Fremantle / Perth Western Australia

[BulldustHHH]

Copied from a Cunard re-destination thread (the QM2 being re-routed away from Asia in 2020), here's a bunch of useful links and places to see in and around Fremantle & Perth:

 

OK here goes, - a bunch of links etc for Perth and Freo (Fremantle) places and things to do, and how to get around (copied from older posts I made elsewhere, so some advice was specific to queries made then):

 

Here are the maps for the free Freo and Perth CAT bus services:

 

• Live Perth CAT map
• Freo CAT map

 

NOTE: On the Freo CAT map you see the cruise terminal at the left side, the Maritime Museum to the bottom, and the yellow area is where all the cafes, shops, hotels and restaurants are concentrated. The yellow area beyond The Esplanade Reserve has restaurants facing the fishing boat harbour, including the popular Little Creatures microbrewery and restaurant. Also on the Freo CAT map, the B Shed Ferry Terminal is where the Rottnest ferries berth. They also berth on the other side of the river, but that is much harder to get to without a car.

 

Some Perth handy links (in no particular order):

 

• Perth Mint: https://www.perthmint.com/
• Perth Zoo: https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/
• Elizabeth Quay: https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/projects-and-places/elizabeth-quay/see-do/attractions
• King's Park: https://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park
• Caversham Wildlife Park - https://www.cavershamwildlife.com.au/

 

Perth is a 20-25min ride on the light rail train from Fremantle Station (see the Freo CAT map).

 

There's plenty of malls in Perth. The centre of Perth is Hay st and Murray st malls, which also has the cute London Court mall hanging off it. Several suburbs have large generic malls, such as Joondalup in the north, Westfield Innaloo is probably the closest to Scarborough (was a specific query):

 

https://goo.gl/maps/6ATc9UVqtNk

 

The best cinema complex is across the main drag from Innaloo, but then who comes to Australia to watch a movie? Garden City is nice and is the closest suburban one to Freo:

 

https://goo.gl/maps/YyfKoZvTxYE2

 

Hillary's Boat Harbour is not too far north of Scarborough and is also very nice (there is an aquatic museum there as well called AQWA:

 

https://goo.gl/maps/Mk25d3v94av

 

Hillary's has lots of cafes, pubs, restaurants and boutique shops. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

 

We have Uber, Didi and Ola in Perth. I haven't used the latter, but the former are usually cheaper, cleaner and more friendly than taxis. You can get Swan River cruises from Barrack Jetty which is at Elizabeth Quay just next to the Perth CBD. The Blue CAT bus (free, as are all normal buses in the CBD area) has a stop at the Jetty (B02) shown on the live CAT map.

 

As for staying in central Perth, plenty of beaches are accessible from public transport (all day public transport tickets are A$12.80 per person from memory, much less for concessionary passengers, but you need concession ID). Notably Cottesloe is accessible from the Perth to Freo light rail.

 

For checking the weather, the Bureau of Meteorology is the place to go:

http://www.bom.gov.au/

 

Transperth is the public transport authority and has a web site with fares and trip planning apps:

 

https://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/

 

Their phone app is also pretty useful and shows live bus tracking. Also note that all buses in the Perth CBD are free (MAP) regardless of whether they are CAT buses or not. With the non-CAT buses, make sure to get on by the front door only (drivers get antsy if you use the back door), make sure to flag them down to board, and hit the bell when you want to get off at the next stop. With CAT buses you can get in both doors, and they stop at every stop (except during rush hours they sometimes only do half circuits instead of the full one - watch out for the sign on the bus).

 

Give a holler here if you have any other questions.

Edited February 20, 2020 by BulldustHHH

[Mrs f.]

Thanks for the info....many options...are there any shore excursions  from Perth/Fremantle that go to any of the wine regions?  We are very into wine and want to hit as many of the famous regions around  Australia.  That and snorkeling.

[BulldustHHH]

I am not into wine myself, but as far as I know most excursions either go up the Swan River, which comes out at Freo (where the cruise terminal is) and flows up through the centre of Perth and then into the Swan Valley, or they go down to the Margaret River region some distance south of the city (easily doable in a day excursion). I can't post actual excursion offerings here, but you'll find them as options by Googling around and on board through your cruise ship's excursions.

 

The Swan Valley wine cruises are on barges and they will generally leave from Freo or Barrack Street Jetty in Perth. The latter is marked on the Blue CAT route as stop B2 Barrack Square (next to the Bell Tower).

