Wadjemup, commonly known as Rottnest Island, is a small, reasonably flat island off the coast of Perth, Western Australia. It is a popular tourist destination, largely because of the adorable quokkas that inhabit the island. However it also has an incredible landscape with crystal blue water and stunning beaches that are absolutely worth seeing. It’s the perfect size and distance from Perth that you can see it in a day trip. In fact, that’s how most people choose to see the island! You can stay overnight if you prefer, but we’re going to run you through everything you need to know for the perfect Rottnest Island day trip.

There are various ways to get to and from Rottnest Island from the main land. You can take a private boat or fly, but the easiest and cheapest way is by public ferry from Perth. There are three main ferry companies to get you from Perth to Rottnest and back:

This service leaves from the centre of Perth at the Barrack Street Jetty Terminal or from Fremantle. From Perth the journey leaves at 8:30, takes 1 hour 45 minutes and ranges in price from $43.99 to $51.75 per adult depending on season. To and from Fremantle there are 3 to 5 trips a day depending on the season. The journey only takes 30 minutes each way and prices range from $35.27 to $41.50 each way per adult.

This service leaves from the centre of Perth at the Barrack Street Jetty Terminal or from Fremantle. Tickets change in price depending on if you travel on a weekday or weekend, and in what season.

From Perth the tickets range from $39.50 to $52.50 each way leaving at 8:45am and returning at 5pm. During high season there is also a premium ferry at 9:30am and returning at 4:15pm for $79.50 each way. From Perth the premium ferry takes 1 hour 30 minutes as opposed to the 1 hour 45 minutes for the regular ferry. To and from Fremantle, the ferry leaves six times a day and only takes half an hour. Prices for this range from $26 to $32 each way and there is no premium ferry for the Fremantle service.

This service leaves from a port 30 minutes away from the centre of Perth by car. This makes it more convenient if you’re staying in the suburbs rather than the city. There are four trips to and from the island a day and it takes 45 minutes each way. Tickets for adults are $34.75 each way.

All the ferries get into the same spot on Rottnest Island, which is right in front of the visitor centre. This is where you can get information on bike hire or getting around the island, and is a great place to start. But before you head out of town to explore the rest of the island, make sure you take some time to look around the town!

Just beyond the visitor centre is a little town square in an area called Thompson Bay. Here you’ll find a bakery, a Subway, a cafe, a restaurant and an ice cream shop. There’s also a spa, a clothing store, a general store and a small IGA supermarket. So don’t worry if you go over without food, you’ll find more than enough to keep you happy before you explore the island.

Quokkas are, to be quite honest, the main draw for most people to head out on a Rottnest Island day trip. They are a small, adorable marsupial in the same family as kangaroos and wallabies. They only live in a very small part of southwestern Australia including many protected areas not accessible to the public. Quokkas thrive on Rottnest Island due to its lack of natural predators. Because of this, Rottnest is the easiest and best way to see quokkas in the wild.

They are easy to see on the island, especially around Thompson Bay town square. On our Rottnest Island day trip, we were nervous that we would travel all that way and not see a quokka, but we had nothing to worry about. They are absolutely everywhere in the town and around the island. You’d be hard-pressed to set foot on the island without seeing a quokka!

They’re super cheeky and most cafes and restaurants have gates to try and keep them out. They are very food focused and love to steal food off tourists or get into their bags. While around them make sure to keep an eye on your stuff and don’t feed them on purpose because you can be fined. You can also be fined for touching them so keep your distance while trying to get that cute smiling selfie. They are adorable though and it’s hard to drag yourself away to see the rest of the island.

Also, keep your eye out on the island for a sleeping quokka! They sleep sitting up with their head tucked down on their tails and it is SO CUTE.

While quokkas are definitely the main animal you’ll see on your Rottnest Island day trip, there are other animals on the island too. You’ll find a huge variety of birds on the island, many of which live in the wetlands. There are also frogs, which can be harder to spot, as well as reptiles like lizards and snakes.

On our Rottnest Island day trip, we actually saw a snake as we were riding our hired bikes to the lighthouse. None of the snake species on the island are aggressive, but there are some venomous ones. You’re unlikely to see one, but definitely don’t go walking through any long grass!

Rottnest Island has no private cars meaning it is the perfect place to ride around on a bike. And there are options for everyone! You can take your own bike or electric bike and scooter on the ferries for an extra fee of around $20 each. If you don’t have your own bike, it is also easy to hire them. All three ferry companies offer bike hire for around $35 and the bike will be ready as soon as you dock so it’s a great way to save time. Lastly, you can hire bikes on the island from Pedal and Flipper for $30 a bike.

We ended up doing the last option and they have hundreds of bikes so you don’t have to worry about missing out. We also recommend them as while riding around the island, Katherine got a puncture in one of the bike tires. Pedal and Flipper drove to where we were and delivered us a new bike free of charge which was amazing. So lots of great bike hire options if that’s how you want to see the island!

As for where to ride, there are so many options. There are lots of different cycle paths for people of all ages and riding abilities. There are a couple of loops that range from 30 minutes to 3-5 hours to complete. We rode from Thompson Bay to the Wadjemup Lighthouse for some great views of the island. The Lighthouse loop is about 10km but you can also ride around the entire island. This loop is 22km though so really is only recommended if you are an experienced rider.

If you don’t want to ride around, don’t worry because there are other options. As we mentioned, there are no private cars on the island, so you can’t drive around. However, there are public bus services, shuttles and bus tours which makes it easy to get around. You can find out more information on these at the visitor centre, or here.

No matter how you see the island, make sure to allow time on your Rottnest Island day trip to admire the incredible landscape. The whole island really is so beautiful!

If the idea of organising a trip to Rottnest on your own is a bit overwhelming, Get Your Guide have some great tours. They have lots of different tours available from Perth or Fremantle including bus tours, bike tours and an adventure boat tour. There’s also some more interesting things you can book like a seafood cruise, a skydiving package, a segway tour and even seaplane flights to the island. So it’s definitely worth a look on their website!

If you want to stay on Rottnest overnight, there are lots of options to have a wonderful stay. For a cheaper options there’s a campground, a hostel and some self contained accommodation. Stay Rottnest has lots of different options and many are near the ferry port, however they do sell out months in advance. For some fancier options, there’s Discovery Resorts and the Samphire Rottnest.

Staying overnight would really allow you to see more of the natural landscape and more importantly, the quokkas! You’d also experience a much quieter island as 70% of people visit for a day only. You could enjoy the wonderful beaches and have a really unique experience so it’s definitely worth it if you can!

Rottnest Island truly is a wonderful place to visit during your time in Perth. Whether you visit for the day only or stay overnight there is so much to see and do to keep you entertained. Even if all you do is go for a walk, it’s worth it to see the incredible landscape and to say hi to the quokkas. If you go, we hope you have an amazing time and more importantly, get a great quokka selfie!

Our very first vlog on YouTube, back in 2022, was from our trip to Western Australia. This vlog features our Rottnest Island day trip, amongst our other adventures in WA. You can check it out here:

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