Kalbarri to Exmouth road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time
The Kalbarri to Exmouth drive is 799km long, with a driving time of roughly 8h8m. The best road trip stops to add your itinerary include the Shark Bay stromatolites, Monkey Mia and Coral Bay.
The drive from Kalbarri to Exmouth links two of the most attractive visitor hot spots on the Western Australian coast. However, you probably shouldn’t attempt to do it in one hit. Especially given that there are plenty of great road trip stops worth adding to the itinerary.
Kalbarri offers sunset cliffs cruises, and whale-watching tours. To pick your favourite from a good range of Kalbarri accommodation, hunt here. To investigate a wider range of Kalbarri tour and activity options, go here.
If you can do just one thing in Exmouth, make it snorkelling with whale sharks. Seeing the biggest fish on earth gracefully gliding towards you is utterly awe-inspiring. Out of whale shark season, other great Exmouth experiences include swimming with humpback whales, full day lagoon kayaking adventures, Cape Range National Park trekking tours, whale-watching cruises and snorkelling with turtles.
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8 amazing Exmouth experiences to book in advance.
- Swim with whale sharks – using a spotter plane for maximum shark snorkelling time. This is an experience you’ll genuinely remember forever.
- Ningaloo wildlife adventure – see much more than just the whale sharks.
- Full day kayaking tour – stopping to snorkel at parts of the reef the boats can’t reach.
- Sunset cruise – with dolphin-spotting, snacks and drinks.
- Cape Range trekking adventure.
- Dive on the Ningaloo Reef.
- Swim with humpback whales – they come after whale shark season is over.
- Kayak and snorkel with turtles.
Kalbarri to Exmouth distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Kalbarri to Exmouth is 673km. That makes for a driving time of around eight hours and eight minutes. If you are planning on visiting Shark Bay – and it is well worth considering – you can add a couple of hours to that journey time.
There are several attractions in Kalbarri National Park to enjoy before the Kalbarri to Exmouth road trip joins National Highway 1. You’ll get dramatic views of the Murchison River Gorge from Nature’s Window and the Kalbarri Skywalk.
Once you’ve joined the highway, the Kalbarri to Exmouth drive is a whole lot of nothing before you reach Shark Bay Road at Hamelin Pool.
Click through for the next section: What to do in Shark Bay.