Oceania · Australia
Perth & Rottnest Island
The sunniest capital in Australia, Indian Ocean sunsets and an island of smiling quokkas.
Perth is the most isolated big city on earth and does not seem to mind. It has a river, a park bigger than Central Park on a hill above the towers, a string of white beaches facing the sunset, and Fremantle, the old port with the markets and the breweries. Rottnest Island, half an hour by ferry, has 63 beaches, no cars and the quokka, a marsupial that appears to smile.
The palm: Canary Island date palm
Perth’s palms are settlers: Canary date palms on the foreshore, Washingtonias in the parks and coconuts that only just survive this far south. The city sits at 32 degrees south, the southern edge of the palm belt, which is why the summers are dry and the winters are mild rather than tropical.
When to go
Sights
Rottnest Island
Cycle the 22 kilometre loop between bays, snorkel at Little Salmon Bay and meet the quokkas at Thomson Bay.
Kings Park
Four hundred hectares of bushland and botanic garden above the city, with a treetop walkway.
Fremantle
The Victorian port: markets, the prison, the fishing harbour and Little Creatures brewery.
Pinnacles Desert
Limestone spires in yellow sand two hours north, best at sunrise or sunset.
Beaches
Cottesloe
Perth’s classic beach, Norfolk pines, a 1910 pavilion and sunsets over the Indian Ocean.
The Basin, Rottnest
A natural rock pool of clear water a ten minute walk from the ferry.
Scarborough
Surf, a boardwalk and a public pool on the beach in the north of the city.
Events
- Mar
Sculpture by the Sea
Seventy sculptures on Cottesloe beach for three weeks in March.
- Feb
Perth Festival
Theatre, music and film across the city in February and March.
- Feb
Rottnest Channel Swim
A 20 kilometre open water swim from Cottesloe to the island.
For remote workers
A comfortable month: about €2,800
Perth is a big, easy city with excellent internet, coworkings in the centre and in Fremantle, and a time zone that overlaps with Asia rather than Europe. Australia’s working holiday visas cover under 35s; other remote workers are limited to visitor stays. Summer runs from December to March, when Europe is dark.
Compare as a baseFor families
Cottesloe and the river beaches are patrolled and gentle, Rottnest has bays with no cars and no waves, and the quokkas walk up to children of their own accord. Sun protection is non-negotiable: the UV index here is among the highest in the world.
Rank for your familyThree things to know
- November to March is summer, with dry 30 degree days and the sea at its warmest in February.
- Ferries to Rottnest leave from Fremantle, Perth city and Hillarys; book bikes with the ferry.
- Sunset is the ritual: Cottesloe’s Indiana teahouse lawn or the Rottnest west end, with fish and chips from Fremantle.
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