Mandurah to Bunbury road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops

The best stops on a Mandurah to Bunbury road trip are the Lake Clifton thrombolites and Binningup Beach. By car, the distance from Mandurah to Bunbury is 104km. That makes for a driving time of around 1h14m.

A road trip from Mandurah to Bunbury in Western Australia is a relatively short one, and for most it is a leg on a longer journey. Mandurah to Busselton or Perth to Dunsborough, perhaps.

Mandurah activity options include a pirate cruise, brewery-hopping tours and river cruises along the Murray River. To find the best Mandurah accommodation, head this way.

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.

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

Mandurah to Bunbury distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Mandurah to Bunbury is 104km. That makes for a driving time of around one hour and 14 minutes.

4 experiences to book in Mandurah

A wildlife-centric dolphin-watching tour.
A shameless fun in the sun pirate boat cruise.
Hiring a BBQ boat to explore the waterways.
An atmospheric sunset cruise.

Leaving Mandurah, the drive towards Bunbury heads out on Pinjarra Road towards Ravenswood, passing the Amaze Miniature Park on the way.

Before turning south down the Forrest Highway, you might like to make a short detour into Pinjarra, where you can visit Ranger Red’s Zoo and Conservation Park or enjoy the museums and heritage buildings of the Edenvale Heritage Precinct.

Mandurah to Bunbury drive: Lake Clifton

The Forrest Highway, however, runs east of Collins Pool and Lake Clifton. You can visit the Lake Clifton Winery on the shore of the latter, but the main attraction here is the thrombolites. These rounded, limestone-like bobbles are made of micro-organisms that are similar to the oldest forms of life on earth.

Chilled-out Preston Beach, just to the south of the lake, makes for a good base if planning to explore. You can tackle the 5km Heathlands Walk Trail through Yalgorup National Park on the way in.

Mandurah to Bunbury road trip: Binningup and Australind

A little further south is Binningup, where, 40km-long Binningup Beach is calm and swimmer-friendly.

The Mandurah to Bunbury drive then leaves the Forrest Highway and passes the Leschenault Estuary Eco Museum in Australind, which explains how the estuary’s eco-system fits together.

The route then crosses the Collie River, rounds Vittoria Bay and enters Western Australia’s second-largest city – Bunbury.

The best things to do in Bunbury include the dolphin-watching cruises from the Dolphin Discovery Centre.

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.

The Dolphin Discovery Centre on Koombana Bay is the top attraction in Bunbury. — The Dolphin Discovery Centre on Koombana Bay is the top attraction in Bunbury, Western Australia. Photo courtesy of Tourism Western Australia.

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.