This Perth to Broome campervan itinerary covers about 2,600 to 2,800 km over 20 days, running up the Coral Coast through the Pinnacles, Kalbarri, Shark Bay and Ningaloo Reef, then inland to Karijini National Park in the Pilbara before finishing at Broome.
This is a one-way route, so budget for a one-way relocation fee, and it’s best driven in the dry season winter months (May-October) when the north is comfortable and the wildflowers and whale season align along the way. Full depot addresses, operator comparisons and the shorter version of this route are covered in our Campervan Hire Perth guide; this itinerary builds on that with a specific day-by-day plan all the way to Broome.
| Days | Route | Distance | Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth to Cervantes | About 200 km | Cervantes |
| 2 | Cervantes to Kalbarri via Geraldton | About 400 km | Kalbarri |
| 3-4 | Kalbarri National Park | Local | Kalbarri |
| 5 | Kalbarri to Denham (Shark Bay) | About 400 km | Denham |
| 6-7 | Shark Bay and Monkey Mia | Local | Denham |
| 8 | Shark Bay to Carnarvon | About 150 km | Carnarvon |
| 9 | Carnarvon to Coral Bay | About 220 km | Coral Bay |
| 10-11 | Coral Bay | Local | Coral Bay |
| 12 | Coral Bay to Exmouth | About 150 km | Exmouth |
| 13-14 | Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range National Park | Local | Exmouth |
| 15 | Exmouth to Karratha or Point Samson | About 600 km | Karratha area |
| 16-17 | Karijini National Park detour | About 400 km round trip from the coast | Karijini |
| 18 | Karijini to Port Hedland | About 600 km | Port Hedland |
| 19 | Port Hedland to Eighty Mile Beach | About 300 km | Eighty Mile Beach |
| 20 | Eighty Mile Beach to Broome | About 250 km | Broome |
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, and all three offer 4-berth motorhomes with a bathroom well suited to this route’s longer driving days. Since this is a one-way trip ending in Broome, confirm one-way availability and fees for your dates before booking, one-way relocations on this route can be significantly discounted if an operator needs to reposition a vehicle north, so it’s worth asking specifically.
Fill the fresh water tank, stock groceries in Perth (choice narrows considerably north of Geraldton and becomes limited beyond Carnarvon), and carry extra drinking water and fuel capacity for the long stretches between towns north of Carnarvon. A WA Parks Pass covers entry to the multiple national parks on this route (Nambung, Kalbarri, Francois Peron, Cape Range and Karijini among them) and pays for itself after two or three park visits compared with paying the roughly AUD 15-17 per vehicle entry fee at each gate individually.
Head north on Indian Ocean Drive to Cervantes, gateway to Nambung National Park and the Pinnacles Desert, thousands of limestone pillars rising from yellow sand, some 25,000 to 30,000 years old. The Pinnacles Desert Loop Drive is unsealed but manageable without a 4WD, and the park is open until 9pm if you want to see the pillars under stars. Hangover Bay and Kangaroo Point, both inside the park, are worth a stop for a swim or a picnic.
A longer driving day north via Geraldton, worth a fuel and grocery stop, before continuing to Kalbarri on the mouth of the Murchison River.
Kalbarri National Park’s river gorges, cut by the Murchison River, are the highlight, with the Z-Bend and Nature’s Window lookouts among the most photographed spots on the whole route. The coastal cliffs south of town, including Red Bluff and Mushroom Rock, offer a different, ocean-facing side of the park. Two days gives enough time for both the gorge country and the coast without rushing either.
North to the Shark Bay turnoff and on to Denham, Australia’s westernmost town and the base for exploring the World Heritage-listed Shark Bay region.
Shark Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Area for good reason: Monkey Mia’s wild bottlenose dolphins have come into the shallows for feeding sessions most mornings for decades, Francois Peron National Park offers 4WD tracks through red dunes to pristine beaches (a 2WD campervan can still reach the park’s main visitor areas), and Shell Beach is one of only two beaches in the world made entirely of tiny shells rather than sand. Two days lets you split time between Monkey Mia’s morning dolphin sessions and the wider bay.
A shorter day back to the highway and north to Carnarvon, a plantation town on the Gascoyne River known for its tropical fruit stalls and the Blowholes a short drive north of town.
North to Coral Bay, a small, low-key town where the reef comes right up to the beach, close enough to snorkel straight off the sand without a boat.
Coral Bay is one of the easiest places in Australia to snorkel with genuine coral reef, and glass-bottom boat tours and manta ray or whale shark swims (seasonal) run directly from town. Two days here is about slowing down rather than sightseeing hard, this is a good spot to rest before the longer drives further north.
North around the Ningaloo coast to Exmouth, the main base for Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range National Park.
Ningaloo Reef (Nyinggulu) is a World Heritage-listed fringing reef, meaning it sits close enough to shore to snorkel directly from the beach at spots like Turquoise Bay, rather than needing a boat trip out to it. Cape Range National Park covers the peninsula’s dramatic limestone range and coastal gorges, with Yardie Creek Gorge a highlight accessible by an easy walk or a short cruise. March to July is whale shark season and roughly June to October is humpback whale season, both worth checking against your dates if a swim with either is a priority.
A long driving day inland and north to the Pilbara’s industrial coast around Karratha, Point Samson or Roebourne. Break the drive with a fuel and rest stop partway if needed, this is one of the longer legs of the whole trip.
