Bunbury to Margaret River drive: Best stops, distance & time

The best stops on the Bunbury to Margaret River road trip route are Peppermint Grove Beach and Busselton. By car, the distance from Bunbury to Margaret River is 102km. That makes for a driving time of around 1h13m.

A Bunbury to Margaret River road trip connects two of the most appealing destinations in south west Western Australia.

Bunbury offers Geographe Region wine tours, swimming with dolphins and dolphin-watching cruises. For more Bunbury tours, browse here. For the best Bunbury accommodation deals, look here.

What to book in Bunbury – 5 fabulous experiences.

Koombana Bay dolphin-watching cruise – the dolphins live in the bay, so you’ll definitely see them.
Geographe region wine tours – explore boutique wineries in the up-and-coming region.
Swimming with dolphins. They’re wild – this is not a dodgy aquarium experience.
Forest, wine and brewery day tours.
Dolphin Discovery Centre entrance tickets.

Margaret River is wine tourism central. But along with the wine tours you can also enjoy canoe adventures, surfing lessons and coffee safaris. For accommodation in the town, hunt here. For a diverse range of tours to choose from, go here.

This expert-researched guide should help you plan your perfect Bunbury to Margaret River road trip.

Bunbury to Margaret River distance and driving time

The distance from Bunbury to Margaret River by car is 102km. Expect a driving time of around one hour and 13 minutes, although you can extend this with a few judicious road trip stops along the way.

The best things to do in Bunbury include going on a dolphin-watching cruise on Koombana Bay. They depart from the Dolphin Discovery Centre.

Top Bunbury accommodation choices

The best places to stay in Bunbury are:

For Koombana Bay location, near the Dolphin Discovery Centre: Discovery Parks Bunbury Foreshore.
For good quality apartments on the coast: Bunbury Seaview Apartments.
For affordable rates in a city centre location: Rose Hotel and Motel.

Bunbury to Margaret River road trip: Bunbury to Busselton

It’s just 53km from Bunbury to Busselton, but there are some excellent beaches along the way. Try Dalyellup Beach from Dalyellup, Stirling Beach from Stratham and Peppermint Grove Beach from Capel.

There are also the handsome old trees and night-time possum-spotting in the Tuart Forest National Park.

Once in Busselton, the centre of attention is the absolutely enormous jetty. Get to the end of it, and you can do an ocean floor walk while wearing an enormous diving helmet.

Before taking on the Busselton to Margaret River leg of the drive, bear in mind that you can do Margaret River wine tours from Busselton. The Margaret River wine region might share a name with the town, but it is a fairly wide region, with Busselton at the northern end of it.

The town of Margaret River is small and loveable, but not all of the wineries are there.

5 Busselton experiences worth booking in advance

See ultra-cute, rare marsupials on an after-dark visit to a private wildlife sanctuary.
Taste wines, beers, ciders and gins on a tour of the Margaret River region.
See whales up close on a whale-watching cruise.
Tackle ziplines and a ropes course in an adventure through the forest.
Discover hidden spots on a coast and wildlife tour.

Top Busselton accommodation choices

The best places to stay in Busselton are:

For resort villas surrounded by parkland: Bayview Geographe Resort.
For a solid quality, relatively cheap motel: Busselton Ithaca Motel.
For more a more luxurious stay with a large pool: Sebel Busselton.
For family-friendly facilities: Big4 Breeze Holiday Park.

Busselton to Margaret River drive attractions

After leaving Busselton along the Busselton Bypass, you’ll join the Bussell Highway shortly after the Broadwater Nature Reserve.

You’ll soon go past Discover Deadly, a wildlife park focused on snakes, crocs and other less terrifying reptiles.

Road trip essentials that many travellers forget

Search on the web, and you’ll find ludicrously long lists of equipment to take on a road trip. Australia Travel Questions isn’t going to do that to you. But it is worth buying the following road trip items before setting off. Click through for a good range of options.

Charging cables – yes, you’ll probably need a spare at some point.
Car charger adaptor – in case your rental car has the old-fashioned cigarette lighter rather than a USB.
Multi USB charger – for those hotel rooms that don’t have enough power sockets.
Fold-up chairs – to make anywhere a picnic spot.
A really good water bottle – go for a bigger one than usual to last the longer drives.
Packing cubes – save space but, more importantly, avoid unpacking everything every night.

The wineries start appearing around Metricup, with Churchview Estate, Karasek and 3 Oceans all next to the highway. You’ll also pass the Margaret River Dairy Company on the way into Cowaramup, should you feel like tasting cheeses and yoghurts.

On the way into Margaret River itself, the Bussell Highway passes between the Keenan State Forest and Wooditjup National Park. You can walk a section of the 31km Wadandi Track in the latter.

9 Margaret River experiences worth booking

1. Wine tours. 2. Wine & chocolate tasting. 3. Whale-watching. 4. River canoeing. 5. Cave tours to Lake Cave, Ngilgi Cave, Jewel Cave and Mammoth Caves. 6. Nature and culture tour. 7. Surfing lesson. 8. Stand-up paddleboarding. 9. Coffee discovery experience.

Why you should stay in the town of Margaret River

There are plenty of great places to stay in the Margaret River region. But stay in the town itself has one massive advantage – you can walk to the bars and restaurants in the evening after a day’s wine-tasting.

If you’d like to avoid driving in the evening, these are the best accommodation options in the town of Margaret River.

For apartments with a pool (honestly, this is the best choice): Margarets In Town.
For chalets by the river: Riverview Tourist Park.
For a centrally-located motel: Margaret River Motel.
For a bit more style: Prideau’s of Margaret River.