First Choice
Wonders of the Pilbara & West Coast
13 Day Guided Vacation | Perth to Broome
Travel Period
The northern reaches of Western Australia unite some of the most diverse, and dramatic, landscapes in the country. From yawning red-rock gorges to blissfully blue marine parks, powdery white beaches to fiery orange sunsets, a colourful journey awaits. Your itinerary takes you from the below the surface of the sea at Ningaloo Reef, to soaring above it at Horizontal Falls, with Karijini, the Pinnacles and Monkey Mia just some of the postcode-perfect places in between.
Save 10%
Prices From Code: WPMB
Was $8055
Was $10985
$7249
Above lowest price is based on 2023-06-06 departure
$10179
Above lowest price is based on 2023-06-06 departure
Child prices are available on request
Secure your trip with a deposit
Trip Details
What's included
- • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide
- • Local Specialists (Guides)
- • Centrally located premium hotels
Dining
- • 11 Full Breakfasts
- • 10 Dinners with Wine
- • 1 Be My Guest Lunch
Flight Information
- • Day 1: Flights to arrive by 12 noon into Perth Airport
- • Day 13: Flights to depart any time from Broome Airport
- • Airline schedules may change at short notice. Please consider possible flight disruption when booking your flights.
What to Bring
- • Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
- • Water bottle
- • Warm layers in cooler months
- • Camera
- • Comfortable walking shoes
Fitness Requirements
-
• Remote region of Western Australia - Moderate level of fitness required
Extreme temperatures can be experienced in this remote region of Australia. Pack warm clothes for the cool evenings and comfortable clothes for the heat of the day.
Itinerary
Wonders of the Pilbara & West Coast (Travel Period: 01 Jun 2023 – 31 Aug 2023)
Almost two weeks of adventures lie before you, the first a tour of Perth. The Western Australian capital almost steals the street-art trophy from Melbourne, the city’s alleys and warehouses decorated with eye-popping murals and installations from local creatives. It’s also remarkably green, with 400-hectare Kings Park and Botanic Garden sitting pretty in the CBD, on a lazy bend of the serpentine Swan River. Two thirds of the grounds are reserved for native plants, but there are also seasonal wildflowers, all enveloping the Anzac Memorial. If you don’t know your fellow travellers by now, you will by the time your welcome dinner is over.
Hotel:
Crowne Plaza, Perth
Included Meals:
Dinner with Wine
Two wilderness highs provide a fitting start to this journey of contrasts. Venturing north, you soon reach Yanchep National Park. Here, Noongar man Derek Nannup’s Dreamtime stories tell the tale of how the land was created from an Aboriginal perspective. He’s quite the character and likes his guests to get hands-on. Think tasting native bush tucker, smelling medicinal plants, and maybe even trying to play the didgeridoo. Derek will make it look easy. It’s not… Think the day couldn’t get any better? Think again. Within Nambung National Park, the Pinnacles create a moonscape that appears plucked from a sci-fi film, its staggering collection of natural limestone structures jutting into the sky – some are 3.5 metres high. For all their mysterious appeal, geologists tell us the spires were formed 30,000 years ago when an inland sea receded. It’s a spiritual place. Arriving in Geraldton, pay homage to sailors lost off the WA coast during WWII at the HMAS Sydney Memorial.
Hotel:
Mantra Geraldton
Included Meals:
Breakfast
While stromatolites might sound like something belonging in a cave, these ‘living fossils’ grow in the water at Hamelin Pool. Rock-like in appearance, they’re actually alive, and reveal what life might have been like 3.5-billion years ago, when there was no other complex life on Earth. Remarkably, this is the world’s most abundant colony of them. It’s just one of the natural allures of the state’s World Heritage listed Shark Bay, the largest bay in Australia with more than 1,000 kilometers of beaches. Not all of them are sandy – welcome to Shell Beach. Here, the snow-white colour comes from billions of tiny coquina bivalve shells, up to 10 metres deep and stretching for 70 kilometers. And just when you thought the outlook couldn’t get any prettier, you arrive at Monkey Mia.
Hotel:
Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort,
2 Nights
Included Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Sparkling turquoise water, powdery white sand, ochre dunes – Monkey Mia knows how to dial up the drama. And then there are the wild resident dolphins, which famously swim to shore in a pod every morning to splash about in the shallows and interact with humans before dancing away to catch a few waves. It’s a hard act to follow. Our suggestions for your afternoon of leisure? Yet more dolphin spotting on an optional sunset cruise around the coast, or seeing Shark Bay as the birds do, on an optional scenic flight. Even from the sky you’ll likely spot dolphins, humpback whales, turtles, and perhaps even dugongs. Or indulge in both. The afternoon is yours.
