14 of the most incredible Broome tours

Kassia ByrnesBy Kassia Byrnes
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Drag yourself away from the beach for the day on a Broome tour and you’ll be rewarded with some truly amazing experiences.

This seaside country town might be small, but it has a mighty history and even mightier modern-day experiences. To really understand how it came to be – from its multi-cultural food scene to its wild pearling history – these Broome tours are a must.

Be sure to contact tour providers before you go, as tours can be very dependent on the weather and the seasons, thanks to rapidly changing tides.

1. Broome And Around Tours

First things first, get situated and familiar with Broome on a Panoramic Town Bus Tour with Broome and Around Tours. Do this right at the start of your trip to get all the local knowledge on where to eat, where to find local art, secret swimming spots and a good overview of the fascinating and brutal history of Broome.

Broome And Around Tours
Get a Broome overview on a Panoramic Town Bus Tour. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

2. Mabu Buru Broome Aboriginal Tours

Your second stop should be Mabu Buru Broome Aboriginal Tours for the Cable Beach Cultural Talk with local Yawuru, Karrajarri, Nyul Nyul, Bardi man, Johani. Meet on the famous Cable Beach where he will walk you through some local Indigenous history and customs, a song performance, and he’ll even help you find the hidden-in-plain-sight dinosaur footprints left in the rocks. More than a tour, however, this is a conversation during which Johani creates a safe space for asking, learning and sharing.  

Mabu Buru Broome Aboriginal Tours 
Share local knowledge, culture and insights with Johani. (Image: Jarrod Saw)

3. Red Sun Camels

Have you even been to Broome if you didn’t ride a camel? It may be an iconic tourist activity, but it’s also a whole lot of fun. There are multiple tour providers who will line up along the beach in the mornings and at sunset, but our pick is Red Sun Camels for their friendly staff, relaxing atmosphere and camels that are far less smelly than some others (trust me on this one).

Red Sun Camels, Broome
Tick off a Broome bucketlist experience with Red Sun Camels. (Image: Kassia Byrnes )

4. Moontide Distillery Tour

While there are a million gorgeous views to stop at on tours around Broome, beverage aficionados will be pleased to know Moontide Distillery is leading the way in craft liquor, even boasting a few awards for their unique gin flavours – like The Pearler’s Gin, crafted with actual oyster mantle. Take a tour to see the behind-the-scenes action, or just have a tasting with nibbles.

Moontide Distillery, Broome
See how the gin is made, then test it out in the tasting room. (Image: Kassia Byrnes )

5. Matso’s Brewery Tour

Speaking of craft brews, Matso’s Mango Beer is a staple on the taps of pubs around Western Australia, and it all started in Broome. A brewery and a restaurant, you can book in for a tour and then sit down to an award-winning lunch.

Matso’s Brewery Tour, Broome
Treat yourself to a Mango beer at the end of your tour.

6. Broome Tours Mudcrabbing Adventure

To brag about catching your own dinner, you can join a Mud Crabbing Adventure with Broome Tours. Follow your guide through the mangroves of Roebuck Bay on a hunt for the prized Kimberley Mud Crab, then cook up your catch for the freshest of seafood lunches. Be prepared to get dirty as you leave the catamaran and wade in shallow water, and also be aware that this tour is weather dependent. 

Broome Tours Mudcrabbing Adventure
Catch your own fresh seafood lunch with Broome Tours.

7. Broome Tours Sunset Cruise

Join Broome Tours for the mud crabbing, but stay for a Sunset Cruise along Cable Beach to catch the shoreline from a different perspective. Broome subsets have not been overhyped, and an unforgettable way to experience it is with a beverage in hand, being served snacks, while sitting on the back of a 42-foot catamaran.

The crew know many Broome tours require concentration, so they’re here to bring the chill vibes and relaxed fun – you can even go swimming in a boom net off the back of the boat (April to early October).

Broome Tours Sunset Cruise
Jump onboard a 42-foot catamaran and sail into the sunset. (Image: Kassia Byrnes )

8. Salty Plum Social

Thanks to the unique immigration history in Broome, it’s an unexpected foodie haven. Locals are more than happy to offer up their favourites, but a Small Bar Walking Tour of Broome’s historic Chinatown with Salty Plum Social is the perfect way to hit all the best spots in one afternoon.

Eat, drink, walk and talk your way through the town, discovering the truly unique background of the area, stopping along the way for drinks and canapes.

Salty Plum Social Broome Chinatown tour
Eat, drink, walk and talk your way through Chinatown. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

9. Horizontal Falls

Described by David Attenborough as “one of the greatest natural wonders in the world", the Horizontal Falls near Broome are caused by the rise and fall of the tides, as water rushes to get through two narrow gaps into the seas beyond.

