Monkey Mia to Exmouth road trip: Best stops, distance & time
The best stops to add to a Monkey Mia to Exmouth road trip itinerary are Carnarvon and Coral Bay. By car, the distance from Monkey Mia to Exmouth is 707km, and the driving time seven hours.
The Monkey Mia to Exmouth road trip brings together two of the key attractions on the drive up the Western Australian coast from Perth to Broome.
World Heritage-listed Shark Bay around Monkey Mia brings dolphin-feeding and examples of the oldest living things on earth. There is only one accommodation option at Monkey Mia. If planning to stay, you need to book in advance.
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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This guide should help you plan your Monkey Mia to Exmouth road trip itinerary.
Monkey Mia to Exmouth distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Monkey Mia to Exmouth is 707km. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and seven minutes.
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.
The first leg of the Monkey Mia to Exmouth road trip is the easiest. The drive from Monkey Mia to Denham takes less than 20 minutes. However, you may wish to detour into the Francois Peron National Park on the way. You’ll only get as far as the informative visitor centre at the Peron Homestead if you’ve not got a 4WD vehicle, however. Cape Peron and Big Lagoon should be the goals with a 4WD.
Monkey Mia to Exmouth road trip: Denham to Hamelin Pool
Alternatively, stop for a swim at Little Lagoon, about 5km north of Denham. Things to do in Denham itself include the Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery and Visitor Centre. This museum delves into early European exploration of the west coast.
Next comes the Denham to Carnarvon section, which is about 325km and includes a couple of Shark Bay’s top attractions. The Ocean Park Aquarium is just south of Denham, while the World Heritage-listed Hamelin Pool stromatolites are close to the junction with the North West Coastal Highway. These stromatolites are rare examples of the oldest living organisms on earth.
Click through to the next section: Hamelin Pool to Carnarvon.