google maps, be prepared for an adventure
Tip #3: There are apparently 2 counters inside Kailis, we ordered from the more 'expensive' counter on the left unknowingly and the fillets were grilled options. It was after we placed an order did we realise that the popular fish and chips are at the other counter at the furthest right. So explore the entire place before placing your order
Tip #4: Not sure where to park in Freo? Check out the parking guide here
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 2
Fremantle was known as one of the vintage landmarks and a must-go when you are in Perth. It does have the old town charm to it but honestly, we find Fremantle so-so only. If we were to visit Perth again, we'll definitely give Fremantle a miss. We do feel that Kailis Fish and chips are overrated as well.
Click here to read about our Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 2 in detail.
Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 3: Perth > Adventure Scape> Bunbury> Busselton Jetty> Margaret River (click to read post in detail)
It's gonna be a long day for us today, we're embarking on our second but longest road trip to Margaret River. Even though it's just a 3.5-hour drive but I am the only driver for the trip...so............
Thankfully, the Mitsubishi ASX is such an awesome car and we totally enjoyed the ride. Check out how we have an hourly stopover and some playground fun for Sticky Bean en route to Margaret River
- Check out of Crown Plaza Perth
- 1-hour drive to Adventurescape playground (Toilet, supermarket nearby)
- 1-hour drive to Bunbury City Centre Macdonald (with playground), quick shop at a hypermart there
- 15 minutes drive to Bunbury Wildlife Park
- 40 minutes drive to Busselton Jetty (awesome sand playground)
- Check-in at Prideaus of Margaret River for 3 night
We were pretty exhausted by the time we make it to Prideaus of Margaret River. Did a quick freshen up and hurry off to dinner. Luckily, we managed to make it to Coles Supermarket before they close for the day.
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| Check out Adventure Scape playground |
Tip #5: Shops in Perth close early so do start your day as early as you can
Tip #6: A road trip with children can be challenging, hence I've done a thorough research and ensure that restrooms are available with all of our stopovers.
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 3
It was surprisingly an easy drive even though it's my longest road trip to date. Love the frequent stopovers we have so that I don't have to drive for more than 1.5 hours per stretch. We'll probably do the same again if we were to come back.
Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 4: Margaret River > Hamelin Bay > Lake Jewel > Sunflower Farm > Margaret River mouth
However, there are recommended timing to encounter the stingrays and we missed the timing. Oh well, we're travelling with a 6-year-old so we're kind of prepared for that even though I can't help feeling disappointed.
- Hamelin Bay (30 mins drive)
- Lake Cave (20 mins drive)
- Lunch @ Sea Garden Cafe, 9 Mitchell Dr, Prevelly WA 6285, Australia (15 mins), beautiful seaview
- Sunflower farm (10 mins drive )
- 5561 Caves Rd, Burnside WA 6285, Australia
- Margaret River Mouth (10 mins drive)
- Back Prideaus of Margaret River
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| Intriguing Lake Cave |
Tip #7: If you want to see the rays, be there between 9 am to 10 am or 4-5pm in the evening
Tip #8: Eating out can be costly. Consider getting ready-made food from the supermarket and have a feast in your apartment
Tip #9: Lake cave is really pretty but you have to climb 300 steps up and down to the cave. Entrance to the cave can be steep and wet, it's a wet cave so I will not recommend this for children below 6. As this was supposed to be a rest and relaxing trip, for most nights, we're back at our accommodation around 7 ish in the evening and spend the evening with a relaxing bubble bath in our mega bathtub and the telly with the fresh local produce or ice cream.
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 4
Our choice of cave was to visit Mammoth cave but unfortunately, a tree has fallen at the entrance, hence Mammoth Cave was closed for the day and we were directed to Jewel Cave instead. It was our 1st time exploring a cave and it was awesome. The challenging part was climbing 300 steps up and down to the cave but we did it. Although we start the day with disappointment, not seeing any rays, but we still had a great time overall.
Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 5: Margaret River Chocolate Factory > Cheeky Monkey > Jesters Flat > Rotary Park
Now, this is the highlight of Margaret River for us. Our very first family horse riding experience! Read so much about Jesters Flat, we just have to experience this. This is highly recommended, go as a family and have fun together.