Included Meals:
Breakfast
Carnarvon calls, the beacon its not-so-under-the-radar satellites. The unassuming Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum played a huge role in global history, helping to beam the 1969 moon landing to TV sets around the world. That’s just one of its claims to fame, as you’ll discover touring the gallery’s collection with a passionate guide. The experience is interactive, so budding astronauts can try on space suits and climb aboard a spacecraft simulator.
Hotel:
Best Western Hospitality Inn Carnarvon
Included Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
You don’t need to get your hair wet to experience the sheer wonderment of Ningaloo Reef. A Coral Bay glass-bottom boat cruise jettisons you within a whisker of turtles, colourful coral and an embarrassment of fish – some 500 species have been recorded. You won’t know where to look, although your on-board naturalist will help guide your gaze. This is part of the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Coast, a popular hangout among larger-then-life migratory marine life. Like whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, which amass here between March and September every year. Before you settle into your plush Exmouth hotel, admire the curves of the coastline from Vlamingh Head Lighthouse. Your gaze will hold firmly on the ocean for the next couple of days.
Hotel:
Mantarays Ningaloo Beach Resort,
2 Nights
Included Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Steel yourself for a few ‘pinch-me’ moments today. Opt to snorkel (with an ethical operator) over Ningaloo Reef. Time your visit right, and you could have whale sharks and humpback whales in your company. Nothing quite prepares you for the moment you glimpse these gentle giants up close, gliding gracefully through schools of fish. It’s a full day of unbridled, and unrivalled, marine immersion. We understand if you’d prefer to stay dry, and instead choose to book an optional sunset cruise or simply spend the day strolling the sand on the lookout for dolphins. The choice is yours.
Included Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
It’s an epic commute across the Pilbara from Exmouth to inland Karijini. But it’s oh-so worth it. If you’ve ever wanted to fall in love at first sight, it’ll happen at Karijini National Park. This is nature writ large, a place of immense gorges and deep, dark chasms; waterfalls and gem-like rock pools. This red slice of the Hamersley Range is a magnet for nature lovers, not only for the earthly delights but also the creatures that call the cliffs home. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think someone had taken the glasses off your nose and cleaned them for the first time. Even darkness doesn’t temper the natural drama. You’re hundreds of kilometers from the nearest town, so expect dazzling Southern Hemisphere stargazing from your safari-style tent.
Hotel:
Karijini Eco Retreat,
2 Nights
Included Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
It took billions of years to create the geological wonders of Karijini: the striking red escarpments and the quiet gorges all enveloped by tall gums and pocked with enormous termite mounds. You have a single day to explore, so bring your stamina and sense of adventure. You’re heading deep into the national park, which covers 630,000 hectares just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It’s WA’s second-largest national park, and the scale can be daunting. Thankfully, you’re in the company of a guide who knows all the hidden nooks and cool waterholes just begging for a swim. Things get hot here – why not dive in?
Included Meals:
Be My Guest Lunch, Dinner with Wine
At first glimpse of the Pilbara, you may well think you’ve been transported to Mars, the ethereal landscape almost glowing in the sun. The soil couldn’t get any redder, the skies any wider, the rock formations any more dramatic, with much of the countryside streaked with mineral deposits. People are few and far between until you reach the town of Port Hedland. There are plenty of local characters to meet over dinner at your hotel, which gets busy when musicians begin to play. Before you leave, head to a lookout to spot migrating humpback whales and snubfin dolphins cruising along the coast, season pending.
Hotel:
The Esplanade Hotel Port Hedland
Included Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Skirting the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, your morning outlook is flat – almost as far as the eye can see, the sand eventually giving way to mountain ranges and then multicultural Broome. The city delivers many surprises, from its eclectic restaurants and colourful Chinatown to its long pearling history – the pristine waters produce some of the most prized pearl oysters in the world, and fortune-seekers from around the world descended during the region’s ‘pearl rush’. Traditions linger today, with pearl farms and boutiques tempting you inside. It’s time to discover Broome’s other standout attraction: its sunsets. Follow locals to the sand on Cable Beach, which is so long that it can accommodate 4WDs, camel trains and foot traffic. Salute the end of your first spectacular Broome day.
