Western Australia is the largest state in Australia and one of the largest jurisdictions on Earth — larger than Western Europe, with a population of just 2.7 million mostly concentrated in Perth. This extraordinary ratio of space to people means that WA’s road trips have a quality that is genuinely different from anywhere else in the country: emptiness on a scale that is hard to comprehend, landscapes of primal beauty, and a sense of having the world to yourself that is increasingly rare in the 21st century.
I have driven most of Western Australia over a number of trips spanning many years, and it remains one of my favourite places in the world to be behind the wheel. The state’s road network is generally good, the distances between fuel stops can be significant but manageable with planning, and the diversity of experiences — tropical rainforest, ancient gorges, pristine coral reefs, wildflower plains, wine regions, and coastal clifftops — is extraordinary. This guide covers the best road trips in the state, from short weekend drives to multi-week epics.
📋 TL;DR — the quick version
- ✅ The Coral Coast highway is the standout: Perth to Exmouth takes you through the Pinnacles, Shark Bay, and the Ningaloo Reef — a genuine world-class journey.
- 🏔️ The Gibb River Road is for serious adventurers: An unsealed 4WD track through the Kimberley’s finest gorges — physically demanding but utterly extraordinary.
- 🌸 The South West drive is the most accessible: Margaret River wine region, towering karri forests, dramatic surf beaches — superb in any season.
- 🌿 The Wildflower Way is seasonal magic: August to October, the wildflower bloom turns the inland regions into a carpet of extraordinary colour.
- 🏜️ The Kimberley in the dry season is unmissable: Remote, magnificent, and unlike anywhere else on Earth — but requires good preparation and a reliable 4WD.
- 🐋 Plan around wildlife encounters: Whale sharks (March-July), whale watching (June-October), and wildflowers (August-October) are all season-dependent.
- ⛽ Fuel planning is critical: On remote routes, gaps between petrol stations can exceed 300 kilometres — always fill up when you can.
🌊 1. The Coral Coast — Perth to Exmouth
The drive from Perth to Exmouth along Western Australia’s Coral Coast is one of the great road trips of Australia — 1,200 kilometres of increasingly extraordinary scenery, with some of the most important wildlife encounters in the country along the way. The route follows the Brand Highway north from Perth before picking up the North West Coastal Highway, passing through a succession of destinations that each warrant several days of exploration.
The first major stop is Cervantes and the Pinnacles Desert — thousands of limestone formations rising from the sandy plain of Nambung National Park, most haunting at dusk when the long shadows create an almost lunar landscape. Then Geraldton, an underrated coastal town with excellent seafood and the extraordinary Abrolhos Islands accessible by small plane or charter boat. Then Shark Bay — a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can swim with dolphins at Monkey Mia, explore the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool (living fossils that are among the oldest life forms on Earth), and drive the extraordinary Francois Peron National Park.
The route culminates at Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef — one of the most extraordinary marine environments on the planet. Unlike the Great Barrier Reef, you can snorkel directly from the beach at Ningaloo; no boat required. And between March and July, whale sharks — the world’s largest fish — congregate here, and the combination of reef snorkelling and whale shark swimming makes Ningaloo arguably the greatest wildlife destination in Australia.
👉 Book a Ningaloo Reef whale shark swimming tour on GetYourGuide →
🏔️ 2. The Gibb River Road — Kimberley
The Gibb River Road is 660 kilometres of unsealed track cutting through the heart of the Kimberley — one of the last great wildernesses on Earth. It requires a properly equipped 4WD, some experience with remote driving, and a respect for the conditions that can change rapidly. But for those who are prepared, the Gibb River Road delivers experiences that are simply not available anywhere else in Australia: gorges of extraordinary beauty, swimming holes in ancient sandstone formations, waterfalls dropping 80 metres into crystal pools, and a landscape of such primeval power that it can genuinely change how you see the world.
The major gorge experiences along the route include El Questro (with its thermal pools and multiday hikes), Bell Gorge (a dramatic double waterfall dropping into a natural amphitheatre), Manning Gorge (a superb two-hour return walk with outstanding swimming), and Tunnel Creek (a limestone cave system where freshwater crocodiles live). The Gibb River Road only opens reliably in the dry season (May to October) — in the wet season, river crossings make it impassable. Allow at least ten days for the full route from Derby to Kununurra, and more if you want to do it properly.
For more inspiration, check out Australian Road Trips Ranked.
🌸 3. The South West — Margaret River and beyond
The South West of Western Australia — the Margaret River wine region, the tall timber country, and the rugged Southern Ocean coast — is the most accessible and civilised of WA’s great road trips, and also one of the best. From Perth, the drive south along the Bussell Highway reaches the Margaret River wine region in about three hours, and what follows is a dense collection of outstanding experiences: world-class wine, extraordinary surf breaks, towering karri forests, sea caves, and coastal scenery that rivals anything on the east coast.
The Cape to Cape Track runs 135 kilometres along the coast between Cape Naturaliste in the north and Cape Leeuwin in the south, and sections of it can be walked in day trips from the main towns. The Boranup Forest — a stand of karri trees (the world’s third-tallest tree species) rising 60 metres from a white sand floor — is one of the most spectacular forest experiences in Australia. And the whale watching season (June to October) off Augusta, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet at Cape Leeuwin, is excellent. Allow at least four or five days to do this region justice.
