What to do in Albany??

[Kiwi_cruiser]

I have not been to Albany, Western Australia before.

 

I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day?? , what things did you do there for the day??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome 🙂

[Aus Traveller]

There is usually a free shuttle bus into town. You can walk if you wish. It is only about a 20 minute walk but it is uphill.

 

The shuttles let people off at a very small park where a market is usually set up. We have gone on a HOHO 'bus' that is rather interesting. The main attraction in town is the ANZAC centre. It is superb so, depending on your interest, allow an hour or two for your visit. There is an entry fee.

[Bpos]

7 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

I have not been to Albany, Western Australia before.

 

I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day?? , what things did you do there for the day??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome 🙂

I am in Albany as we speak,  think about hiring a car for the day,  the old whaling station is fantastic and about 20 minute drive out of town, you can also visit amazing coastline nearby with the Gap to view the Southern ocean.  Emu point for lunch with a great feed of fresh fish and chips and finish off the day with a visit to the National ANZAC Centre.

[megsie]

A few years ago caught a mini shuttle bus that did a circle on/off route. We went to the ANZAC Centre and at that time there was only a fee to enter the National ANZAC building but not the grounds.  

A must do is to walk up the hill reading all the ships' information and especially the sculpture with excerpts of the letters that were sent home. At the top of the hill there's a lookout where the  families came to wave their farewells to the brave young men off to their  unknown destinies. It was the most profound day for any excursion ever and the most beautiful scenery.

Edited September 18, 2019 by megsie

[Aus Traveller]

17 hours ago, megsie said:

A few years ago caught a mini shuttle bus that did a circle on/off route. We went to the ANZAC Centre and at that time there was only a fee to enter the National ANZAC building but not the grounds.  

A must do is to walk up the hill reading all the ships' information and especially the sculpture with excerpts of the letters that were sent home. At the top of the hill there's a lookout where the  families came to wave their farewells to the brave young men off to their  unknown destinies. It was the most profound day for any excursion ever and the most beautiful scenery.

There is a fee to enter the ANZAC centre, but it is well worth it.

[Stickman1990]

Take the shuttle into town then get the HOHO bus which visits several spots Around the area including the ANZAC Centre - an absolutely fantastic facility which is well worth the visit and the Look Out which is higher up 

It runs on a loop so plenty of opportunity  to spend time at your preferred locations 

 

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the tips, we will be there in 2021.

[Stickman1990]

It really is a very moving place to remember the WW1 forces and their assembling and despatch overseas - you can visualise the harbour with the fleet there 

The ANZAC centre is a “must do” for any Australian or Kiwi

[MicCanberra]

On 10/18/2019 at 9:31 PM, Stickman1990 said:

It really is a very moving place to remember the WW1 forces and their assembling and despatch overseas - you can visualise the harbour with the fleet there 

The ANZAC centre is a “must do” for any Australian or Kiwi

Excellent, will check it out.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I would like to go to the Whaling Station and around, but I couldn't find a place to rent a car, since we're there on a Saturday afternoon and night.  I struck out with Avis & a Car-Truck rental place I found.  Would anyone know of another rental place that might be willing to rent a car in the afternoon, with return around dinner time?

Or is there another way to get to the Whaling Station?

 

I contacted Busy Blue Bus and they plan to offer a tour to Torndirrup Park, The Gap and Natural Bridge for people not taking the cruise ship excursions.  But I could do so much more if I could rent a car. 

 

I've seen a picture of the ANZAC Museum, and it's indeed stunning. 

[Docker123]

Get your photo taken at dog rock. Memories for a lifetime. 
 

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I would like to go to the Whaling Station and around, but I couldn't find a place to rent a car, since we're there on a Saturday afternoon and night.  I struck out with Avis & a Car-Truck rental place I found.  Would anyone know of another rental place that might be willing to rent a car in the afternoon, with return around dinner time?

Or is there another way to get to the Whaling Station?

 

I contacted Busy Blue Bus and they plan to offer a tour to Torndirrup Park, The Gap and Natural Bridge for people not taking the cruise ship excursions.  But I could do so much more if I could rent a car. 

 

I've seen a picture of the ANZAC Museum, and it's indeed stunning. 

From checking on the internet, it appears that Avis have a depot at the Albany airport and offer delivery to the cruise terminal. I agree with you that having a car would allow you to do much more. You could go to Whale World (do they still call it that?), Torndirrup NP (doesn't need long) and the ANZAC centre.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

11 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

From checking on the internet, it appears that Avis have a depot at the Albany airport and offer delivery to the cruise terminal. I agree with you that having a car would allow you to do much more. You could go to Whale World (do they still call it that?), Torndirrup NP (doesn't need long) and the ANZAC centre.

That was what I read as well, but I didn't actually call them, just tried to book online.  We're there weird hours on a Saturday (1 PM to 9 PM), which is making things a bit harder.  I'd love the option of driving around, but can also find things to do in Albany if that's not feasible.   

