15 Fun Things to Do in Perth: A Solo Travel Guide

Perth is the sunniest Australian city with the most extensive city parkland in the world. Thanks to its perfect climate throughout the year, it offers a laid-back lifestyle and fun things do in Perth both day and night. And the ideal place for solo travellers. I have been several times to Perth, and loved it as there is always something new to do. Here I have picked 15 things for solos to Perth Western Australia.

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Where to Stay in Perth WA

If you want to stay in hotels, here are great hotels I recommend in Perth:

Best Places to Stay:

➡️ The Adnate Art Series Hotel a fab stylish hotel.
➡️ YHA Perth City a great budget stay in Perth.
➡️ The Sebel East Perth serviced apartments overlooking the Swan River.

15 Things To Do In Perth For The Solo Traveller

If you travel solo to Perth, you need to plan at least three full days. Ideally, I would stay a week to make the most of Perth’s great outdoors. Here is my travel guide with my best picks on things to do alone in Perth.

1. Admire Elizabeth Quay’s Architecture

The newly refurbished Elizabeth Quay has re-established the connection between the city and the Swan River and expanded the city centre with new inlets of parklands, promenades, shopping and entertainment areas. It indeed has changed the face of Perth, and it’s a delight to walk through the spectacular Queen Elizabeth Quay Bridge and admire the imposing modern sculptures.

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One more significant ongoing project: the Perth City Link will reconnect the CBD with Northbridge while sinking the rail line and undergrounding the bus stations. This way, they will create a new precinct that will revitalise the city furthermore.

2. Visit the inside of the State Buildings

Just one minute walk from Elizabeth’s Quay. It’s an entirely refurbished huge palace showing all its splendours through high-end restaurants and top brands shops. On the ground floor outside, you can also discover food artisan shops like a tea-house and the famous Sue Lewis Chocolaterie.

If you like chocolate, here you can take part in chocolate tastings and buy mouth-watering organic chocolate made freshly made in front of you.

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3. Spend a day in Kings Park

Kings Park, the largest city park in the world, is the green soul of Perth. Its beautiful botanical garden and the Banksia Garden feature unique Western Australian wildflowers, plants, trees and offer spectacular views over the city. Free guided tours, provided by park rangers, are available daily to learn about traditions and the Aboriginal significance of this place.

If you want to do long walks or go cycling across this huge natural bushland, take your food with you and stop at one of the many picnic areas along the famous Fraser Avenue or the Pioneer Women’s Memorial. A great way to spend a day in Perth solo.

Here are all things to do in Kings Park Perth.

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4. Go on a day trip to Rottnest Island

No visit to Perth is complete without a day-trip to Rotto Island, as the locals call it. Rottnest is a car-free small island off Perth’s coast, a great place for a day out or a holiday. There is a free shuttle bus that takes you around to over 60 beaches.

Book your Round-Trip Ferry to Rottnest from Fremantle

Or book the Round-Trip Transfer from Hillarys Boar Harbour

Take a two-hour-bus-tour with excellent commentary to learn about its unique cultural heritage and the funny stories of this island. There are many more tours, from sailing boat trips or adventure boat trips. Learn more how to spend a day on Rottnest Island.

If you prefer exploring the island on your own, hire a bike and cycle all around the island and stop at the many small bays and beaches. You can also take your bike on the ferry or hire it in Perth. Check the wind and sea conditions before booking your ferry from Fremantle to Rottnest. It will be hard to cycle around the island by a strong wind, so possibly pick a wind-free day trip from Perth to Rottnest Island.

Book your Bike and Ferry Combo to Rottnest

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5. Take a walk in South Perth Foreshore Park

Perth is not only a paradise for walkers and bikers alike. And you don’t need to go to the beach. One of the best places for walking in Perth is the South Perth Foreshore Park, where you can jog, walk and exercise all along the river while enjoying an early sunrise breeze or later afternoon for sunset colours. It’s very busy at weekends, and people flock here for a relaxing day out.

It’s a recreational and training area for kayaking, stand-up paddle and more sports too. If you love aerobic workouts, this is an excellent place in Perth to spend time alone.

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6. Visit historic Fremantle

Fremantle is only 20 minutes train ride from the city and is a funky coastal town with cultural and historical heritage. Fremantle is genuinely a picturesque place with a distinctive flair.