Hotel:
Cable Beach Club Resort,
2 Nights
Included Meals:
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Which direction should you choose to venture today? Head north deep into the Kimberley on an optional experience where the Horizontal Falls reveals the power of nature. Here, changing tides push an immense amount of water through two narrow chasms in a short period of time. And then – the appearance of a waterfall, tipped on its side. What does one do when faced with this rush? Tackle it in a speedboat, of course. For a different perspective, head to the skies on a scenic flight. This one’s for the record books. Alternatively, veer off to a pearl farm to witness the precision that goes into growing and harvesting these gems. Or simply enjoy Broome’s tropical climes, strolling along Cable Beach, hunting for dinosaur footprints, and browsing boutiques. The choice is yours.
Included Meals:
Breakfast
How do you pick a favourite adventure from the last 12 days? You don’t have to – let them all shine in equal measure in your memory.
Included Meals:
Breakfast
Please note: This itinerary may be subject to change.
Wonders of the Pilbara & West Coast
First Choice
13 Day Guided Vacation
Perth to Broome
The northern reaches of Western Australia unite some of the most diverse, and dramatic, landscapes in the country. From yawning red-rock gorges to blissfully blue marine parks, powdery white beaches to fiery orange sunsets, a colourful journey awaits. Your itinerary takes you from the below the surface of the sea at Ningaloo Reef, to soaring above it at Horizontal Falls, with Karijini, the Pinnacles and Monkey Mia just some of the postcode-perfect places in between.
Highlights
Insider Knowledge
The Carnarvon Space Museum enjoys a special place in Australian history. Passionate local guides reveal how it came to play a role in the 1969 moon landing.
Local Connection
Whale sharks, turtles, a ridiculous number of fish – Ningaloo Reef deserves its World Heritage status. Glimpse the underwater world on a Coral Bay glass-bottom boat tour.
Cultural Immersion
Playing the didgeridoo and hunting with spears is fun, but not as easy as it looks. Charismatic Derek Nannup introduces you to Noongar culture and Dreamtime history in Yanchep National Park.
Sustainable Footprints
Your national park fees protect the places you visit, ensuring this fragile part of the world – and the First Nations communities that call it home – will be around for future generations to enjoy.
Wildlife and Nature
Monkey Mia’s dolphins are wild – and wildly friendly. They surf the waves to shore every morning to greet rangers and onlookers.
Accommodation
Your Guided Holiday includes a range of quality accommodation for your comfort.
The accommodation you will enjoy on this tour includes:
Crowne Plaza Perth is located in the heartland of beautiful Perth Western Australia with picturesque Langley Park at the hotel doorstep. An upscale riverside hotel with spectacular views of the city’s iconic Swan River and just minutes from the Perth CBD, Crowne Plaza Perth is in the ultimate location.
Easy reach of the city and its many attractions make this Perth hotel the ideal place to stay whatever the occasion or reason for travel. The natural surrounds are ideal for relaxing and recreation, while onsite parking and free public transport make it simple and convenient to get around town.
- Ensuite
- Flat Screen TV
- In-room Movies (fee applies)
- Air-conditioning
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea making facilities
- Iron / Ironing Board
- Hair Dryer
- Bathrobe and slippers
- Gym facilities
- Laundry facilities (Self-Service)
- Swimming Pool
Features
Looking for somewhere to stay in Geraldton? You want location, you want comfort, you want value. Mantra Geraldton hotel has it all and it's right on the Batavia Coast Marina, Champion Bay.
Mantra Geraldton's spacious apartments are close to the region's best attractions like the Western Australian Museum, Geraldton CBD and the HMAS Sydney Memorial.
- Swimming Pool
- Barbecue facilities
- Room service
- Internet Access
- Laundry facilities (Self-Service)
- Private balcony
- Air Conditioning
Features
Located in the heart of Western Australia’s Shark Bay, Monkey Mia is one of the world’s premier natural dolphin sighting areas.
- Air-conditioning
- Ensuite
- TV
- In-house movies
- Refrigerator
- Tea & Coffee Facilities
- Balcony or Terrace
- Linen
Features
We offer comfort and country hospitality. After a delicious breakfast with us, you may care to choose a relaxing day - take a day out at the Banana Plantation, relax by our swimming pool, have a coffee, or just enjoy a casual meal in our attractive alfresco garden dining area. Or you may wish to explore the local sights of Carnarvon and surrounds. Reminisce on the day's adventure and dine in with us at 'Sails', our fully licensed, a La carte restaurant, offering high quality food at affordable prices. There's something for every palate as well as a special children's menu for children 12 years and under.
