A day by day 10 day campervan itinerary from Perth through Margaret River, Walpole, Albany and Esperance.
It suits any 2WD campervan on fully sealed roads, works well with a 4-berth vehicle from Britz, Apollo or Maui, and is best driven in shoulder season (April-May or September-October) for wildflowers, whale watching windows and manageable prices. Full route details, depot addresses and operator comparisons for Perth are covered in our Campervan Hire Perth guide; this itinerary builds on that with a specific day-by-day plan.
| Total distance | About 1,600 km round trip |
| Duration | 10 days (extendable to 14 with more time in each region) |
| Best season | April-May or September-October |
| Vehicle needed | Standard 2WD campervan; no 4WD required for this route |
| Currency | Australian Dollars (AUD) |
| Day | Route | Distance | Overnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth to Busselton via Bunbury | About 180 km | Busselton or Dunsborough |
| 2-3 | Margaret River wine region and coast | Local loops | Margaret River |
| 4 | Margaret River to Walpole via Pemberton | About 250 km | Walpole |
| 5 | Valley of the Giants and Denmark | About 70 km | Denmark |
| 6-7 | Albany | Local loops | Albany |
| 8 | Albany to Porongurup / Stirling Range | About 60-100 km detour | Porongurup or Mount Barker |
| 9-10 | Return to Perth via the Wheatbelt or coast | About 350-400 km | Perth (return) |
Pick up your campervan from Redcliffe, Hazelmere or Kewdale, all covered with exact addresses, distances and operator comparisons in our full Campervan Hire Perth guide. Britz, Apollo and Maui share a depot at 2 Redcliffe Rd, Redcliffe, about 5 minutes from Perth Airport, while JUCY is at Hazelmere and Go Cheap at Kewdale. A 4-berth campervan with a bathroom suits this route comfortably for two adults, or a 6-berth motorhome for a family of four.
Before leaving Perth, stock up at a supermarket, since towns along this route are small and grocery choice narrows considerably south of Bunbury. Fill the fresh water tank and confirm your excess and insurance cover before you’re on the road.
Head south on the Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway toward Bunbury, Western Australia’s second-largest city and a natural first overnight stop. Continue on to Busselton for the Busselton Jetty, the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere, with an underwater observatory at the far end worth the walk or the little train ride out. Overnight at a holiday park in Busselton or continue the short distance to Dunsborough if you want to be closer to the wine region for day two.
This is the heart of the trip, and worth two full days rather than rushing through. Base yourself in or around Margaret River township and use it as a hub for the Margaret River wine region, home to more than 200 wineries producing some of Australia’s most awarded cabernet and chardonnay. Cellar door tastings are casual and mostly free or low-cost, and many wineries have on-site restaurants worth booking ahead for lunch.
Split your two days between the coast and the caves. On the coast, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park stretches 120 km between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, with the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse at the southern tip, Australia’s tallest mainland lighthouse and the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse at the northern end offers an easier climb and equally sweeping coastal views. Between the two, Ngilgi Cave at Yallingup is one of four show caves in the region open for guided or self-guided tours through the limestone underworld beneath the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge.
For beaches and surf, Smiths Beach and Yallingup are both well known among Western Australia’s more than 40 surf breaks along this coast, and Hamelin Bay is worth a stop for the wild stingrays that gather in the shallows. Boranup Forest, on Caves Road between Margaret River and Augusta, has some of the tallest karri trees in the world and a scenic drive through the forest itself.
Head south-east through Nannup and Pemberton, both worthwhile short stops in karri forest country, before reaching Walpole on the far South Coast. The drive itself is one of the most underrated forest routes in the state, with towering karri and tingle trees lining much of the road.
Just east of Walpole, the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk takes you up to 40 metres into the canopy of the giant tingle trees, plus a ground-level walk through the Ancient Empire grove of veteran tingles at the base. Continue on to Denmark, a relaxed town on the Wilson Inlet with good beaches and a growing wine and craft food scene of its own, a good place to slow the pace down for a night.
Continue to Albany, Western Australia’s oldest European settlement and the largest town on the South Coast. Torndirrup National Park, just south of town, is home to the Gap and Natural Bridge, dramatic granite formations where the Southern Ocean crashes against the coastline, along with a network of short coastal walks. Albany’s whale watching season (roughly June to October, peaking through the winter months) is one of the best in Western Australia, with southern right and humpback whales passing close to shore. The National Anzac Centre and the historic town centre are both worth a half-day if you want a break from nature stops.
Before heading back toward Perth, detour north to the Porongurup and Stirling Range National Parks, both managed through Explore Parks WA, with granite peaks, karri forest and, in spring (September-October), some of the richest wildflower displays in the South West. Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Range is the highest peak in the south of the state and a serious but rewarding half-day walk for anyone wanting to add a hike to the itinerary.
From the Porongurup, two return options work well. The direct inland route back through the Wheatbelt via Katanning and Narrogin is the fastest way back to Perth, around 350-400 km, doable in a long day or split over two easier ones. Alternatively, cut back to the coast via Albany Highway and up through Bunbury for a final coastal night before returning the campervan, retracing part of the outbound route but with the option of new stops you missed on day one.
Standard campervan inclusions on this route match what’s covered in our Perth campervan hire guide: unlimited kilometres from most operators (worth confirming, since this itinerary covers around 1,600 km), vehicle insurance with a standard excess, 24-hour roadside assistance, linen, bedding and towels, and basic kitchen equipment. An awning is genuinely useful on this route, since several stops, particularly Margaret River cellar doors and Albany’s coastal lookouts, reward sitting outside rather than rushing between attractions.
