Penguin Island Day Trip from Perth
Private day trip

Penguin Island Day Trip from Perth

53 km each way≈ 41 min drivingHalf day or full day

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A private Penguin Island day trip from Perth uses your own vehicle and chauffeur for the day rather than a coach seat — 53 km and about 41 min of driving each way, with the departure time, stops and itinerary set by your group. It is quoted as an as-directed booking rather than a fixed one-way fare; the straight one-way transfer to the same point is $125.

Penguin Island, driven

Penguin Island sits a few hundred metres off Shoalwater, at the southern edge of Rockingham, inside a marine reserve that also holds sea lion colonies and one of the better snorkelling bays near Perth. The island is reached by a short ferry from Mersey Point — the sandbar walk across is genuinely dangerous and no longer recommended — and the Discovery Centre runs feeding sessions for its rescued little penguins through the day.

PerthRide covers the mainland leg: a fixed-price run from Perth or the airport to the Mersey Point jetty at Shoalwater, timed to your ferry, and a pickup when you come back. The island itself is closed each winter for the penguins' breeding season, so it is a September-to-June trip.

  • Private vehicle and chauffeur held for your group
  • Departure time and itinerary set by you
  • Comfort and meal stops on request, at no extra cost
  • Child and booster seats fitted before pickup

Trip facts

Distance from Perth Airport
53 km
Driving time, each way
≈ 41 min
Typical length
Half day or full day
Season
Island open mid-September to early June — closed for the breeding season
Vehicle
Sedan · Premium · People mover (7 pax)
Format
Private, as-directed — the car and driver stay with your group
Region
Perth Metropolitan

A straight one-way transfer to Rockingham is $125 fixed. A full day with the car and driver held for your group is quoted separately.

Penguin Island Day Trip from Perth — driving route map
The drive out of Perth to Rockingham — 53 km each way, about 41 min behind the wheel.Open

What you actually see

Little penguins

The Discovery Centre houses rescued little penguins with several feeding sessions a day — the only reliable way to see them, since the wild colony nests out of sight.

Sea lions and dolphins

Shoalwater Islands Marine Park holds an Australian sea lion colony and resident bottlenose dolphins, both covered by the wildlife cruises that leave from the same jetty.

Snorkelling and beaches

The bay between the island and the mainland is shallow, sheltered and clear — good snorkelling water and a swimming beach at Shoalwater on the way back.

Rockingham foreshore

The Rockingham beachfront and its cafés are five minutes from the jetty, which makes the trip easy to stretch into a full day.

Penguin Island, answered

Can you drive onto Penguin Island?

Penguin Island has no road or bridge — the only access is a short passenger ferry from Mersey Point at Shoalwater, and walking the sandbar is unsafe and discouraged. PerthRide drives you to the jetty and collects you when you return.

When is Penguin Island open?

The island closes to visitors each winter for the little penguins' breeding season and generally reopens around mid-September through to early June. The Discovery Centre and the ferry publish exact dates each year — check them before booking a transfer.

How far is Shoalwater from Perth Airport?

The Mersey Point jetty at Shoalwater is about 56 kilometres and roughly forty-five minutes from Perth Airport down the Kwinana Freeway. Transfers are timed backwards from the ferry departure you have booked.

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