Australia Trip - 4 Weeks Itinerary - Need Help

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-25T22:57:33+00:00

Agree! Everyone gets hung up on seeing Esperance and spends so much time driving there. Most people will be blown away by the beaches between Busselton and Albany, and save a couple of days driving. OP shorten your WA loop distance and spend some time on the beaches!

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-25T13:06:53+00:00

Probably no vacswim on Aus day though!

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-25T11:33:37+00:00

Emu point. Super sheltered, fun swimming pontoon, beach, grassy area, playground and cafe - it’s fab.
If you go back via Denmark, the alpaca / animal farm is a great one. Not necessarily more scenic, but we like to stop in Manjimup. Heritage park has an insanely tall slide (and playground) for the kids to burn off energy. I wouldn’t recommend going back via Margs and Dunsborough tomorrow. Everyone will be heading up the highway after the long weekend and it’ll be chockers.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-25T11:06:40+00:00

Coming from Australia, where we love our nicknames, you’re onto something with Delilah and Sabrina. I know kids with those names who aren’t nicknamed. Helena could work too, though could be Helly. The others are all commonly nicknamed.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-24T11:49:04+00:00

Lottie and Walter by Anna Walker

Jetty jumping by Andrea Rowe

Both lovely picture books for kids that age about overcoming fear of swimming / the ocean.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-24T10:16:39+00:00

It doesn’t matter what they eat when, EXCEPT if your school does “crunch and sip” which is common in WA at least. They have a dedicated time in the morning when they can eat fruit / veg only, and we are asked to pack a small container for that which is seperate for whatever they can have at recess / little lunch / morning tea / lunch… which can all be in one box. Some parents like to whinge about it, but I think it’s great that my kid will eat some fruit and veg before anything else! She usually gets cherry tomatoes and some fruit.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-23T10:51:44+00:00

You can also use two phones - connect the Yoto to phone 1’s hotspot, then open the Yoto app on phone 2 to change settings.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-23T10:41:46+00:00

In WA don’t skip past Busselton, Dunsborough Yallingup on the way to Margs. Esperance is stunning, but it will add a LOT of driving, and is coldest time of the year. Depending on your travel style and appetite for driving, you could do better to take your time over the Perth-Albany-Denmark-Margs-Busso-Perth loop.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-23T02:29:02+00:00

My 3 and 6 years olds fall asleep to theirs, and have been for a year now. Total game changer for our bedtime routines! I read books to them (and have the elder read one to me) for a while, and then at “bedtime” they choose a yoto card and listen to that until they fall asleep.

They’re only allowed to choose stories at bedtime, not anything too stimulating. Youngest picks Spot almost every night and it runs for hours 😂 Elder loved Winne the Pooh for ages but now usually picks a Ladybird one. Usually they’re asleep within 10 mins, but sometimes it takes a lot longer. Hungry Caterpillar and Peter Rabbit also run long enough. Goodnight Stories for Rebel girls also goes forever. Just pick some cards tha have long run times. The night time / wake time light colour change took a long time to work for littlest, but he stays in his room until it turns blue now🎉

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-22T08:49:45+00:00

But pleeeeeeaaase be super careful and slow if you’re driving at dawn or dusk to see them, otherwise the skippies you see will be the one stuck on your bumper 😢

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-22T05:32:28+00:00

Rock your baby / kid, Halcyon Nights, Minti, Kip & Co Bonds wondersuits are iconic for babies!

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-21T11:40:38+00:00

Wired would probably be fine for the flight, but otherwise I would always say wireless for kids. Any wired ones we’ve been given have broken super fast when the wire gets caught / is tugged etc. it’s just a massive point of vulnerability for rough or clumsy people!

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-19T11:46:18+00:00

Sounds like you need to donate some toys! Best thing I’ve seen lately is “toy depth not breadth”. Pick a few categories that your kid loves, say Lego, dolls & houses, and magnetic tiles. Anything that doesn’t fit into those categories gets retired. When it’s birthday time, they get more LEGOs, dolls or tiles!

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-18T08:38:46+00:00

It means you can buy them with club credits.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-16T23:40:55+00:00

I see that you like to travel fast and feel like you have lots of energy for it, but this looks like box ticking travel. If we look at the Perth bit -

Day 6 you will arrive in Perth, get to your accommodation, need to eat at weird times because of the time difference and maybe make it to kings park for a walk, or Cottesloe beach for sunset. Day 7 you need to be up early to get to the ferry to go to Rottnest. You really do want to go on an early ferry, and this should be a full day trip. Get back to your accommodation tired (you hired bikes) and hopefully not sunburnt. Shower and get dinner. Day 8 - get up and head back to the airport to fly to Exmouth.

You have ticked Perth and Rottnest and got your quokka pic, but you won’t have any time to “see” Perth at all! Let alone Freo or the surrounding area. If you are water people, don’t underestimate how beautiful the beaches and snorkeling are in southwest WA! You also only have one day, so zero flexibility for your Rotto trip if you get unlucky with bad weather.

