Perth's gleaming skyline rises behind lush parkland along the sweeping Swan River foreshore. Photo / Ronan O'Connell
Perth local Ronan O’Connell shares how to get the most out of the city, while paying the least.
Australia isn’t renowned as a cheap destination, yet it’s possible to holiday in Perth while paying $0 per day for transport and attractions.
One of the little-known appeals of my hometown is that it has a comprehensive network of free buses within its city centre.
Meanwhile, across wider Perth, tourists can savour free museums, art galleries, water parks, LEGO clubs, wilderness reserves, arts and crafts lessons, hundreds of playgrounds, and reputedly the world’s largest inner-city park.
Perth is not a city you visit for pulsing energy like Melbourne, nor for world-famous tourist landmarks, such as Sydney’s Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Instead, what Perth offers, which few other cities do, is a trove of unblemished natural locations within its urban area, such as 160km of uncrowded beaches, which are often accompanied by lush grass lawns, clean public changing rooms, and free barbecue facilities.
Five free bus lines now cover a vast area of central Perth. Called the CAT bus, they connect you to the CBD, giant Kings Park, museum hub Northbridge, European-style enclave Claisebrook Cove, foodie haven Leederville, picturesque riverfront Elizabeth Quay precinct, and the historic University of WA campus.
These locations can easily keep a visitor busy for three or four days, without a cent spent on transport. Better yet, most of the attractions are free to visit. Northbridge cultural hub has the Art Gallery of WA, which is free all year, and the huge, recently expanded WA Museum Boola Bardip.
The latter costs $17 per adult, although it offers extended periods of free entry each year, so check their website. And if you do choose to hire a car, instead of using the CAT bus, then central Perth offers three hours of free parking every weekend at three huge carparks, including one directly under the Northbridge cultural hub.
Far beyond mere repositories of books, Perth’s more than 30 public libraries engage visitors by offering art and craft materials, and an array of free events, many aimed at children. Adult tourists will enjoy the avant-garde architecture of the new City of Perth Library, which also has sprawling city and river views from its upper levels.
Parents looking to keep their kids engaged for an hour or two need not pay $20 to visit a play centre, as most public libraries have a dedicated kids’ area.
Some are especially large, such as Joondalup – next to Perth’s biggest shopping centre, Lakeside Joondalup – which has daily kids’ events that focus on reading, dancing, singing, and crafts.
Cambridge Library, near stunning City Beach, has a large, enclosed Lego room stocked with tens of thousands of blocks. Free Lego play is also available at the libraries of South Perth, Mirrabooka, Dianella, Morley, Riverton, Cockburn, and Joondalup.
No word of exaggeration, Perth has beaches the equal of Thailand, Fiji or Malaysia, and better than any I’ve witnessed in Bali.
And more incredibly, most of them are all but empty, even on hot days. Why?
Because this city has an incredible 160km of almost-uninterrupted sandy beaches, it’s simply not possible for them all to get busy.
Some can get crowded, like the famed Cottesloe and Scarborough. But the latter offers more than just soft sand and crystalline seas.
Scarborough’s new, $110 million beachfront precinct features multiple playgrounds, a skate park, basketball court, rock climbing walls, and vast parkland, all of which are free to use. Plus an eight-lane oceanside swimming pool which costs just $9 per person for entry.
Maylands Waterland is a concealed treasure. Even many Perth residents are unaware of this free water park in a picturesque location by the Swan River in Maylands, just 4km east of downtown. Renovated in 2022, it has a series of shallow pools, water fountains, and water play activities, most of which are covered by shade sails.
Smaller free water parks can also be found at Elizabeth Quay in downtown Perth, and at Hyde Park, Maniana Park, Whiteman Park, Boyeembara Park, and Rio Tinto Naturescape. Which is a godsend, because Perth temperatures regularly exceed 30C for about half of the year, from October to March.
Hundreds of playgrounds are scattered throughout the Perth metro area. Such that, wherever a tourist may be staying, they’re all but assured to have a playground within 10 minutes’ walking distance.
Some are petite facilities that may keep a child entertained for 20 minutes. Others, however, are so large and complex that you may need to pry your kids away after two hours of entertainment.
One example is Chevron Parkland, a giant complex alongside Perth’s gleaming Optus Stadium, which is actually a connected group of six playgrounds, each with a different theme.
Other huge, free playgrounds include Brathwaite Park, Wellington Square, Bibra Lake Regional Playground, Kwinana Adventure Park, Pia’s Place, Treasure Island, Kinkuna Adventure Playground, Whale playground, Kingsway Dinosaur Park, and Pirate Ship Playground.
Reputedly the world’s largest inner-city green space, Kings Park feels like a swathe of wilderness that’s been transplanted just 600m west of Perth’s cluster of skyscrapers. Almost six times the size of Auckland Domain, Kings Park is a nature reserve populated by native Australian animals such as wild kookaburras, bushtail possums, and Quenda bandicoots, as well as nearly 100 bird species.
Flora, meanwhile, takes centre stage at its giant botanic garden, decorated by more than 2000 unique blossoms, including the State flower, the Kangaroo Paw. Kings Park also has six separate playgrounds, including one themed on dinosaurs, another woven through forest, and a sprawling facility which adjoins a cafe so parents can supervise their kids while having a coffee.
