Looking for either B&B or Apartments in Perth for the last week in March 2009. 3 Adults either family room or small apartment. Recommendations please. thanks
We stayed at the Sebel East Perth which were very nice. They overlook the Swan River and are located a bit away from the CBD. You can get to them by bus up to 6pm and are about a 10 minute walk from a train station. The prices are rather expensive especially for two bedrooms. The Medina in the CBD is another popular option.
We found self-catering apartments to be popular in Australia. You can find them listed on many of the accommodation websites such as Wotif, a last minute booking site. I found it useful for finding apartment units and then I usually googled to find the apartment website directly.
Also there are several neighborhoods or suburbs that might be options outside of the CBD. You would probably need a car for best flexibility. Also some people choose to stay in Freemantle instead of Perth.
Our rail system has been expanded since Marta was here, but the central station is still located in the CBD.
Mandurah is now accessible by rail and only just under an hour south-west of Perth. On arrival there is a free shuttle bus to the foreshore precinct.
The Cat bus is still free within the CBD and all day passes on rail/bus services are only $8.20 per adult. 2 people can travel for 1 after 3pm on Fridays and all day Saturday and Sunday.
Unless you really want to travel afar, there is no real need for a car. That said, our city is very easy to navigate by car with only one freeway system.
The train also runs along the centre of the entire freeway.
Elly
Posts: 1078 | Location: Western Australia | Registered: 27 March 2005
Thanks the plan is to arrive spent a night and day kicking back then taking our rental car and explore around the area making day trips here and there. will check out leads given and of course am still open for any more. Thanks
I'm interested to know because most overseas visitors holiday on our east coast and give us a miss because of our isolation from the rest of the country.
What places are you planning to visit? Do you have a rough itinerary? Perth itself is quite a small capital city with splendid outlying towns to visit. Wineries, beaches, hills etc.
Elly
Posts: 1078 | Location: Western Australia | Registered: 27 March 2005
We are actually coming because of a horse show in Jinabyne and since we have to go there we figured why not take a month-6 weeks and do as much as we can. We will be stopping at several farms we have been invited to along our travels. The rough outline is Fly to Syd - to Jinabyne, to Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice to Alice doing Ayers Rock, then fly to Perth spend appx week in area, then Cairns, Brisbane then off to Hobart etc for few days then fly home. We will be just hitting a few of the high spots of course you can’t do the whole country in 5 or 6 weeks. We thought to get an apartment in Perth area and then do day trips out of there exploring along the coast and interior, perhaps making the loop down to the south and back and doing something similar to the north.
Thanks for the map what are you telling me? We are flying on the legs A-Alice Springs \AS-Perth\Perth to Carins but for the rest our hosts seems to think our plan is doable via train and auto. We are in California and are use to driving long distances. Where I live there is no public transportation so its drive everywhere you go. As I said I realize we are going to only hit the high spots so to speak but if you have advice I am open to hear other ideas.
Originally posted by JoanneH: We are actually coming because of a horse show in Jinabyne.snip. The rough outline is Fly to Syd - to Jinabyne, to Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice to Alice doing Ayers Rock, then fly to Perth spend appx week in area, then Cairns, Brisbane then off to Hobart etc for few days then fly home. We will be just hitting a few of the high spots of course ...snip
Hi Joanne. The map was FYI just in case you had not realised the distances involved.
I presume you mean Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains. This is about a 6 hour drive from Sydney. You could cut 3 hours from the drive if you flew to Canberra.
Perth to Cairns could be a 14 hour flight via Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane. An alternative to consider would be to do Ayers Rock / Alice Springs on the way from Perth to Cairns. Perth to Ayers Rock is 6 hours and Ayers Rock to Cairns is 3.5 hours.
I would also look at visiting Hobart directly before or after Melbourne.
I don't know what you consider to be the high spots in or near these cities but you could see the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns, and if you go to Ayers Rock then you may as well also see The Olgas.
Apart from that Google maps or Whereis will give you driving directions and times. So far I have found Whereis to provide better directions.
John "There are two types of problems: those that solve themselves, and those which you can do nothing about" Isabel Allende's grandmother
Posts: 1608 | Location: Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia | Registered: 26 March 2003
Sounds like a great trip but a lot of travel. You have picked a good time of the year to vist as the weather is usually very stable in March although you could still get storms around Cairns. Also still not good for swimming in the sea, around Cairns, due to "stingers" (jelly fish with a lethal sting).
I can't help you with Perth because I live in Melbourne but a good reference for accommodation is www.lastminute.com.au even if only to see what is available.
The one part of your plan which seems odd is when you plan to visit Hobart. This city is right at the bottom of Tasmania and it is very much out of your way to go from Melbourne through the centre to Perth, then to Cairns then back down to Hobart. Much better to go Melbourne to Hobart to Adelaide.
Jindabyne is in the Snowy mountains south of Canberra and was used as an accommodation town some years back when the Hydro Electric system was being built. Great mountain area but much smaller than the American/Canadian rockies.
If you have any concerns about the Melbourne part of the trip will be happy to help.
Posts: 354 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 16 January 2007
Thanks several things to consider. I will take your comments to my travel pals and get back to you.I see what you mean about Hobart, ditto Ayers Rock. Refine, Refine, Refine.
I just noticed that your flights do not cover Cairns to Brisbane. This 2 hour flight becomes a 19 hour 1000 mile drive. I have driven it, but would prefer to avoid its gruelling experience. There is enough driving from Cairns around to Port Douglas, The Daintree rainforest, Kuranda and the Barron Falls, and the Atherton tablelands. The Sunlander train journey is doable, but you need to book ahead for this 30 hour journey.
John "There are two types of problems: those that solve themselves, and those which you can do nothing about" Isabel Allende's grandmother
Posts: 1608 | Location: Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia | Registered: 26 March 2003
The reason there is no flight C-B is we are being picked up by some horse friends and taken to their place and then handed on down the line to a couple other farms the last of which will deposit us in Brisbane at least as of today that is the plan
