Perth to Esperance road trip: our guide and itinerary

• Day 1: Perth - Esperance
• Day 2: Esperance
• Day 3: Esperance - Two Peoples Bay
• Day 4: Two Peoples Bay - Albany
• Day 5: Albany - Denmark
• Day 6: Denmark - Dunsborough
• Day 7: Dunsborough - Margaret River
• Day 8: Margaret River - Perth

Day 1. Perth to Esperance

714 km

We started the trip, and our first day was all driving, with a single stop:

Wave Rock: A natural rock formation shaped like a wave! It's in a small town called Hyden. The wave is about 15 meters high and 110 long!

The first night we slept along the way, at a free campsite by the side of the road that we found on Google.

Day 2. Esperance

0 km

The first night we slept along the way, at a free campsite by the side of the road that we found on Google.

Esperance is a small town. We didn't much like the center: we were expecting a really cool place with Australian-style cafés, and it was quite a letdown. What didn't let us down at all were its beaches! The color of the water is amazing.

These are the beaches a few minutes from the center of Esperance:

• Twilight Beach
• Wharton Beach
• Blue Haven Beach
• West Beach

Tonight you can sleep at the campsite facing the famous Lucky Bay, in Cape Le Grand National Park. We suggest booking ahead, since it's quite a busy place. You can do it on the WA national parks website.

Day 3. Esperance to Two Peoples Bay (Albany)

460 km

We got up very early and headed to Cape Le Grand National Park, 50 km away, home to the famous LUCKY BAY beach. It's a long beach with white sand and turquoise water. But that's not why it's so famous: it's the kangaroos that come to feed on the seaweed. These little friends aren't shy at all!

Besides Lucky Bay, you can't miss idyllic HELLFIRE BAY

Torndirrup National Park: It has impressive rock formations along the coast.

After enjoying the beach, we went back to our little house on wheels and looked for a campsite to spend the night near Albany, about 60 km from the beach we'd been at.

Day 4. Two Peoples Bay to Albany

60 km

We carried on for the 100 km to our first stop of the day:

Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve: This nature reserve has incredible beaches! We went to Little Beach, which has rocks in the middle of the sand that make the scenery one of a kind. And if you keep walking to the end of the beach, a little path takes you to another deserted little beach!

Day 5. Albany to Denmark

54 km

The next morning we set off for the town of Denmark. We got a cloudy, cool day, but we couldn't not go to the beach.

William Bay National Park: Home to two of the most beautiful beaches in Denmark, Green Pools and Elephant Rocks. The rocks there are impressive, and so are the pools that form on the beach next door.

The entrance fee is A$15 per vehicle, but it's included in the Park Pass for Western Australia.

After enjoying the beaches and having lunch, we set off for Albany. Since it was getting dark, we looked up a campsite on Google along the way and slept there.

Day 6. Denmark to Dunsborough

350 km

We were now on the final stretch of the road trip. On the way to the Margaret River region we stopped at:

Gloucester National Park: We climbed the Gloucester Tree, a tree 58 meters (190 ft) tall! If you're not afraid of heights, you can climb it and take in an incredible view.

Valley of the Giants: You can also stop here and walk along bridges among the trees! We didn't do it.

Day 7. Margaret River

250 km

We spent this day exploring the beaches of the region!

Here are a few we recommend:

• Meelup Beach
• Injidup Natural Spa
• Yallingup Beach
• Smiths Beach

After enjoying the day, going from beach to beach, we started back to Perth, slept at a campsite on the way, and returned the van the next morning.

And that was the end of an incredible trip through the south of Western Australia.

Day 8. Perth

In total we covered 1,889 km