The detour inland to Karijini National Park, Western Australia’s second-largest national park, is worth the extra distance. Ancient red gorges up to 100 metres deep hide swimming holes, waterfalls and walking trails ranging from easy strolls to genuinely technical gorge scrambles like Handrail Pool. Recent road upgrades have sealed 41 km of key roads to the main gorges (Weano, Hancock, Joffre and Knox), making much of the park accessible to a standard campervan, though Hamersley Gorge and Mount Bruce still involve unsealed sections. Two nights lets you see the main eastern gorges around Dales Gorge and the western cluster near Weano without rushing.
Back out to the coast and north to Port Hedland, one of the world’s largest bulk export ports and a practical overnight stop rather than a scenic destination in its own right.
North toward Broome, breaking the drive at Eighty Mile Beach, exactly what it sounds like, a vast, sweeping stretch of coastline popular for beach fishing and an easy overnight stop roughly halfway between Port Hedland and Broome.
The final leg into Broome, the Kimberley’s western gateway. Cable Beach, with its pindan-red cliffs and long white sand stretch, is the classic first stop, and the town itself, with its pearling history and laid-back tropical feel, is worth a full extra day if your schedule allows before returning the campervan or continuing into the wider Kimberley. Australia’s North West covers Broome, Cable Beach, the Dampier Peninsula and Gibb River Road options in detail if you’re deciding whether to extend the trip further into the Kimberley.
BIG4 Holiday Parks and G’day Parks both have sites at Cervantes, Kalbarri, Denham, Carnarvon, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Karratha and Broome, with powered sites and camp kitchens typical of a holiday park stay. Coral Bay and Exmouth in particular book out well ahead in peak dry season (June-August), so reserve these specifically rather than assuming you’ll find a site on arrival. For free and low-cost camping along the longer stretches between towns, particularly the Pilbara legs from Exmouth to Karratha and Karijini to Port Hedland, WikiCamps Australia and CamperMate list verified sites with facilities information and user reviews. Australia’s Coral Coast and Australia’s North West are the two regional tourism bodies covering this route and both list current accommodation, tour operators and seasonal event information worth checking closer to your travel dates.
Standard campervan inclusions match what’s covered in our Perth campervan hire guide: unlimited kilometres from most operators (confirm this specifically for one-way bookings, since terms can differ from a standard return rental), vehicle insurance with a standard excess, 24-hour roadside assistance, linen, bedding and towels, and basic kitchen equipment. Given the distances on this route, confirm your vehicle’s fuel tank range and carry a backup water supply, since fuel stops beyond Carnarvon are more widely spaced and noticeably more expensive than in Perth.
Campervan hire for a 20-day one-way trip runs from around AUD 150 to 300 a day for a 4-berth vehicle depending on season, per our Perth campervan hire guide, so budget roughly AUD 3,000 to 6,000 for the hire alone, plus a one-way relocation fee that varies significantly by operator and season, confirm this specifically at booking. On top of that, allow AUD 40 to 70 a night for powered sites at holiday parks (less for national park camping), a WA Parks Pass rather than paying individual park entry fees, fuel (this route covers around 2,600 to 2,800 km, with prices rising the further north you go), and activities like snorkelling tours at Coral Bay or Ningaloo and the dolphin experience at Monkey Mia.
Dry season (May-October) is the best window for the whole route, especially north of Carnarvon, with comfortable daytime temperatures, minimal rain, and the whale shark (March-July) and humpback whale (roughly June-October) seasons overlapping with parts of the trip.
The build-up and wet season (November-April) brings increasing heat and humidity the further north you travel, with the Pilbara and Kimberley genuinely uncomfortable and occasionally affected by cyclones in the wet season proper (December-March). This isn’t the recommended window for the northern half of this itinerary.
Do I need a 4WD for this Perth to Broome itinerary? No, for the great majority of the route. A standard 2WD campervan covers the Coral Coast and the main sealed routes into Karijini’s key gorges. A 4WD only becomes necessary for a handful of specific unsealed tracks inside Karijini (Hamersley Gorge, Mount Bruce) and for Francois Peron National Park’s inner tracks at Shark Bay, both of which have accessible alternatives that don’t require one.
Can I do this as a one-way trip and fly back from Broome? Yes, this is written as a one-way itinerary. Confirm one-way availability and the relocation fee with your operator at booking, since not every vehicle or season has this option, and Broome Airport has regular connections back to Perth.
How much time should I add for a Broome-to-Kimberley extension? If continuing beyond Broome into the wider Kimberley (the Gibb River Road, Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungles), add at least 10-14 days and a genuine 4WD vehicle rather than a standard campervan, since much of that further route is unsealed and remote.
Is 20 days enough for this route, or should I allow more? 20 days is a workable pace but doesn’t leave much slack. If your schedule allows, 25-28 days gives more breathing room at Ningaloo, Shark Bay and Karijini, the three places most travellers wish they’d had an extra day.
What’s the biggest mistake people make on this route? Underestimating the distances and fuel costs north of Carnarvon, and not booking Monkey Mia and Coral Bay accommodation ahead in peak dry season (June-August), when both can book out well in advance.
This itinerary pairs with the wider routes covered in our Campervan Hire Perth guide, including the shorter South West loop through Margaret River and Albany, covered in full in our 10 day Perth campervan itinerary, 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 this is one leg of a bigger trip.
Use the search widget on our Perth campervan hire page to compare live availability, one-way options and pricing for your travel dates before booking this route.
