Take A Rottnest Island Tour Together This Winter
With cooler temperatures and an ever-changing landscape, embrace the opportunity to explore the island together on a guided tour.
5 minutes
Let the experienced guides of Wadjemup / Rottnest Island take you and your favourite person on an adventure filled with winter wonder and island insights.
Winter reveals a renewed landscape that’s just waiting to be explored. Invigorating temperatures invite you to circumnavigate the island’s dramatic coastlines, dappled boorn boodja (woodlands) and sweeping kabikarning (salt lakes).
When the temperature dips, so too do warm weather crowds that flit frequently between the island and the mainland. As winter wanderers, relish the stillness and explore further with guided tours available throughout winter on Rottnest Island. Tours are the perfect way to gain deeper knowledge and a unique perspective. From walks to wheels, rail to trails, here are the top land-based tours that connect you with all that’s here.
WALKING TOURS
If you’re wondering which Rottnest Island tours are the best during the cooler months, well, that’s entirely up to you and your fellow explorer. But a simple place to start is with your own two feet.
Trek the trails with The Hike Collective
Fall into a peaceful rhythm with a guided hiking tour. Tours range from 4 km to 16 km in length, providing a welcome way to link up with like-minded explorers and reach idyllic island locations together. Let your legs take you further, powered by smatterings of soft sunlight and refreshingly cool air. Whichever tour you take, it’s bound to be filled with wildlife sightings, including the famous kwoka (quokka) and djerap (birds).
Connect to culture with Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours & Experiences
Slow down for moments of reflection alongside local Noongar guide and Traditional Owner, Walter McGuire. This award-winning guided walking tour offers an essential experience to better understand the cultural significance of Wadjemup. Tours run for one or two hours and commence with a sand ceremony at the main settlement, before Walter guides you on an enriching walk filled with traditional song and language.
Snap seasonal souvenirs with Capture the Light Photographic Tours
Spend a few hours or a full day under the wing of an expert photographer with this private tour that welcomes all skill levels. Practice professional techniques on your smartphone or camera of choice and bring home memories of treasured time spent together. No two tours are the same, with winter lighting, landscapes and local creatures offering seasonal subject matter. Later sunrises and early sunsets allow for increased opportunities to get creative, as do the rapidly shifting shapes and hues of the sky above.
Ascend 38 m above the island on the Wadjemup Lighthouse tour
Take part in an energising daily tour that sees you soar up a 155-step spiral staircase. As you both wind your way to the viewing platform, your guide will set the scene of past engineering feats, and use of this functioning lighthouse in showing the way for lost sailors. At the top, take a deep breath of crisp air and appreciate 360-degree views of the seasonal scenery, from revitalised green foliage to rolling waves over the expansive Indian Ocean. You’ve taken time out of your busy lives to be here, and it’s worth savouring.
Travel back in time with daily Oliver Hill Gun & Tunnel tours
Escape passing rain showers and head underground with the Rottnest Voluntary Guides. Hear the soft echoes of anticipatory footsteps as the tour takes you through the underground tunnels that lead to the gun’s ammunition supply and engine room. Examine the 9.2-inch naval gun: the only intact emplacement of its type left in Australia. On clear days, park up at a nearby picnic table and enjoy panoramic island views and a pre-packed bite to eat.
Invigorated to continue the adventure with additional walking tours? Explore all the tours offered by the knowledgeable Rottnest Voluntary Guides.
TWO-WHEELED TOURS
Zip around on and off-road with Segway Tours WA
Awaken your senses with chilled coastal breezes that caress your cheeks as you embark on a two-wheeled adventure. The Settlement Explorer tour is a 1-hour journey covering the main settlement before heading out to The Basin and Bathurst Lighthouse. Along the way, hear historic facts and enjoy the ever-changing landscape. The Fortress Adventure tour ups the thrill factor with 1.5-hours of off-road exploration as you appreciate the military history of Bickley Battery while soaking in the surrounding coastline.
Looking for something a little longer? The Coastal Explorer tour takes you out for two hours, covering iconic island locations, including the glittering Geordie and Longreach Bays in addition to the teeming inland kabikarning (salt lake) systems – renewed after recent rains.
Take a full-day bike tour with Laura the Explorer
Let cooler sea breezes propel your legs on an all-day adventure with Laura: a Perth local with boundless enthusiasm. This tour roves at a moderate pace to accommodate a variety of fitness levels. Glide alongside one another as Laura shares her island insights and takes you to beloved island locations – with plenty of rest stops along the way.
With everything from return ferry fares, hire equipment, lunch at Geordie’s Cafe & Art Gallery and even a complimentary gift included in your booking, this tour is ideal for a spontaneous island visit. Everything’s included so nothing can be forgotten!
Cruise along the coastline with Paul’s Eco E-Bike tours
Wadjemup’s winter winds are no match for electric bicycles. Embrace the peaks and valleys of your journey in complete comfort. For the complete island experience, join the 4-hour tour that takes you to the wild and wonderful West End. Keep a watchful eye out for maamoong (whale) sightings as they migrate around these waters during the winter months.
If your day is busy with other adventures, the 2-hour guided sunset tour is a tranquil way to farewell the day. Glide your way as a group to Ricey Beach to capture sight of the soft winter sun casting golden shades in the sky as it sets on another winter’s day.
BUS AND TRAIN TOURS
Travel to Oliver Hill with a Captain Hussey Train Tour
Reconnect with your inner child with a ride on this historic train. Anchored by decades-old rails, the service travels to Oliver Hill and back to the settlement throughout each day, offering comfortable transportation with shelter from passing seasonal showers. Share gleeful grins and take in the scenery of the island’s southside as you make your way to this significant Australian World War II heritage site.
Swing by iconic sites with Discover Rottnest
If you’re visiting when the weather takes a wet or blustery turn, bus tours ensure the adventure continues. Departing twice daily, this 90-minute tour with guided commentary takes you past the most iconic locations of the island, stopping at West End. Bundle up and hop out here hand-in-hand to observe and explore before boarding once again to make the cosy return trip to the settlement, discussing all that you’ve encountered.
Explore more with Quokka Coaches
Additional bus tours transport you to different expanses of the island, allowing ample opportunities to see seasonal sights. The Bayseeker Island tour departs twice daily and runs for just under two hours. Highlights along the way include stops at Wadjemup Lighthouse, Henrietta Rocks and the secluded Mabel Cove.
Those with a desire to delve into the military history of the island will appreciate the Grand Island tour, which departs once daily. Over four hours, you’ll discover stories of the past during the underground Oliver Hill Guns and Tunnels tour, in addition to exploring the settlement, Wadjemup Lighthouse and Mabel Cove.
Explore seasonal offers
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Tips for a time well spent
Make your visit even more meaningful with helpful advice from those in the know.
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