Roads on this itinerary are sealed throughout, though some sections through karri forest between Pemberton and Walpole are narrower and shadier than the main highways, so allow a little extra time rather than pushing to a strict schedule. Fuel is readily available in Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River, Walpole, Denmark and Albany, but prices climb the further you get from Perth, so it’s worth filling up in the larger towns rather than waiting for the smallest ones. Wildlife, particularly kangaroos at dawn and dusk, is a genuine hazard on the forest and Wheatbelt sections of this route, so avoid driving those stretches after dark where possible. RAC members have access to a range of travel and roadside assistance benefits worth checking against your rental, and it’s worth having RAC’s or your operator’s emergency contact saved before you head south of Bunbury, where mobile reception can be patchier through the forest sections.
Beyond the standard campervan inclusions, a few extras suit this specific route: swimwear for Hamelin Bay’s stingrays and the beaches around Denmark and Albany, comfortable walking shoes for the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk and the Gap and Natural Bridge trails at Torndirrup, a reusable wine carrier or box if you’re planning to bring bottles home from Margaret River cellar doors, warm layers for evenings on the South Coast even in shoulder season, and binoculars if whale watching in Albany is a priority. A physical map or downloaded offline maps are worth having as a backup through the forest sections between Pemberton and Walpole, where mobile signal can drop out.
BIG4 Holiday Parks and G’day Parks both have sites in Busselton, Margaret River, Denmark and Albany, with powered sites and camp kitchens typical of a holiday park stay. For free and low-cost camping in between, particularly through the forest country between Pemberton and Walpole, WikiCamps Australia and CamperMate list verified sites with facilities information and user reviews, worth checking each afternoon as you plan the next night’s stop rather than assuming availability.
Campervan hire for this itinerary runs from around AUD 150 to 260 a day for a 4-berth vehicle in shoulder season, per our Perth campervan hire guide, so budget roughly AUD 1,500 to 2,600 for the 10-day hire alone. On top of that, allow AUD 40 to 70 a night for powered holiday park sites (less for national park or free camps), fuel (this route covers around 1,600 km, so budget accordingly at current diesel prices, higher than metro Perth once you’re south of Bunbury), wine tasting and cellar door lunches in Margaret River, and national park entry where applicable, most of the parks on this route are free to enter, with Explore Parks WA listing any exceptions.
Shoulder season (April-May or September-October) is the best overall window, with comfortable temperatures, lower campervan and accommodation rates, and thinner crowds at Margaret River cellar doors. September-October also brings wildflowers to the Porongurup and Stirling Range, and overlaps with the tail end of Albany’s whale watching season.
Summer (December-February) suits the Margaret River coast for beach time but can be uncomfortably hot inland around the Stirling Range, and accommodation books out faster around Christmas and New Year.
Winter (June-August) is Albany’s peak whale watching window and a quieter, cooler time for the wine region, though some forest roads can be wetter and the far South Coast picks up more rain than Perth.
Do I need a 4WD campervan for this Perth itinerary? No. Every stop on this route, Margaret River, Walpole, Albany, the Porongurup and Stirling Range, is reached on fully sealed roads suitable for a standard 2WD campervan.
How many days do I need for a Perth to Margaret River and Albany road trip? 10 days covers the route at a reasonable pace with two full days in Margaret River. If time allows, extending to 12-14 days gives more breathing room in Albany and Denmark, or a side trip further east toward Esperance.
What’s the best month to see whales in Albany? Roughly June through October, with the season generally at its peak through the winter months when southern right and humpback whales pass close to the coast.
Can I do this route one-way instead of returning to Perth? This itinerary is written as a loop back to Perth, since most Perth-based operators don’t have a depot in Albany or on the South Coast. Confirm with your operator if a one-way drop-off elsewhere in WA is available for your dates.
Do I need to book Margaret River wineries in advance? Cellar door tastings are generally walk-in, but restaurant lunches at the better-known wineries fill up, particularly on weekends, so book ahead if a specific lunch stop matters to your day.
Is this itinerary suitable for a family with kids? Yes. Ngilgi Cave, Busselton Jetty’s underwater observatory, the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk, and the stingrays at Hamelin Bay are all well suited to children, and the drive distances between stops are manageable for a family pace rather than a rushed itinerary. A 6-berth motorhome from Britz, Apollo or Maui suits a family of four comfortably.
What if I only have a long weekend, not 10 days? Margaret River alone, days one to three of this itinerary, makes a strong standalone three to four-day trip from Perth without pushing further south to Walpole and Albany. See our Perth campervan hire guide for the shorter Perth to Margaret River route on its own.
Travellers with more time can extend this loop from Albany further east to Esperance, adding roughly 480 km each way and 4 to 6 days. Esperance is home to Cape Le Grand National Park and Lucky Bay, regularly cited as one of Australia’s whitest-sand beaches and known for kangaroos that genuinely sunbathe on the sand at dawn. This extension turns the trip into more of a full South Coast crossing than a South West loop, and pairs naturally with a return to Perth via Norseman and the Great Eastern Highway, or a longer detour back through the Wheatbelt. Our full Australia road trip guide covers the wider South Australian and Nullarbor context if Esperance becomes a stepping stone toward an even longer trip east.
This itinerary pairs well with the wider routes covered in our Campervan Hire Perth guide, including the Coral Coast run north to Broome and Exmouth, and the Nullarbor crossing east to Adelaide. For the full Australian picture, browse our Australia road trip guide and the Australia destinations hub, or compare New Zealand, Canada and USA guides if Western Australia is one leg of a bigger trip.
Use the search widget on our Perth campervan hire page to compare live availability and pricing for your travel dates before booking this route.
