Perth to Exmouth Road Trip: 8 Day Western Australia Itinerary
Western Australia has so many beautiful places to explore that 8 days really isn’t enough to see it all. We took a Western Australia road trip to explore the places along the drive from Perth to Exmouth in 8 days and made the most of it.
We took our time on our Perth to Exmouth road trip, but we also made time to explore all that Exmouth has to offer, making our base the Exmouth Escape Resort. Exmouth is full of beautiful beaches and has a wide variety of wildlife including whale sharks, manta rays, and sea turtles.
The best part about Western Australia was that it was the perfect way to get away from home to explore more of our country while also being able to practice social distancing. If you want to see the best of Western Australia, use our 8 day Perth to Exmouth road trip itinerary to plan your perfect trip!
You can find a road map of our entire Perth to Exmouth road trip itinerary here:
Day 1: Perth, Wedge Island, Geraldton
Total Driving Time: 4.5 hours
To start our Western Australia itinerary, we spent some time exploring the crystal clear waters of Perth’s best beaches. With the water so clear and calm, you can’t help but dive in. Make sure to stop at the Omeo Wreck Dive Trail and Scarborough while you are in Perth. They are our favourite spots.
Before we could head out, we stopped to pick up some masks for our underwater adventures in Exmouth, and also grabbed some food to fuel up for our drive.
The drive from Perth to Exmouth takes about 12 to 13 hours, so we decided to break up the trip with some stops along the way. The best thing about Western Australia is that it is not crowded at all, so we were able to practice social distancing while seeing more of our amazing country.
Our first stop outside of Perth was Wedge Island where you can drive on the beach. It is hard to beat the views when you are driving on the beach itself! Of course, we couldn’t leave without stopping to take some pictures as well.
From Wedge Island, we continued to Geraldton where we stayed at a motor inn for the night. Geraldton is about a third of the way from Perth to Exmouth, but it makes for a great spot to stop to break up the trip.
Omeo Wreck Beach
Day 2: Hutt Lagoon, Shark Bay
Total Driving Time: 4.5 hours
Our second day on the road involved a stop at Hutt Lagoon, Australia’s famous pink lake and a halfway point between Perth and Exmouth. It was one of the spots I was most excited to visit, as I have always wanted to capture the beauty of a pink lake. This salt lake is a vibrant pink and makes for amazing photos. We ended up hanging around for hours checking out different spots along the way and capturing some epic content. As a bonus, we had it pretty much to ourselves.
You can swim in the pink lake, but it is super salty. It also is super stinky. Swim at your own risk, but stopping at Hutt Lagoon is a must on a Perth to Exmouth road trip. It will add some time to your trip as it is located about 90 minutes from the town centre.
The road from Hutt Lagoon to Monkey Mia and Shark Bay is long and straight. The outback roads stretch on for kilometre after kilometre with little change. We did make a quick stop at Billabong Roadhouse before continuing our drive.
For our second night, we stayed at RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort, and the name was perfect since we saw dolphins first thing the next morning down at the water’s edge. Monkey Mia is in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, so we got some rest before exploring the area the next morning.
Day 3: Shark Bay, Francois Peron National Park, Carnarvon
Total Driving Time: 4 hours
Day 3 started with dolphins and 4WD. Some dolphins came to say hello right up in the shallow waters of the beach. Although you are not allowed to swim with them, you can stand at the edge and admire their friendly little faces. Not a bad way to start our morning before heading out for an off-road adventure.
Francois Peron National Park is also within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area and has off-road 4WD trails to explore. We had to let some air out of the tires first, but then it was time to explore the red dirt roads of Western Australia in our Land Cruiser. After exploring some of the off the beaten tracks, we made a quick pit stop at Shelly Beach which I felt was a little disappointing. I pictured large pretty shells everywhere but instead found tiny tiny bits of crushed up shells. Nevertheless, we still shot some cool photos before hitting the road again.