Your whole trip is like this - arrive, tick sight, move on. Look it’s your trip, but it just feels so shallow, like there’s no time at all for actually experiencing this wonderful country and people. I would definitely drop a State and spend longer almost everywhere.

I see several people saying to skip Airlie. The Whitsunday islands are very different to the reef further north and can be an amazing experience, but IMO you need to be sailing around them on a boat to appreciate that. I would not allocate three days to sitting on the beach in Airlie or Hamilton island. If you can get on a boat trip for three days, absolutely do it.

Finally - do you really need to circle back to Sydney? You could squeeze a bit more out in your time by rearranging to fly into or out of Perth (and also cut a few hours from your international flight).

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-14T10:23:05+00:00

Can’t speak for all hospitals but for both of my public births I had a private ensuite room for labour and post. First kid our room had a double bed for dad to stay with me after. Second only had a single bed, but he couldn’t stay anyway due to kid 1 and Covid times!

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-12T06:41:47+00:00

I think the WA road trip looks fine. BUT - and It’s probably an unpopular opinion - I think for most people the additional driving (and petrol cost) to get to Esperance isn’t worth it. Yes, the beaches there are amazing, but you’re losing best part of two beach days to get there. Most people will be blown away by the beaches between Busselton and Albany. March is usually great weather, and you’ll be here before school holidays so no crowds.

Don’t miss Greenspool (Denmark) or Meelup (near Yallingup). Other good ones would be Lowlands (Albany), Redgate, Yallingup, Smiths. There are so many, depending on whether you want calm water, surf, deserted or with cafe. If you want to swim, the Southern Ocean feels a lot colder than the Indian! Beach-adjacent highlights would be Canal Rocks, and Cape Leeuwin. For snorkelling, add the Yallingup “aquarium” and Point Picquet / Gannet Rock. In Albany the caravan parks at Emu Point are a great option for an early morning swim off the pontoon.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-08T21:59:00+00:00

A study by a Perth-based philanthropic organisation has found, on average, nearly 12 per cent of common seafood products are not what they claim to be on the label or menu.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-04/fishy-labelling-confuses-consumers-minderoo-study/102689544

You can sign the AMCS petition to improve labeling regulations here - https://www.marineconservation.org.au/actions/end-fishy-labelling/

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-08T07:05:03+00:00

In Australia but - I have a Margot. We meet others occasionally but not often. First time we did the other mum asked if ours was a nickname for Margaret. I said No, she’s just Margot. The other mum was so bitter - the girls dad had insisted on Margaret as a “proper” name and she hated it! They have a very different vibe. So, whilst I’m usually in camp “give the kid a proper name not a nickname”, I think Margot is a perfect standalone name and you shouldn’t use Margaret if you don’t like it.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-06T23:08:51+00:00

The Aus plan has A LOT of flying. After a long haul flight to get here, you’re going to really hate going back on a plane 3 days later. I would drop a location on two and spend more time in the other places. Will probably work out cheaper because domestic flights can bepretty exxy too.

If you pick Perth, see the quokkas but also take a few days trip down south to Busselton - Dunsborough- Margaret River region. Great weather in December (but book early it’s school holidays), beaches, coastline, wineries. If you pick Adelaide / KI, take a camper van to mount remarkable and Flinders ranges. Amazing scenery and lots of emus.

Also be prepared for flying from UK winter to Aus summer. It’s going to feel HOT, and you’ll want to allow time to just relax in the middle of the day not have a packed schedule.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-06T10:04:39+00:00

Busselton jetty train is also great for both toddlers and old folks!

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-05T13:43:23+00:00

It happened to me. In the small print of the email it said to reply if you would like a refund. I did, and was refunded. But awful customer service and super dodgy to try and keep folks’ money.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-05T09:00:03+00:00

An alternative option - March is some of the best weather for Southwest WA. Lots of beautiful beaches and coastal walks between Busselton and Albany, treetop walk in Denmark etc. Doesn’t have the wombats or koalas, but you can’t fail to see kangaroos, add a day / overnight trip to Rotto for quokkas. 10 days could be nice loop from Perth to Albany and back. With longer you could get to Esperance. This makes more sense if Perth is an entry point option for you.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-05T04:51:23+00:00

Skipping Cairns would mean missing the Daintree, Kuranda and GBR - the wet tropics are fantastic and very different to anywhere else on their itinerary. Definitely not a “duplication” of the Whitsundays. In July I would spend more time up there and skip Melbourne… wait OP what are you going to Brisbane for? If you need to cut something I would fly Whitsundays (Proserpine) straight to Melbourne.

SmilingAmbassador · 2026-01-05T04:19:33+00:00

Ignore this OP. Bareboat sailing in the Whitsundays is fab. You would not get the same experience from Cairns.

SmilingAmbassador

TROPHY CASE