Holiday in Western Australia is not complete without exploring the beautiful South West region. While Margaret River is the most popular, Albany and “The Great Southern” should also rank high in your family travel bucket list. This region has one of the most diverse landscape and coastlines in the world. Visit beautiful national parks, postcard perfect beaches and pretty small towns in between.
Here are the best things to do in Albany and The Great Southern region with kids:
Hike up the spectacular Granite Skywalk
Granite Sky Walk is a suspended observation platform that wraps around Castle Rock. Up here take in amazing 360 degrees views of Porongurup National Park and the South Coast. The hike up involves a challenging 2.2km uphill walk along uneven and some rocky forrest.
Our 5 year old managed to do the 3 hours return hike himself, but we would recommend good hiking shoes, regular rests and plenty of water. This hike makes our Sigiriya Rock (Sri Lanka) climb look easy. To reach the upper look out platform there are some big rocks you need to climb over (by holding on to steel handles) and climbing a 6 meter ladder. While not designed for kids, it is certainly doable.
Enjoy amazing views of Bluff Knoll – from the carpark & toilet area
Family travellers don’t have to do the 6 hours round hike to enjoy Bluff Knoll spectacular views of the Stirling Range National Park. You can actually enjoy amazing views just by simply driving to the carpark and toilet area! We were surprised that Stirling Range mountains and hills are very photogenic.
If you’re still really keen on reaching the Bluff Knoll summit– dawn is your best time to go.
Look down 40 metres above surging waves: The Gap and natural bridge
Just minutes from Albany town, the Gap ocean side suspended viewing platform hangs over Southern Ocean and is anchored 9 meters deep into the coast side rocks. Kids will love seeing and hearing thundering “splash” of powerful ocean waves crashing against the cliff faces directly from above. Other than The Gap your family can explore other parts of the peninsula including:
- Baldhead walking trail at Torndirrup national park: one of the best hikes in the South West region. We only walked past the first hill (about 30 minutes) until we can see the Flinders peninsula.
- Salmon holes: facing directly to the Southern Ocean this pretty beach is very popular with fishermen. Waves here does get quite strong. We don’t recommend family travellers to swim here.
Visit Insta perfect Little beach
Located some 40 kms east of Albany this turquoise water beach is well worth visiting. Do walk around the beach to see massive seaside rock formations. For the little ones, be careful in the water as the waves can get strong.
Dine at delicious local restaurants
Food in the Albany region is ok but not spectacular like in Margaret River. There are however a number of nice restaurants in town centre such Kate’s Place, Dylans on the Terrace for breakfast, Whalers Galley café – at the whaling museum for lunch and the award winning Rustler’s steak house for dinner.
Getting to Albany
Pick up your hire car from Perth Airport or the city and drive south on – you guessed it: Albany Highway.
The distance from Perth to Albany is around 400km and will take about 4.5 hours. We recommend including an extra day to explore the Southern Forests as a day trip to or from Albany. Break up your family road trip and stop by the following places:
– Karri Valley, Pemberton: RAC Karri Valley resort welcome day visitors. Rent a kayak or small boat to go around the lake, then enjoy lunch at the Lakeside restaurant. Beedelup falls national park – is just a 10 minutes drive from RAC karri valley resort. See the waterfall and kids will have fun jumping on the suspension bridge
– Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk: Walk among the impressive tingle trees, 40m above the forest floor at the 600m long tree top walk. It is suitable children of all ages, wheelchairs, and strollers. On your way out follow a walk trail to see “Ancient Empire” of 400 years old red tingle trees.
– Conspicuous cliff and beach: This pristine coastline can feel like your own private beach. The two lookout points provide spectacular views and a great spot to watch migrating whales in winter and spring.
Accommodation
Albany offers a range of family friendly accommodation, including caravan parks, campsites, motels, and guest houses. Middleton Beach area is a popular as is areas near York Street town centre.
We had a wonderful 3 nights stay at: Spencer Cottage
Available via Booking.com or AirBnB, Spencer cottage is located right in the middle of Albany town centre. Steps away from the York Street town centre restaurants, the heritage listed 1890’s three bedrooms cottage has high ceilings, spacious TV lounge and kitchen with modern appliances. As bonus for travelling families, this modernised accommodation includes free Netflix, wireless internet, laundry facilities and private parking.
During our stay, host Rofiati made sure we had a comfortable stay. Spencer Cottage Albany’s, spacious bedrooms and home away from home feel will suit travelling families.
For places we have visited, Checkout our website’s travel Destinations section. We buy of our travel essentials online via Ebay
