Little Parakeet Bay: The best beach on Rottnest Island, WA?
Little Parakeet Bay on Rottnest Island near Perth, Western Australia, offers photogenic views, good snorkelling and quokkas. It might just be the best beach on Rottnest Island…
Where is Little Parakeet Bay?
Little Parakeet Bay is a beach on Rottnest Island, Western Australia. It is between Little Geordie Bay and Parakeet Bay on the north shore of the island.
On an island not exactly short of beautiful beaches, Little Parakeet Bay is arguably the most visually impressive.
How to get to Little Parakeet Bay
The walk from the Rottnest Island ferry terminal to Little Parakeet Bay is 3km long. However, if you take the longer, more attractive walk that hugs the coast, it’ll take an extra kilometre or two. This way, you get to go via the Basin and Longreach Bay, almost certainly seeing quokkas along the way.
The best way to get to Little Parakeet Bay, however, is cycling. Sealink Rottnest Island offers ferry plus bike hire packages, and these are honestly the best way to tackle Rottnest Island.
Once at the ferry terminal, pick up your bike and get riding.
8 Rottnest Island experiences best booked in advance
- Ferry plus bike hire package. Or add a snorkel kit, too.
- Short Settlement Segway tour or longer Fortress tour.
- Island tour including train ride and lunch.
- Sunset catamaran sailing cruise with champagne.
- Oliver Hill train and tunnel tour.
- Lakes and bays guided hike.
- Tandem skydive.
- Three hour boat tour to the best snorkelling spots.
Snorkelling at Little Parakeet Bay
Little Parakeet Bay is smaller than nearby Longreach Bay, but unbelievably photogenic. It’s a small cove, flanked by rocky headlands, with a few hunks of limestone jutting out of the sand.
The darker blue patches in the water clearly indicate the prime snorkelling spots at Little Parakeet Bay. It is easy to don the mask, kick around and become engrossed in the fish shoals.
The fish aren’t the only wildlife here, however – there’s a good chance of seeing the Rottnest Island quokkas mooching along the grass at the back of the dunes.
For all the talk about how laid back and enjoyable Rottnest Island is, one thing is consistently underplayed. The beaches, such as Little Parakeet Bay and Little Armstrong Bay, are properly world class stunning. If they were in just about any other country, they’d be the most prized holiday spot and marketed to the high heavens. People would flock there, and massive hotels would inevitably end up getting built behind them. But on Rottnest, these absolute gems are left pretty much as nature intended.
Rottnest Island is the best day trip from Perth and it is car-free (although you can get around by Segway). The Rottnest weather is best between October and April. You can take a ferry from Fremantle, Perth or Hillarys. It’s also possible to go camping on Rottnest Island.
Which Rottnest Island ferry?
When deciding which Rottnest Island ferry to book, remember that there are three departure points. The Sealink ferries depart earlier, the Rottnest Express ferries are the cheapest and the Rottnest Fast Ferries go from Perth’s northern suburbs where there’s free parking. For more information and booking, use the links below.
5 great day trips from Perth – make your visit special
- Rottnest Island ferry transfer – with bike hire and snorkelling gear. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Pinnacles desert – with koalas 🐨 and sandboarding.
- Wave Rock day tour – with wildflowers & Aboriginal culture.
- Margaret River wineries experience 🍷 – with tastings, caves & Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse.
- Full day Swan Valley wine tour 🍷– with lunch.
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