Things to do in Perth, Western Australia

The Perth Bell tower, also known as the Swan Bells is a centrally location point of interest in Perth's CBD. It is only about 20 minutes walk from Northbridge and the surrounding area including Elizabeth Quay is worth checking out. Entry into the Bell Tower itself is $18 which obviously isn't priced for backpackers so we recommend not paying unless you have a deep-seated fascination for bells! The Bells themselves are a set of 18 bells with 12 being historic bells of significance from Trafalgar Square in London with the remaining six others were made in more recent times. The Bell Tower was built at a cost of $5.5 million which at the time was a controversial expense that many West Australians disproved of.

The Fremantle Prison is an awesome cultural attraction for Backpackers visiting Perth/Freo. It is actually the only World Heritage Listed Building not only in Perth but the whole of Western Australia. The prison itself now even has a new YHA hostel within the prison's walls!

You can enter the prison complex without charge however you can't see all that much so to see inside Fremantle Prison properly, a range of tours are available including the popular torchlight tour which is one of the few tours in WA that is actually often done by locals, not just tourists.

Cottesloe Beach is just 12km to the west of the Perth CBD and is debatably the most popular beach among the locals of Perth and long with Scarborough Beach to the north, is one of the favourites amoung backpackers visiting Perth. The easiest way as a visitor staying in Northbridge or the city is get the Fremantle Line train from Perth station. The journey takes little over half an hour but includes a 1.4km walk from Cottesloe Train Station to the beach itself.

Each year in March, Cottesloe Beach becomes home to the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition which sees dozens on unique scultptures scattered everywhere on Cottesloe Beach itself. One year, Cottesloe Beach was dominated by a ginormous goon bag.

What do you mean you've never seen a Kangaroo!?!? What about a Koala or a Wombat? Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth is your chance to see all the iconic Australian animals that are rarely seen elsewhere in the world. Not only can you just 'see' them but daily attractions at Caversham Wildlife Park including feeding the kangaroos, meeting the wombats and a special farm show. Always a big hit with backpackers, Caversham is a must if you still need to update your Instagram with a photo of yourself with a Kangaroo!

Caversham Wildlife Park is located about 20kms to the north east of Perth City. To get there, you can join our Wildlife & Wine Tour or you can also make your own way there by catching a train from Perth to Bassendean Train Station & from there, you can jump on Bus Number 955 or 956 to Ellenbrook (be sure to jump off at the Whiteman Park entrance where Caversham Wildlife Park is located). For more information on navigating your way around Perth on our public transport system, see the Transperth Trip Planner page.

Kings Park is definitely a must see for Backpackers visiting Perth. There is no cost involved and you can easily walk there from the city or Northbridge. It's a massive 4-square kilometre park (larger than New York's Central Park) nestled right on the edge of the Perth CBD. For Backpackers, we would recommend going in the late afternoon and staying until after sunset so you can admire the awesome view of the Perth city skyline from Kings Park both during the day and at night. There is no need to spend a cent while there as many of the attractions are free, including the tree-top Federation Walkway which gives you great views to the south including the South Perth skyline. There is also free guided walks and many other things to see and do here in Perth's famous King's Park.

I think one of the first rules of travelling should be to never visit a zoo on your own! It's a very depressing thing to do. But if you're visiting Perth, love animals and have friends to go with, Perth Zoo can make a great day out and is easy to get to for Backpackers staying in Perth or Northbridge. General entry tickets cost $29 and to get there, simply catch the ferry across the swan river or walk across the Narrows Bridge and up to the Zoo through South Perth.

More info being compiled for backpackers visiting Perth but meanwhile for more information, you can visit the official Perth Zoo website.

Adventure World is one of the few places in Perth that is consistently helping make our city less boring! Adventure World is well up there as one of the best theme parks in Australia and has plenty of roller coasters and other rides to get your adrenaline going. Given Perth's crappy winters and the fact that many of Adventure World's attractions are water based, the park is closed mid year but operates typically from September to April.

Adventure World is a great place for Backpackers to visit with friends on a hot day. Best to go during the week when most of Perth is busy working or at school. If you like the place and have a working holiday visa, why not pick up an application form and try get a job there!

Awesome Tours are the only tour company that run tours to Adventure World.

Fed mostly by the hills of Perth, the Swan River flows through the Swan Valley, Perth and makes its way out to the Indian Ocean via Fremantle. Although narrow in some sections, the river opens up in the area between the Perth CBD and the suburb of South Perth. For Backpackers visiting Perth, you can take a nice stroll along the Swan River from Elizabeth Quay to the west (heading towards Kings Park) or to the east towards Heirisson Island and the eastern suburbs.

The Perth Mint is one of the few tourist attractions located in the middle of the CBD. Unless you're obsessed with history and/or money, it isn't really very interested for the typical backpacker. If you're in the area though (310 Hay St, East Perth), it is worth walking passed to check out the historic building and perhaps popping in to visit the gift shop. Maybe even buy an Aussie gold coin as a gift for someone back home? Although not for sale, the Perth Mint is home to the world's largest gold coin which weighs a whole Tonne and is valued at about $60 million.

The Perth Mint does have a guided heritage walk which is priced out of a typical backpacker's budget at $19. You can visit the Perth Mint for free and get a feel of the place without spending any money.

Sick of visiting the usual tourist attractions in every city you visit? Consider yourself a bit of a science nerd? Scitech is a unique place for all ages that showcases a whole range of interesting science related displays where you are sure to learn something. For backpackers visiting Perth and keen on doing something different, we recommend grabbing a friend or two and checking out Scitech's 18+ events (called 'Scitech After Dark') that are held on Saturday nights. If you're into Astronomy, there is also the Planetarium at Scitech which regularly shows space orientated films in a massive dome shaped theatre.

For Backpackers staying in Perth, Scitech is an easy walk from hostels in Northbridge or the Perth CBD. Entry fee for either day time or the special 18+ events is normally $19.

With yes, a very English name Perth's Scarborough Beach is one of our most popular beaches for both locals and visitors alike. Scarborough Beach is particularly popular with backpackers due to word-of-mouth with many backpackers staying in the area also.

Good old 'Scabs' as it's known is located 16kms from the city and takes about 35 minutes to get to on Bus #990 from the city busport. Scarbourough Beach is located about 12km north of our other favourite beach at Cottesloe, both of which are main stops on our awesome Perth Beaches Tour.