🌿 4. The Wildflower Way — inland WA in spring
Between August and October, after the winter rains, Western Australia’s ancient Gondwanan flora erupts in the most extraordinary wildflower display on Earth. The inland routes north of Perth — particularly the Wildflower Way through the wheatbelt and the roads through the north-west flowering regions — are carpeted with everlastings, kangaroo paws, banksias, spider orchids, and hundreds of other species in a display that can extend for hundreds of kilometres in every direction.
The best route for first-time visitors follows the Brand Highway north from Perth to Cervantes, then cuts inland through Badgingarra and New Norcia before looping back south through Chittering Valley. Kalbarri National Park, about five hours north of Perth, combines exceptional wildflowers with gorge scenery and dramatic coastal cliffs. The wildflower season is highly variable depending on the rainfall in the preceding months — local tourism boards publish flowering updates, and following their advice will help you target the best areas in any given year.
🏜️ 5. The Dampier Peninsula — remote Kimberley coast
The Dampier Peninsula north of Broome is a roughly 220-kilometre drive north to Cape Leveque through some of the most remote and beautiful coastal country in Australia. The peninsula is home to several Aboriginal communities, and visiting with proper permission and guidance is an extraordinary cultural experience. The beach at Cape Leveque — brilliant white and red sand meeting aquamarine water — is one of the most photographed in Australia, and for good reason. The snorkelling at Sunday Island, accessible by boat from Cape Leveque, is exceptional.
The road to Cape Leveque was recently sealed for much of its length, making it accessible to 2WD vehicles with good clearance in the dry season, though a 4WD is still recommended for the final section and for any exploration of side tracks. The Aboriginal community at Kooljaman offers excellent accommodation in permanent safari tents and basic huts right on the beach, and their cultural tours and fishing trips are outstanding. This is remote Western Australia at its finest — accessible enough to reach without major expedition planning, wild enough to feel genuinely adventurous.
🌊 6. The Great Southern — Albany and the Southern Ocean coast
The drive from Perth to Albany through the Great Southern wine region and then along the Southern Ocean coast to Esperance is one of the most varied and rewarding in Western Australia. Albany — one of the oldest settlements in Australia, founded in 1826 — has extraordinary natural surroundings: the Torndirrup National Park with its famous Natural Bridge and Gap, the Stirling Range with its unique montane flora, and the historic whaling station now converted into a brilliant museum of Australia’s whaling history.
East of Albany, the South Coast Highway follows the Southern Ocean through a succession of extraordinary coastal national parks — the Fitzgerald River National Park (a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve with extraordinary endemic flora), the Cape Le Grand National Park (with Lucky Bay, where kangaroos sunbathe on the whitest sand beach in Australia), and the Recherche Archipelago. Esperance, at the end of the route, is a genuinely beautiful town with outstanding beaches and the jumping-off point for the extraordinary Cape Arid National Park further east. Allow ten days to two weeks for the full loop from Perth.
🏜️ 7. The Bungle Bungle and Purnululu
Purnululu National Park — home of the Bungle Bungles — is one of the most visually extraordinary landscapes in Australia. The beehive-shaped domes, striped with alternating bands of orange silica and black lichen, rise from the surrounding savannah in a formation that looks completely alien. The domes have been formed over 20 million years of erosion and are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Access is via an unsealead 4WD track (53 kilometres) from the Great Northern Highway east of Kununurra, and the park itself can only be explored on foot.
The Cathedral Gorge walk (about 3 kilometres return) takes you into the heart of the domes through increasingly narrow passages to a circular amphitheatre of extraordinary acoustics — clap your hands and the sound reverberates for several seconds. The Piccaninny Gorge walk (30 kilometres return) is a multi-day epic that goes deeper into the domes than any other track. A scenic flight over the domes — available from Kununurra or from the park itself — gives the aerial perspective that reveals the true scale of the landscape. Combine Purnululu with the Gibb River Road and the Kimberley gorges for one of the great Australian Outback road trips.
👉 Book a Kimberley gorge tour from Broome on GetYourGuide →
💡 Essential tips for Western Australia road trips
- Never underestimate the distances. Western Australia is enormous. Perth to Broome is 2,200 kilometres. Perth to Esperance is 750 kilometres. The spaces between towns are not merely long — they are genuinely remote, with limited phone coverage and infrequent traffic. Plan your fuel stops, carry extra water, and let someone know your itinerary before heading into remote country.
- A 4WD opens up the best experiences. Many of WA’s most extraordinary destinations are inaccessible without a 4WD — the Gibb River Road, the Bungle Bungles, Cape Leveque (partly), and most of the Kimberley gorge side tracks. If you are planning a serious WA road trip, consider hiring a 4WD. The additional cost is justified by the experiences it unlocks.
- Download offline maps before you leave. Phone coverage in rural and remote WA is extremely patchy. Telstra has the best rural coverage, but even on Telstra there are long stretches with no signal on routes like the Gibb River Road and the Coral Coast north of Exmouth. Download Google Maps offline maps for every region you will be visiting before you leave Perth or your last major town.
- Check road conditions before heading into remote areas. The Department of Main Roads Western Australia publishes real-time road condition reports, and in the Kimberley and remote north, road conditions can change rapidly. River crossings after rain can be impassable for days. Check conditions every morning before heading out on remote unsealed roads.
- Book campgrounds in national parks in advance. The most popular national park campgrounds in WA — including Cape Le Grand, Kalbarri, Karijini, and the Gibb River Road gorge camps — fill up weeks in advance during school holidays. Book through the Parks and Wildlife Service online booking system before you leave home, not when you are already on the road.