- Swimming Pool
- Tea & Coffee Facilities
- Air Conditioning
- Refrigerator
- Hair Dryer
- Iron / Ironing Board
- Wi-Fi
- Flat Screen TV
- In-house movies
- Room service
Features
Novotel Ningaloo, the only resort on Sunrise Beach, is your gateway to the world heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef and the Cape Range National Park. Guests can enjoy a relaxing holiday escaping the winter chill or an action packed holiday taking part in the many activities the region has to offer.
Novotel Ningaloo, in the Exmouth Marina, has opened 68 of the planned 150 rooms, servicing the growing popularity of the nature based tourist destination.
The deluxe development includes a range of hotel rooms and one and two bedroom self contained apartments. Three bedroom apartments are available on request. The complex includes Gold Plate Award winning Mantaray's restaurant, bar, lounge, resort-style swimming pool and gym with stunning beaches right outside your door.
- Air Conditioning
- Tea & Coffee Facilities
- Swimming Pool
- Gym facilities
- Laundry Service
- Internet Access
- Direct beach access
- Room service
Features
An environmentally friendly Retreat and Campground, nestled in the pristine bushland at Joffre Gorge - in the heart of the world class Karijini National Park.
Alongside the outback bush camping experience, the multi award winning Karijini Eco Retreat is the first and only facility to offer comfortable glamping accommodation in the Park! Offering quality accommodation and facilities, the management and staff look forward to welcoming you to a unique world of environmentally friendly, affordable accommodation and camping options with a touch of luxury and a taste of genuine mateship and hospitality in outback Western Australia!
- Barbecue facilities
- Linen
- Ensuite
- Solar Power
- Front and rear deck
- Natural ventilation (No air-conditioner)
- Rechargeable lantern
- Minimal power for low wattage applications
Features
The New Esplanade Hotel was completed in 2013 and offers something for everyone – from business to tourists travellers.
Most of the 108 hotel rooms feature balcony access to the well-manicured hotel grounds. All our modern rooms boast free Foxtel and In-House movies, broadband and wireless Internet access, tea and coffee-making facilities, a well stocked bar fridge and private en-suite bathroom. Interconnecting rooms to suit families and those featuring spas are also available as well as ample onsite parking for the discerning traveller.
- Flat Screen TV
- Tea & Coffee Facilities
- Foxtel
- Broadband and wireless internet access available (at additional cost)
- Refrigerator
- Ensuite
- Air Conditioning
Features
Take one idyllic, seaside location – complete with spectacular sunsets, gently swaying palm trees and Kimberley charm – add the finest food, unique experiences and luxury indulgences; and you have the ideal setting for a memorable holiday.
Welcome to the magnificent Cable Beach, home of the award-winning Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa – a holiday destination like no other. Your stay will be full of surprising wonders and endless ways to reconnect; with nature, your partner, your family and yourself.
Cable Beach Club offers a place to unwind, with two glistening pools, delicious cuisine at a choice of three restaurants, leisure facilities, the first Australian L'Occitane spa and a personal touch to every experience.
- Private veranda or courtyard
- Ensuite
- Shower
- Air-conditioning
- Ceiling fan
- TV
- Foxtel
- iPod/iPhone docking station
- Wireless Internet access
- ISD/STD phone
- Tea & Coffee Facilities
- Mini Bar
- Refrigerator
- Hairdryer
- Iron / Ironing Board
- In-room safe
Features
Need accommodation before or after your tour?
Our special discounted rates make booking accommodation with us during your holiday both easy and affordable at selected AAT Kings hotels and resorts. Ask our friendly reservations at the time of booking.
Optional Experiences
To ensure your holiday is filled with memorable experiences, we have included a range of quality Optional Excursions for you to choose from and partake in, if you wish, during your holiday. The excursions can be booked on tour through your Travel Director.