Join Horizontal Falls Adventures to see this phenomenon from all angles – from your seaplane flight into Talbot Bay, to a jet boat ride through the falls themselves and even a swim with the Tawny Sharks that call this area home.

There’s a huge range of tour options, from day tours to the brand new luxury overnight epic during which you stay aboard The Jetwave Pearl and get to see this incredible part of The Kimberleys at all times of day.

Horizontal Falls Adventures, Broom tours
Zoom through “one of the greatest natural wonders in the world". (Image: Kassia Byrnes )

10. Pearl Luggers Tour

If you don’t have time to visit Willie Creek Pearl Farm 38 kilometres north of Broome, you can still get an insight into the wild history of pearling in Broome on their Pearl Luggers Tour , located in Chinatown. Hold a pearl, taste pearl meat, hold original diving gear and even see a fully rigged and restored pearl lugger, originally built in 1903.

Willie Pearl Farm Pearl Luggers Tour
See a fully rigged and restored pearl lugger.

11. Broome Dinosaur Adventures

Before there were people in Broome, there were dinosaurs, and you can’t leave without discovering the evidence they left behind. Journey across Roebuck Bay with Broome Dinosaur Adventures’ Dinosaur Adventure Tour . Explore secluded bays, creek inlets and beaches to find 120 million-year-old dinosaur tracks, with cocktails, of course.

You’ll need a moderate level of fitness for the walking portions of this tour and be sure to pack your reef shoes. Tour dates depend on the tides.

Cable Beach dinosaur footprints
Jump on a Dinosaur Adventure Tour at low tide to find evidence of dinosaurs. (Image: Kassia Byrnes)

12. Broome Trike Tours

Bikes and buses are nothing new; but a trike or better yet, being chauffeured in a limo trike is certainly unique. This is one of the options with Broome Trike Tours , which takes guests around the local area. Other tour options include meeting crocodiles at the Croc Feeding Tour at Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park and taste-testing bush tucker .

13. Broome Aviation Tours

This is The Kimberleys for the time poor: Broome Aviation’s Gorgeous Gorges Tour is a full-day adventure – starting and ending in Broome – that encompasses the region’s must-dos, with scenic flights over gorges, waterfalls, red ranges and remote islands that make up the Buccaneer Archipelago.

But what makes this experience so special is the opportunity to travel on land too. Among the many stops is Windjana Gorge, home to the revered Johnstone River Crocodile and an ancient reef system that’s significant to geologists. Passengers can cool off with a swim at Bell Gorge waterfall.

Bell Gorge
Stop for a swim at Bell Gorge waterfall. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
This article has been updated, the original version was written by Tawnee Rothe.
Kassia Byrnes
Kassia Byrnes is the Native Content Editor for Australian Traveller and International Traveller. She's come a long way since writing in her diary about family trips to Grandma's. After graduating a BA of Communication from University of Technology Sydney, she has been writing about her travels (and more) professionally for over 10 years for titles like AWOL, News.com.au, Pedestrian.TV, Body + Soul and Punkee. She's addicted to travel but has a terrible sense of direction, so you can usually find her getting lost somewhere new around the world. Luckily, she loves to explore and have new adventures – whether that’s exploring the backstreets, bungee jumping off a bridge or hiking for days. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @probably_kassia.
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Your Mandurah guide: art, dining & dolphins await in WA’s coastal gem

    Monique CeccatoBy Monique Ceccato
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    Discover the perfect road trip stopover between Perth and wine country.

    Western Australia punches above its weight when it comes to coastal hot spots, but no other town or city has seen a tourism boom quite like Mandurah. Named Australia’s Top Tourism Town in 2023 , it’s the relaxed, beachside break you’ve been searching for. And it’s perfectly placed, sitting between Margaret River and Perth, as it’s just a 55-minute drive from Perth’s CBD. Which is why we’ve put together your ultimate Mandurah guide.

    Aerial view of Mandurah.
    Plan your perfect coastal escape to Australia’s Top Tourism Town of 2023.

    The best things to do in Mandurah

    Wetlands and rivers, ocean and inlet; Mandurah’s laid-back lifestyle centres around the aquatic. Its waterways cover twice the ground of Sydney Harbour – measuring some 134 square kilometres in total – and form a unique environment for oceanic and estuarine flora and fauna to thrive.