- Margaret River chocolate factory
- 415 Harmans Mill Road, METRICUP
- (6 minutes drive ) Lunch @ Cheeky Monkey Brewery
- Jesters Flat horse riding session (30 mins drive)
- Rotary park 20 mins
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| A hidden gem, Rotary Park 5 mins drive from Prideaus of Margaret River |
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 5
The Margaret River Chocolate Factory was just "meh" you can easily skip this if you're in a hurry. We'll definitely do horse riding at Jesters Flat again should we return.
Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 6: Margaret River > Miller Ice Creamery > KMart Bunbury > Osprey Waters Foreshore Reserve > Perth
We need to head back to Perth today. We did a few stopovers to make the journey from Margaret River to Perth less intimidating.
- Check out of Priedeaus of Margaret River
- Miller Ice creamery farm cafe - Cowarump (13 mins from #1)
- 314 Wirring Rd, Cowaramup WA 6284, Australia, 10 am to 4.30pm
- Kmart@Bunbury
- Osprey Waters Foreshore Reserve (1hr 11mins)
- Erskine WA 6210, Australia
- Broad Water Resort Como (50 mins from #6) - Accommodation in Perth
- 137 Melville Parade, Como, WA, 6152
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| Lovely Osprey Waterforeshore with a kids playground and bathroom nearby |
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 5
Love our relatively relaxing itinerary and doing things we enjoy - Shopping @ Kmart and playground for the little one to stretch her legs. We were slightly ahead of time when we reach our accommodation in Perth and Sticky Bean managed to go for a quick soak in the swimming pool before she realised that the weather's probably too cold for a swim.
Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 7: Perth > Cavershire Wildlife Park > Shopping @ Target
Pretty straightforward day for us, just 1 place to visit today and that's Cavershire Wildlife Park. We spent most of the day here and end off with a dinner at a Chinese Restaurant 10 minutes drive from our accommodation with a Target store. We are so in love with shopping at KMart and Target in Perth. There is a wide range of products at really reasonable prices, the toys were really affordable as well.
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| A playground near Cavershire Wildlife Park |
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 7
For some reasons, tourists tend to flock to Cavershire Wildlife Park early in the morning. We were there around 1045 am and it was pretty crowded. The crowd died down after lunch so my advice is to consider going there after lunch to avoid the crowd.
Sticky Bean is so lucky to bump into her 'idol' at Cavershire Wildlife Park. It was her favourite actor from Singapore and he happened to be sitting at the table next to us. But alas, she was too shy to say Hi.
Perth Self Drive Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 8: Perth > Kings Park > Back Singapore
Scoot flights provide fantastic timing, we are taking the evening flight back to Singapore hence we have half a day to spend in Perth just before we depart. We took our time to prepare and check out of Broadwater Resort Como and had a lovely breakfast at its cafe before heading to King's Park.
The playground there is amazing with plenty of greenery and space for families to have a picnic, fly a kite or simply sprawl all over the lawn.
Frankly, I've over catered time for this and it got a tad boring for Mr. Keir and I. We cut short the time at King's Park and utilise the extra time to stop by Watertown Outlet instead.
Drove back to Perth and returned our car at Bayswater Car Rental Adelaide before hiring an uber to send us to the airport at half the price of what we paid for a taxi in Perth.
For the car rental, I've opted to return the car at the airport branch but for some reason, that was not in their records so, well. I was a little upset with this initially but we won't let a small matter like this ruin our holiday.
Quick Review of our Self Drive Perth Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 8
If we were to do this again, I would have catered just 45 minutes at King's park so it's less rush for us at Watertown outlet. We only had about 1 hour there, thankfully the outlet is not huge and the time was just ok for us. Would have been better if we had 30 minutes more so we don't have to rush.
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| non-food loots from Kmart & Target |
It's been 2 months since we came back so I may have forgotten bits and pieces of the trip. All in all, it was an awesome trip for us. We love the abundance of nature, accommodation was all huge with plenty of space and bathtubs were huge as well. Self-driving give us the convenience of just dumping stuff in the car and storing our windbreakers without having to lug them all around.
The huge difference and day and night temperature means, it's always better to have a windbreaker with you all the time. Even it's supposedly entering summer but the breeze is really strong - lucky us.
The temperature dips to below 20 degree at night, especially in the Margaret River region.
Food is the only factor that prevented us from giving this trip 5 stars. It's pretty much the same food everywhere you go so we do miss our Asian food.
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