To reach Margaret River from Singapore, you will need to take a 5 hours flight to Perth, followed by a 3 hours drive to reach the town of Margaret River, heart of the Margaret River region.

Scoot, Jetstar, Tigerair and Qantas have daily straight flights offering wide range of schedules and fares.

Getting there: SIN to PER : TigerAir : 03:20 PM – 09:10PM (5h flight)
Coming back: PER to SIN: TigerAir 09:45 PM – 03:00 AM
Return tickets from SGD 350.

Get your ticket NOW to enjoy the best fares. Use Skyscanner to find the cheapest flight or check directly on the airlines websites (as some flights may not be visible on Skyscanner).

Food, money change & car rental are available at the airport.

You can rent your car from the airport. Book in advance to be sure to have a car on arrival. There are a few car rental companies available (Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt, Thirfty). You can see the details from the Perth airport website. Rates are from SGD 300 up for a simple car for 3 days. To find your way at no cost, you can use these free apps (you don’t need data roaming to use it): navmii for Australia and NZ or maps.me

There are many accommodation options around the Margaret River area. There are a few hotels and a lot of nice and charming Bed & Breakfast. You can also rent a villa or small apartment by the beach for a few days, or even rent a campervan & stay in the many camping / caravan parks available in the area.

We recommend you to stay around Margaret River town to be in the heart of the region & travel around easily north & south. Most of the wineries & factories are in or near the town of Margaret River. If you prefer to stay near / on the beach, you can check accommodations around Prevelly (quite central near Margaret River town), Yallingup (North of the region but very nice beach).

You can check accommodations on

Or book your hotel with or www.stayz.com.au 

Although some may say the main activity in Margaret River is just to eat & drink wine, there are actually plenty of outdoor activities (surf, kitesurf, walks, etc) & nice places to visit. The easiest way to find your way around the area is to print the official region map which features all the touristic spots. You can also find the map in most hotels and B&B or here. To find your way at no cost, you can use the free app (you don’t need data roaming to use it): navmii for Australia and NZ

Margaret River is a very famous wine region so of course you will have many choices of wineries & breweries to visit. Enjoy the nice wines, very nice food but also the nice landscape that the wineries have to offer. Most wineries are open for lunch but not for diner. We recommend particularly:

• Watershed: Nice food & wine, nice landscape. Perfect to have lunch.
• Cullen: Cute & small outdoor settings on a wooden terrasse with nice view on the wineries. Excellent food & wine.
• Hamelin Bay Winery: Nice outdoor terrasse with beautiful view on the wineries
• Wise Wine: Located north of the region near Cape Naturaliste, in the hills with spectacular ocean view looking down on the vinyards. Good food & wine as well. Nice to have lunch there on the way back to Perth for example. This is our favourite place in terms of landscape!
• Leeuwin Estate: One of the only wineries where you can have diner only on Saturdays – book in advance
• Vasse Felix: Not the best scenery but very good Cabernet Sauvignon!
• Voyager Estate: Nice outdoor setting
• Bootleg brewery: Nice beer & beautiful outdoor area with a big garden right on the shore of a pond.
• Cowaramup Brewing Company: nice beer testing & nice outdoor setting

Margaret River is also home to various gourmet food factories, where you can taste & buy good local organic products:

• Cheese Factory: Small place but nice cheeses to taste & buy for your cheese & wine diner
• Chocolate Factory: Nice place to visit, particularly with children. Free chocolate tastings & interactive displays. You can also watch products being made.
• Providor: Gourmet food producer selling organic & fresh products such as chutneys, honeys, jams, olive oils, tapenades, dressings, spice mixes etc… You can have lunch there too and buy good food for your diner
• The Berry Farm: Taste & buy fruit wines, ciders, sparkling, liquerus and fortifieds, as well as gourmet jams, preserves and fermented wine vinegars.

Most wineries & factories are closed for diner and there are only a few restaurants in Margaret River. Hence you can enjoy the visit of those places to buy your gourmet food, cheeses & wine to organize your own nice diner.

• Pravelly beach: Near the Margaret River town, Pravelly beach is beautiful and home of many surfers & other water sports
• Yallingup: Beautiful beach north of MR town, great spot for surfing, beach walks and swimming
• Smith Beach: Best beach to swim as it is a wide, flat beach of pure-white sand and crystal-clear turquoise water
• Hamelin Bay: One of the most beautiful beach in the region, very famous for pictures & postcards. Great spot for swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving when water is calm.
• Cape Naturalist: Northernmost point of the region. Nice coastal walk toward the lighthouse & whale watching if you are there between September & December.
• Cape Leeuwin (South): Long, thin promontory at the end of which stands a 40m tall lighthouse, which you can tour and climb to the top of for a good 360° views.
• Busselton Jetty (North, on the way back to Perth) : the longest jetty of the southern emisphere. You can walk or take the jetty train to the end of which you can visit the underwater observatory (not a must…)
• Bunker Bay (North ): Nice & quiet beach with clear turquoise waters.