 

Snorkeling is probably decent around Rottnest Island, but it is better up the coast at Ningaloo Reef, but that's at least a day's drive away.

 

 

[frantic36]

11 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

Thanks for the info....many options...are there any shore excursions  from Perth/Fremantle that go to any of the wine regions?  We are very into wine and want to hit as many of the famous regions around  Australia.  That and snorkeling.

 

For Margaret River which is the best known wine region it is a 3 hour one way car journey so I wouldn't recommend it as a day trip. Though I have seen one 13 hour tour listed. I have been to that area for a day but it was business related and 6 hours in a car was tiring especially if you were combining it with driving around to wineries. If you have an overnight in Perth it would be more comfortable to do as drive down one day and return the next.

 

There are wine areas in Perth such as the Swan Valley and Bickley area which is ~ 40 minutes from Fremantle. Here are some wine tours. I haven't done these myself but I would avoid big buses myself, but I am not one for large group tours.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g255103-Activities-c42-t205-Perth_Greater_Perth_Western_Australia.html

 

I just went to Rottnest yesterday and the Ferry terminal is near the Port terminal is under a mile away. I am including walking from the terminal out of the fenced area and around to the where you can get tickets and the ferry. It would be quicker if the fence wasn't there 😊. There are two companies and the ferry takes 30 minutes though they like you to be there in advance. No later then 10-15 minutes before the ferry leaves. The ferries are modern and very clean.

 

At Rottnest there is a company that hires bikes and snorkelling gear. If you don't want a bike there is a hop on hop off bus or walking though it was very hot yesterday. It isn't pretty coral but rocky areas and some fish.

 

https://www.rottnestisland.com/see-and-do/natural-attractions/underwater-playground

 

Julie

[BulldustHHH]

The Rottnest ferries take off from the B Shed area (see the Freo CAT bus map) which is quite close to the cruise terminal, but as frantic said, you have to walk out and around somewhat to get there. If only someone had a little tourist train or some such to ferry passengers between the two. If you are staying in the Perth CBD, you can also combine a Swan River ride and Rottnest Ferry trip by taking off from the Barrack Street Jetty (as mentioned above) near the Bell Tower (see Perth CAT map).

At least one of the Rottnest ferry companies lets you rent bikes from them, which saves walking to the bike rental place on Rottnest. BTW this is one of the main reasons people visit Rottnest, and they are pretty terrifying (not unlike Drop Bears) - behold the quokkas (not a bad Scrabble score):

 

This one probably wasn't long out of the pouch. They are ridiculously cute when they are still in there with their heads poking out. They are best spotted around the cafes and supermarket area - they know where food comes from. No, you aren't allowed to feed them.

Edited February 21, 2020 by BulldustHHH

[roothy123]

On 2/21/2020 at 12:09 AM, BulldustHHH said:

The Rottnest ferries take off from the B Shed area (see the Freo CAT bus map) which is quite close to the cruise terminal, but as frantic said, you have to walk out and around somewhat to get there. If only someone had a little tourist train or some such to ferry passengers between the two. If you are staying in the Perth CBD, you can also combine a Swan River ride and Rottnest Ferry trip by taking off from the Barrack Street Jetty (as mentioned above) near the Bell Tower (see Perth CAT map).

At least one of the Rottnest ferry companies lets you rent bikes from them, which saves walking to the bike rental place on Rottnest. BTW this is one of the main reasons people visit Rottnest, and they are pretty terrifying (not unlike Drop Bears) - behold the quokkas (not a bad Scrabble score):

 

This one probably wasn't long out of the pouch. They are ridiculously cute when they are still in there with their heads poking out. They are best spotted around the cafes and supermarket area - they know where food comes from. No, you aren't allowed to feed them.

Great picture.  Here's my favorite picture.  If you buy Rottnest tix in advance, check the cancel policy.  If your ship doesn't make it, or gets in late, or immigration clearance takes too long, you may lose money.  But the walk down to the ferry terminal wasn't hard (mostly just straight down the road, all level); just (obviously) allow some time.  When you get there, keep in mind there are 2 different companies.  Some people lined up for the wrong ferry and almost missed theirs.

 

We loved Rottnest Island - took the Explorer Bus around, walked up to both lighthouses, ate meat pies in the bakery.  It's a very pretty place.  I was a little worried about missing our cruise ship (there 7AM to 4PM) so booked 8:00 & 2:00 ferries.  That worked out well.   You can buy a ticket from one company for the ride over and another for the ride back from the other company if that works better. 

Edited March 13, 2020 by roothy123