Broome Cruise - Sunset, Seafood & Pearling Cruise (Broome )
Adult: $349.00
Child: $239.00
Join in harvesting wild Cygnet Bay pearl oyster shells from the sea, then taste rare pearl meat delicacies as one course of our menu. Feast on an exquisite 7-course banquet, prepared by our onboard chef, using fresh, local, seafood and ingredients. Sip on free-flowing, premium, sparkling and still wines, local beersand soft Drinks - fully inclusive and served throughout your cruise. Relax on board while anchored overlooking glorious Cable Beach, with white-tablecloth, full-service dining. Gaze in awe at the golden sunset from one of three decks on our deluxe vessel and take in this unforgettable, breathtaking journey of the senses
Didgeridoo Dreaming - Aboriginal Night Tour (Monkey Mia)
Adult: 85.00
Child: $50.00
After the sunsets relax around a campfire with didgeridoo meditation. Your local aboriginal host will teach you about local Aboriginal culture and history. As the fire flares up some cooking of bush tucker or seafood over the open campfire begins as you are stepped through how to play the didgeridoo
Francois Peron National Park 4WD Tour (Monkey Mia)
Adult Price: AUD 215.00 Child Price: AUD 215.00
This is a full day trip adventuring through a spectacular, special piece of earth, right where outback Australia meets the coast. Your tour is a combination of cultural history, sensational scenery, fascinating plants, wild animals and bush survival skills. Includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea, sunscreen, use of binoculars, polarised sunglasses and an expert local guide.
Horizontal Falls Scenic Flight Half Day Tour (Broome)
Half Day Tour - Adult Price: AUD 875.00 Child Price: AUD 760 (up to 12 yrs)
Join a spectacular scenic flight over rich pearling waters, hundreds of tiny islands and crossing mineral rich rugged Kimberley country. While you don’t get to experience them from the water, this scenic flight is an amazing way to see the astonishing Horizontal Falls from the air. Land at the beautiful and remote Cape Leveque for morning/afternoon tea.
Sail With A Bunch of Animals Cruise (Monkey Mia)
Adult Price: AUD 99.00 Child Price: AUD 99.00
Cruising the waters around Monkey Mia to spot marine life and the unique dugong in the Restricted- Access, Dugong Management Zone, which we are allowed into only once a day. Dugong feed on sea-grass. Shark Bay has the largest sea-grass banks in the world, and its 10,000 dugongs represent about 10% of the world’s dugong population. Although dugongs are shy and extremely difficult creatures to find and approach, we have over the last 14 years developed techniques for getting you close without disturbing them..
Pearl Luggers Museum Tour (Broome)
Adult Price: AUD 30.00 Child Price: AUD 15.00
Through daily guided tours and enthralling stories learn of the impact pearling has had upon Northern Australia and why such a large number of nationalities were enticed, often by force, into our pearling industry. Experience what it was like to be a pearl diver and discover why so many put their lives at risk. See two of Broome’s last remaining wooden pearling luggers, taste the exclusive pearl meat from the pearl oyster, view artefacts from the early perilous days of deep sea pearl diving, and see a pearl valued in excess of $100,000.
Shark Bay Scenic Flight (Monkey Mia)
Adult Price: AUD 235.00 Child Price: AUD 235.00
A 45 minute scenic flight crosses Freycinet Reach to the fascinating patchwork of salt ponds at Useless Loop. It then crosses the sandy finger of Bellefin Prong and out over the rugged Zuytdorp Cliffs. Following the cliffs northward to Australia's most westerly landfall at Steep Point and crosses part of Dirk Hartog Island. Keep you eye out for marine life.
Whale Shark Swim (Exmouth )
Adult: $450.00
Child: $335.00
ndertake the most amazing experience on the Ningaloo Reef with this whale shark experience of a lifetime – the chance to get up close and personal with the world’s largest fish. This whale shark swim gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the crystal waters of Ningaloo Reef and swim alongside these gentle giants as they cruise the waters of Western Australia’s north west cape. A Whale Shark Swim at Ningaloo Reef is a giant tick off your travel experience and dream destination bucket list!
NOTE: This activity is recommended for strong swimmers only
Willie Creek Pearl Farm Tour (Broome)
Adult Price: AUD 125.00 Child Price: AUD 68.00
Located 38 kilometres north of Broome, the Willie Creek Pearl Farm is perfectly situated on the protected tidal estuary of Willie Creek. A natural harbour, the warm azure waters of the creek provide a perfect growing environment for the Pinctada maxima oyster and produces world renowned South Sea Pearls. At Willie Creek Pearl Farm you will gain a fascinating insight into the world of cultured pearling. On board our boat you will learn about modern pearling techniques and after refreshments your guide will demonstrate the intricate process of cultured pearling including the seeding of a live oyster shell.