[Aus Traveller]

7 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

That was what I read as well, but I didn't actually call them, just tried to book online.  We're there weird hours on a Saturday (1 PM to 9 PM), which is making things a bit harder.  I'd love the option of driving around, but can also find things to do in Albany if that's not feasible.   

Do you live in Australia? If so, maybe you could telephone the Visitor Information Centre in Albany and ask about hire cars. If you are overseas, I could make that call for you.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

14 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Do you live in Australia? If so, maybe you could telephone the Visitor Information Centre in Albany and ask about hire cars. If you are overseas, I could make that call for you.

Yes, I'm overseas.  I hadn't thought of asking the visitor centre to call them.  But I suppose they would do that for me, and I could easily email them.  Other than some occasional problems with emails not getting through or just not being answered, I've found Australian visitor centres (iSites?) very helpful.  But if you would like to call Avis, that would be great.  We arrive Saturday, Dec. 28 at 1 PM and depart at 9, although I'd probably return the car about 6 PM.  It's my understanding that there will probably be a shuttle from the port to Albany's "Town Square,"  near Town Hall.  So if they're open, I could probably meet someone at the town square or at the port.  We would probably want a medium sized car as my husband has long legs. 

[Aus Traveller]

6 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Yes, I'm overseas.  I hadn't thought of asking the visitor centre to call them.  But I suppose they would do that for me, and I could easily email them.  Other than some occasional problems with emails not getting through or just not being answered, I've found Australian visitor centres (iSites?) very helpful.  But if you would like to call Avis, that would be great.  We arrive Saturday, Dec. 28 at 1 PM and depart at 9, although I'd probably return the car about 6 PM.  It's my understanding that there will probably be a shuttle from the port to Albany's "Town Square,"  near Town Hall.  So if they're open, I could probably meet someone at the town square or at the port.  We would probably want a medium sized car as my husband has long legs. 

It is now 8.50am in WA. I will phone the visitor centre at 9am and ask which car hire companies operate in Albany and their contact details. Back soon ....

[Aus Traveller]

The Albany Visitor Centre advised hiring a car from Avis because they would bring it to the port. Budget also operates in Albany, but you would have to get a taxi to the airport 12km away. I have left a message for Avis to phone me back.

[Aus Traveller]

Avis haven't phoned back yet. On their website a mid-size vehicle is quoted as AUD$68.70.

Intermediate

Group C - Hyundai i30 Active Hatch or similar

Automatic Transmission

 

 

A full size vehicle is $74.43

Full Size

Group E - Toyota Camry or similar

Automatic Transmission

 

Maybe you could contact Avis on their website and proceed with a booking. However, if I can help you further, please do not hesitate to ask. 🙂

[Bpos]

4 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Avis haven't phoned back yet. On their website a mid-size vehicle is quoted as AUD$68.70.

Intermediate

Group C - Hyundai i30 Active Hatch or similar

Automatic Transmission

 

 

A full size vehicle is $74.43

Full Size

Group E - Toyota Camry or similar

Automatic Transmission

 

Maybe you could contact Avis on their website and proceed with a booking. However, if I can help you further, please do not hesitate to ask. 🙂

Thats a good price but you may have to add insurance to that or perhaps you travel insurance would cover the excess.  In Australia the excess is usually around $4,000.

[MicCanberra]

We have travel insurance that covers us for car rental. Seems much easier to have it all year round than having to pay a daily rate when required.

[The_Big_M]

If from the US, their excess/insurance structure likely wouldn't cover it as it's built around CDWs which is a different beast. They may be up for the extra daily cost to bring that excess down.

[Aus Traveller]

A rep from Avis in Albany phoned back. The price for a sedan, delivered to the port in Albany is AUD$129.56 per day (US$83.70). She had no explanation why their website was showing a much lower price and I gave up arguing!! On my earlier website enquiry I had entered the information that your nationality was USA, so maybe the website did a currency conversion. However, that doesn't work our exactly. It is irrelevant anyway, because the price the Avis rep quoted on the phone, is the price they charge.

 

Cars have full comprehensive insurance, but there is a $4,000 AUD excess (you pay the damage, but limited to $4,000). If you want to reduce this to $1,000, it would cost an extra $30. They would be waiting at the port when the ship arrives, but she said you would need to pre-book, otherwise there would not be a car available. At the end of the day, you leave the car at the port. The rep from Avis, suggested that you make sure you book through the Australian website. If you book through the US one, there would be an extra charge of $25.

 

When we have done that on occasions when a company representative isn't there to verify that there isn't any damage to the vehicle, we photograph all four sides of the car. Digital images have the date the time imbedded so it would be easy for you to prove that there was no damage when you left it. One of our friends (who posts on this forum) was 'caught' in the UK when the hire company later claimed there was a lot of minorf damage to the vehicle that he had to pay for. Although the damage was minor, the cost wasn't.

[MicCanberra]

Cheers for getting the information. Very handy.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Thank You everyone for your information  and replays, very helpfully 😊

 

On our day there we pick up a local tour from the tourist information centre and did a tour of Albany, it was good 🙂

[MicCanberra]

Great stuff, glad you had a good time.