• Gunyulgup Galleries – Very nice gallery worth visiting
• Olive Oil & Soap Factory (Vasse Virgin): Nice shop with artisanal soaps, bath & skin care products as well as natural olive oils

The Margaret River also offers quite unique cave experiences. Along the spine of the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge and beneath soaring karri forest lie more than 150 caves. For example, Ngilgi, Mammoth, Lake and Jewel Caves run guided tours. We don’t think it is a must (actually we don’t like caves) but if you have kids and have more time in the region it can be nice to visit one of them.

Internet access is available in most B&B and hotels.

When you arrive, go to the Margaret River Visitor Centre (100 Bussell Highway Margaret River WA, 6285). It is located at the heart of the Margaret River town. They will help you find accommodations (although we recommend you to book in advance) and provide maps & information service for tours & attractions.

Your main bag

That’s the one you leave at the hotel. Ideally you want to avoid checking in your luggage when flying. So check the weight and dimensions for hand carry luggage with your airlines (some airlines will allow only 7kg, some will allow up to 10kg). From head to toes.

• Short sleeves tops: your main outfit. Everybody will see them on all your pictures. You really want to take that old Mickey Mouse T-shirt? Be mindful that you will be in a different environment so it might be a good idea to adjust your wardrobe.
• Long sleeves tops: to protect yourself from the sun (if you’ve stayed for 5 hours on a motorbike with short sleeves you know what I mean) or to enter religious buildings or to protect yourself from mosquitoes in the evening.
• Pullover. Yes I know, you’re going to a country where the temperature never goes down below 25 degrees and you need to pack a pullover? You will thank us when you’re back. Remember that flight during which  you were freezing? Or this museum where the aircon is set to the “polar bear” temperature?
• Short/skirt (you should be able to chose the appropriate one by yourself).
• Trousers for the same reasons you need to take long sleeves tops. Jeans are usually not a good option. They are heavy and keep you too warm.
• Underwear: well, you know. If you plan to walk or ride motorbikes for long hours, take something comfortable as the combination heat + friction can make you regret this sophisticated silk underwear. Cotton is good.
• Shoes: one pair of flip flap and one pair of confortable shoes. Remember that you are going to spend most of the time on your feet. Forget about high heels and leave your Westons at home.
• Swimsuit: even if you don’t plan to go to the beach, you never know. A nice river, a swimming pool, a heavy rain? Always have one with you.
• Raincoat and protection for your bag. Even if you are visiting the country during the “best season”, you never know what the sky will be like.
• Torch: take a pocket torch with you if you visit countries where the power is not reliable… Can come very handy when stuck in the dark in your room.
• Toilet bag: Shampoo, soap, toothbrush & toothpath, deodorant, sun screen, tiger balm. Ideally, all these in miniature formats.
• Sleeping bag liner (if you plan to stay in very cheap or dirty places, not required if you are staying in a 5-star hotel…)
• Your IT stuff: iPad, eBook, laptop, chargers, memory card, batteries, etc.
• Dryer sheets: they will help keep a fresh smell in your bag.

Your small bag

That’s the one you keep with you, all the time. Hence, a backpack is the best option.

• Your passport, cash, credit cards and other life saving items like your insurance card with emergency contact details. Not a bad idea to put them in a zip-lock bag  in case it rains. It will keep your documents dry.
• Your driver’s licence if you plan to rent a car or a motorbike (some countries are quite particular about this so take it with you in case you are not sure, even for a motorbike rental).
• Your emergency medical kit: painkillers, mosquitoes repellent, dressing/plaster, disinfectant, anti diarrhea, eyewash
• Tissues and toilet paper (you will thank me later). Remember that in a lot of countries, you will not be provided napkins when having a meal.
• Water – plastic bottles are a good option as they are lighter than a gourd/flask.
• Biscuits (always buy some before you go when you are not sure what you will find. Always have “emergency” biscuit  and water in case you cannot find food around and need to recharge batteries)
• Sunglasses: you’ll need them. Take them even if it’s raining. Weather can change very fast in the region.
• Scarf (krama, or any kind of fabric that you can use to put around your neck, put on your head to protect it from the sun, cover your shoulders in temples, dry your sweat, etc). Can come very handy in some situation. It will not stay clean for long so it’s wise to pick a dark color…
• Camera and its protection.

Beach pack

Remember that this one comes on top of the Regular pack (above)

• Beach towel or equivalent (pareos / sarongs are lighter)
• Snorkeling equipment: mask, scuba, (fins?)
• Shoes you can wear on the beach or in the water (to protect your feet from being cut by corals)
• Dry bag if you plan to go on a boat and want to keep your stuff dry.

Well, you will probably adjust your bag after a few trips. Remove the stuff that you have not used and add the one that you missed. Post a comment to share your tips!

Happy packing (it’s the worse part of the trip but it’s worth it…) and travelling!

Australia

* check the exact date on this website as it varies from one year to another.

When Public Holidays falls on a Sunday, the following day will be Public Holiday