    In the city’s estuary lives perhaps the region’s most famed inhabitants – a resident pod of 100 bottlenose dolphins – and the inlet’s silty bottom is home to the prized blue manna crab. Spot the former breaching and playing on an hour-long dolphin cruise through the channels, or try your hand at catching the latter by wading through the estuary’s shallows with a scoop net in hand.

    While swimming at the circular Kwillena Gabi Pool, chance encounters with the local wildlife aren’t uncommon. The sheltered estuarine pool takes its name from the traditional custodians of the land, the Bindjareb people, and directly translates to ‘dolphin waters’. Jutting out of the eastern foreshore, it’s enclosed by a ring of net-free floating pontoons, which allow the dolphins to swim freely through the attraction.

    If that’s a little too close for comfort, book a kayak tour with Down Under Discoveries . The dolphins have been known to cruise beside the paddle-powered crafts, which are a fun, family-friendly way to explore the city’s inner waterways.

    Dolphins swimming in Mandurah.
    Watch dolphins glide by as you explore Mandurah.

    You don’t have to be on the water to appreciate the coastal city’s aquatic beauty, with 600 kilometres of cycleways and scenic walking trails traversing Mandurah’s estuary, inlet and coast.

    Follow the 30-kilometre coastal trail and you’ll come face to face with one of Thomas Dambo’s headline-making ‘Giants of Mandurah  sculptures, Santi Ikto, along the way. There are five sculptures around Mandurah in total, hidden among gum-filled reserves or sitting sentry over the water.

    Head to the Mandurah Visitor Centre to pick up a map to pinpoint their exact location and download the traveller’s companion to learn more about the sights along the way. Or join a three-hour e-bike tour from The Bike Kiosk and you’ll stop by two of the giants – Santi Ikto and Yaburgurt Winjan Cirkelstone – as you sightsee central Mandurah.

    The towering Santi Ikto, one of Thomas Dambo’s iconic Giants of Mandurah.
    Meet Santi Ikto, one of the legendary Giants of Mandurah.

    Where to eat in Mandurah

    Mandurah’s culinary scene reflects its laid-back lifestyle, with large, honest meals and locally brewed beer. After visiting Lake Clifton’s 2000-year-old thrombolites, head to the peppermint and gum-shaded beer garden at Thorny Devil Brewery . Tuck into a platter of house-smoked meats and an ale pulled fresh from the tanks. Closer to town and right on the waterfront is Boundary Island Brewery ; here, woodfired pizza, pub-style seafood dishes and easy-drinking brews are centre stage.

    On a Murray River Lunch Cruise , the focus is as much on the environment around you as the food you’re filling up on. Help yourself to the colourful salads and freshly cooked meats on the buffet as you meander up the winding, jarrah tree-lined waterway, stopping at the heritage Cooper’s Mill for a quick walking tour along the way.

    Keep your eyes trained on the Creery Wetlands as you pass – you’ll spot much of the region’s migratory birdlife, and, as always, might see the playful bottlenose dolphins in the inlet.

    The most memorable meals aren’t necessarily always the fanciest, and lunch aboard a self-skippered Mandurah BBQ Boat is a testament to that. All food and beverage prep is left up to you as you cruise through the canals, sausages and steaks sizzling away on the central hot plate.

    If seafood is more your kind of fare, board the Wild Seafood Experience , where dolphin cruise meets long table lunch. Eight courses of crab, crayfish and scallops await.

    A table filled with plates of crab, crayfish, and scallops.
    Dine on the water with eight courses of ocean-fresh fare.

    Where to stay in Mandurah

    With so many waterways comes abundant waterside stays. Like the self-contained Seashells Mandurah on the shores of Comet Bay. The calm, oceanic outlook from the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and villas is as close to Maldivian as Mandurah gets. Families especially enjoy the property, bouncing between the protected cove and the beachfront pool for endless hours of fun.

    Seashells Mandurah; on the shores of Comet Bay.
    Stay right by the sea.

    The Sebel Mandurah , just a hop, skip and jump from the Mandurah Ocean Marina, has a different outlook entirely, overlooking the estuary and lively foreshore on the other side. It’s also within walking distance of the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre , cinema and a swathe of waterfront bars and eateries.

    But you can’t get any closer to the water than on a vessel from Mandurah Houseboats . You don’t need a skipper’s ticket to hire one, nor do you need comprehensive boating experience; just a full driver’s license and your undivided attention during the pre-departure tuition will do. Then you’re free to take to the estuaries and tributaries for a few nights of peaceful rest, surrounded by the very element that makes Mandurah so special.

    A houseboat cruising in Mandurah along the river
    Captain a houseboat to explore Mandurah at your own pace.

    Plan your next WA getaway in Mandurah.