What to do in Fremantle on a solo trip:

7. Dive into the Fremantle markets vibe

Open from Friday to Sunday – Its bustling atmosphere with over 150 arts and crafts stalls, live buskers, concerts and art events are one of the biggest attractions must-do-thing when visiting Perth on weekends.

8. Visit the Fremantle Prison

With its fascinating story from the convict settlement time with the prison riots and its mysterious tales. I can highly recommend going on a guided tour.

9. Take a walk to admire Fremantle old buildings.

From Fremantle Marina, stroll through its city centre, you will come across some magnificent old buildings, hotels and pubs. A few examples: Rosie O’Grady’s, the majestic Hotel Esplanade and the iconic National Hotel, which was destroyed by a fire in 2007 and re-opened to the public six years later in all its splendour.

Browse through all Tours and Activities in Fremantle

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10. Enjoy Perth beaches from Cottesloe to Ocean Reef

Sun, beach and surf. This is what Perth is famous for. One thing that you undoubtedly do is to go to Cottesloe Beach, the most popular beach among locals. While it is a pretty busy beach on weekends, you don’t need a car to get there, and it’s only 10 minutes bus or train ride from the city.

11. Go for a bike ride on the Perth north coast.

Perth is a paradise for bike lovers because it’s not as busy as other Australian cities, and there are excellent cycling paths that take you to Cottesloe. From there, you can keep cycling north to Scarborough Beach, North Beach and further north to Sorrento.

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12. Enjoy sunset at Ocean Reef

If you are more adventurous and like to get active, you can cycle up the whole way up to Ocean Reef. But if that’s too much, get on the 423 bus to Hillary’s Boat Harbour and from there hire a bike to cycle north through the splendid Mullaloo Beach on the elevated paved cycling path stop at the various lookouts through the stunning hills to Iluka beach, where you can stop for a coffee. A 5 km bike ride worth it.

And one of my favourite day-trips in Perth.

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13. Get a taste of Perth at the Food Markets

Another thing you can do in Perth alone is to taste its great food and local produce. Starting from November on Fridays Night, you can visit Twilight Hawkers Market, the biggest Street Food Market offering the tastiest street food worldwide.

If you are a food lover, Eat Drink Perth, a festival (held in April) dedicated to food tastings, is a must-do thing for you. But there are more interesting Farmers Markets and Nights Markets in summer in Perth, worth checking out.

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14. Go to Swan Valley for a Food & Wine Tour

If you love food and wine, one more thing to add to your list is a food & wine tour to Swan Valley to discover its most delicious local produce. To get to Swan Valley is only a 30 minutes drive. From honey, chocolates, ice cream to local vegetables and fruits to local white and red wines, you can spend a whole day touring Swan Valley and having lunch at fine restaurants.

Book your Swan Valley Wine & Food Tour from Perth

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15. Take a Swan riverboat cruise

If you have a couple of hours and don’t fancy hiring a car, the best way to see Perth and around from the water perspective is to go on the Swan Riverboat cruise. I did it on a Sunday morning cruise; it’s a two-hour cruise very informative about this city’s development over the centuries.

You land in the Swan Valley wineries for lunch. This is a guided tour, and you can choose to come back to town by bus. You can view it by clicking the link below.

Book your Swan Valley Cruise with Wine Tastings + Lunch

What if you have ten days to spend in Perth

I would suggest you visit the South East Coast and spend 3-5 days in the Margaret River Region with Cape Leeuwin, Dunsborough and Cape Naturaliste, which are part of the beautiful Geographe Bay.

And if you have more time, you shall plan to travel further down and explore more of South West Australia, including and a trip to Albany.

Browse through all Tours and Activities to do on Rottnest

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How to plan your trip to Perth

Here are my favourite trip planning resources that I use to plan all my trips to Australia. It’s not easy to find suitable budget accommodation as hotels in Perth are expensive for solo travellers. You may want to consider alternative ways to hotels, like staying in hostels or use Airbnb. Read about my experience staying with a local in Perth.

If you find this article helpful for your trip to Perth, I’d appreciate it if you could support Rocky Travel and book your tours and accommodation by using the links in the article or any here below, thanks!

Related Page: All Australia Destinations

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First published in 2018, last updated in Jan 2023

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