After spending some time checking out the Shark Bay area, we started our drive to Carnarvon. Carnarvon is past the halfway point and only a few hours from Exmouth. In total, we spent about 4 hours driving from Monkey Mia and Shark Bay to Carnarvon where we spent the night in a Motor Inn.
Cape Peron
Shelly Beach
Day 4: Carnarvon, Coral Bay, Exmouth
Total Driving Time: 4 hours
Before taking off we decided to visit Carnarvon’s popular cactus garden to take some photos. I particularly liked my outfit (Dress by Rowie The Label) that day so that was a bonus :)
The drive from Carnarvon to Coral Bay takes about 2.5 hours, and Coral Bay gives you your first glance at the Ningaloo Reef that Western Australia is known for. If you decide to take a snorkelling & marine life tour from Coral Bay, I suggest booking accommodation there instead of Exmouth, which we soon realised was a big mistake on our end as Exmouth and Coral Bay aren’t exactly close.
Next stop: Exmouth. Driving from Coral Bay to Exmouth takes another 1.5 hours for a total of 4 hours on the road.
Day 5: CORAL BAY - Manta Rays & Ningaloo Reef
For our time in Exmouth, we stayed at Exmouth Escape Resort. We loved staying there, and it made a perfect place to call home for the days we spent exploring Exmouth.
Because Exmouth is known for marine life, I strongly suggest booking a couple of boat tours during your time in the area. Our first trip was the ‘Swim With Manta Rays’ excursion with Coral Bay Eco Tours. There was a huge dust storm that gave us a hazy sky, but we saw a huge pod of dolphins mating and got to swim with eight Manta Rays (talk about getting your heart racing!). We didn’t end up snapping any photos of the Mantas as we just wanted to enjoy the moment.
Seeing the dolphins was special, but swimming with the manta rays made my heart feel like it could explode. They were so playful and kept coming up to us and doing flips. They are so huge when you are right next to them! All in all, it was an amazing day.
Day 6: Exmouth - Sea Turtles & Beaches
Before we could do much, we needed to grab some food, so we stopped by The Social Society Exmouth for breaky; a great spot for coffee and food in town. Then it was time to explore the beaches around Exmouth. Out of all the beaches, Turquoise Bay was our absolute favourite. You can’t miss it if you go to Exmouth.
Our afternoon was spent at Jurabi Turtle Centre on Yardie Creek Road. We enjoyed the sunset on the beach here, but the Centre also offers 24-hour information on the turtle species on Ningaloo. The Jurabi Turtle Centre is also the staging point for turtle watching tours.
For the best chance to see sea turtles laying eggs and hatching, head to the beaches from Hunters Access down to Wobiri Access, about 18 kilometres from Exmouth. We were waiting for baby sea turtles to hatch and didn’t see any, but we got to see a giant mother green sea turtle make her way up the beach to lay her eggs. It was such an incredible experience!
Day 7: Exmouth - Whale Sharks & Sea Turtles
After a good night’s rest at Exmouth Escape Resort, we made our way back to Coral Bay to do a whale shark tour. We went with Coral Bay Eco Tours again after having such a good experience with them seeing the manta rays and dolphins.
Throughout the day (we were out from around 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), we swam with turtles, fish, and of course, whale sharks! The whale sharks were a bit shy, but it was still a fantastic day. Because they were being shy and didn’t come to the surface, we couldn’t get great photos or videos like we hoped, but it is so amazing to be in the water next to these huge animals.
Day 8: Exmouth to Perth
Total Driving Time: 12+ hours
We left Exmouth at 7 a.m. to start the long drive back to Perth. On our way back, we made our way to Worrora Station which is a 2-hour drive through some pretty rough 4WD tracks. We even saw a car flipped over, so drive carefully!
Overall, we loved Exmouth. It’s an amazing place with so many beautiful beaches, lots of wildlife and good off-road tracks to check out. If you are looking for a unique part of Western Australia to explore, and especially if you enjoy marine wildlife and outdoor adventures, put this Perth to Exmouth road trip on your bucket list!
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