Planning a Trip

Getting There

Skywest (tel. 1300/660 088 in Australia; www.skywest.com.au) flies from Perth daily. A shuttle bus meets every flight and takes you to your Exmouth hotel for A$20 (US$18/£9) one-way. Reservations can be made with Exmouth Bus Charter (tel. 08/9949 4623; exmouthbuscharter@bigpond.com). (Have the cash on you; there's no ATM at the airport.) Coral Bay Adventures (tel. 08/9942 5955) makes transfers, on demand, from the airport to Coral Bay, approximately 120km (74 miles) away, for A$75 (US$68/£34) adults, A$35 (US$32/£16) children under 13, one-way.

Greyhound Australia (tel. 13 14 99 in Australia) has a service to Coral Bay and Exmouth from Minilya on the Great Northern Highway. It connects with both the Perth-Broome and Broome-Perth services, in the wee hours of the morning. The trip time from Perth is 19 hours, and the fare is A$226 (US$204/£102).

If driving from Perth, the 14-hour journey (plus rest stops) is through lonely country on a two-lane highway. Check that your contract allows you to drive your rental car this far north, and includes unlimited mileage. Wildlife can be a problem, and gas stations are few. From Perth, take the Brand Highway north to Geraldton, 424km (263 miles) away, then the North West Coastal Highway for 618km (386 miles) to Minilya gas station; the Exmouth turnoff is 7km (4 1/3 miles) north of Minilya. The Coral Bay turnoff is 79km (49 miles) farther north, and Exmouth another 145km (90 miles). Overnight at the All Seasons Inn Geraldton, Brand Highway, Geraldton, WA 6530 (tel. 08/9921 2455), which has smart, clean motel rooms from A$187 (US$168/£84) double (specials are available most nights), or in Carnarvon, the only town between Geraldton and Exmouth. Everything else that looks like a town on your map is just a roadhouse (a gas station with shop, cafe, and perhaps some limited accommodations). Keep in mind that the roadhouses can be 200km (124 miles) apart. The longer drive from Broome is not recommended.

Visitor Information

The Exmouth Visitor Centre, Murat Road, Exmouth, WA 6707 (tel. 1800/287 328 in Western Australia, or 08/9949 1176), is open daily from 9am to 5pm, but weekends October through March only from 9am to 1pm; it's closed Good Friday, December 25, and January 1. The Milyering Visitors Centre, on the west coast, 52km (32 miles) from Exmouth, is the Cape Range and Ningaloo National Parks' information center, run by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). It is open daily from 10am to 12:30pm and from 1:15 to 4pm. You can also pick up information, including a hiking-trail map of the Cape Range park from DEC's office on Nimitz Street, Exmouth. Coastal Adventure Tours runs an information and booking center, and Internet cafe, in Coral Bay Shopping Arcade, Coral Bay, WA 6701 (tel. 08/9948 5190; www.coralbaytours.com.au).

Getting Around

Tour and dive operators pick up from either Exmouth or Coral Bay accommodations. The roads to Exmouth and Coral Bay are paved, as is most of the only road that runs from Exmouth along the west (Ningaloo) coast. Avis (tel. 08/9949 2492), Europcar (tel. 08/9949 2940), and local operator Allens Car Hire (tel. 08/9949 2403) have offices in Exmouth; there is no car rental in Coral Bay.