The Thousands

Good weather and great beaches. That's what people hear about Perth, and that's what they often come to do. Straight off the plane to Cottesloe for a swim, then Kings Park for some afternoon sun. They have a blissful time and leave with sand in their hair, Indian Ocean breeze in their lungs, and a few more freckles than they came with.

Don't get me wrong, our beaches are the best, but to really see Perth you have to take off your shades once in a while and see what's under the sun. Get under the skin of Perth's emerging cultural precints, moving inwards from the coast (Cottesloe, Fremantle), through to the city’s outskirts (Subiaco, Mt Lawley, Leederville), and downtown (Northbridge, City Central).

We're much smaller than our fellow state capitals Melbourne and Sydney, and we're so far away! But we don't think our geographical isolation is necessarily a bad thing. It maintains our focus. It means we spend intense amounts of time creating interesting things, where before there was nothing. It results in an original and refreshing creative output, strongly leveraged by our sense of community in a town where everybody knows your name.

Those circling and working in Perth’s rising art and music scenes are proud of what they're doing out here, reflected in their constant experimentation, collaboration, and encouragement towards intiatives that are new on the radar. Visitors who choose to open their eyes to the new Perth will quickly observe that exciting things are getting done.

Getting Around

FROM THE AIRPORT

From the Domestic Airport, a 15-20 minute taxi ride will cost you around $25 (provided its not peak hour traffic). Alternatively, the Perth Airport Connect Shuttle runs from the Airport to the City ($15 one way), or the Airport to Fremantle ($33 one way) offers a slightly cheaper alternative, however there's only one shuttle per hour. The International Airport is located in the outer suburbs of Perth in an industrial area (AKA the middle of nowhere) so if you have a friend who can pick you up, don’t be polite, take them up on their offer! It’s about a half hour drive to the city, otherwise get the shuttle ($18 one way, $30 return) instead of a taxi (around $40).

IN THE CITY

Though we envy Melbourne's trams, Perth is a bus and train kind of city. Plan using the Transperth online planner, but beware, transport is not always on time, the system doesn't connect a lot of the key inner-city suburbs, it stops at midnight, and you often have to do a lot of switching from train to bus to get where you want to go. If you want to head south of the river the ferry is your best bet. We also recommend taking a day trip south courtesy of the Perth Underground Mandurah Line.

IN THE BURBS

Hiring a car is a better option. Some of the best cafes and bars are situated on the outskirts of the city, where parking is stress-free and cheap (unlike the CBD). The beach, Fremantle, and up into the Perth hills are all only a 30 minute (ish) drive from the central city.

ON WHEELS

If you’re planning on sticking to inner-city areas or want to check out the Perth coast, hire a bike! Gecko Bike Hire have very reasonable prices, and are situated at pick-up points in shops and backpackers around Perth.

BUDGET AIRLINES

Considering the journey to Perth can be more expensive than flying overseas, budget airlines are by far the best way to get over here. Tiger Airways and Jetstar usually have good deals from all major cities.