Rottnest Island Full-Day Trip With Guided Island Tour From Perth

Train not working, very...

Train not working, very limited time at points of interest or bus did not stop at points of interest.

Not the best experience.

Had to run from late ferry to tour bus. Bus broken too. Train been broken for weeks, wasn't told till last minute. Didn't see quokka till last hour on island due to tour. Tour guide amateur, rushed. Gun turret interesting.

Great trip and value for money, though need some logistical improvements...

Once on Rottnest Island and on the Grand Guided Tour the whole thing worked like a dream and was thoroughly enjoyable. The Oliver Hill Train and commentary were great fun. The tour around the gun emplacement and knowledge of the volunteer guides was excellent and the 90 minute bus tour around the island was very informative. Lunch provided was a chicken wrap and water, very tasty and very pleasant. Overall a great experience. I would like to see some advice about where to collect Grand Guided Tour programmes and packs from before boarding the bus and some advice on where to go when we land. Not enough clear signage when on the island to various tour bus/train locations and lots of people frantic about tours etc. Planning could have been so much better organised. But overall a great trip, with some real highlights - and yes once you see one Quokka you will then spot loads of the friendly creatures.

Wouldn’t recommend for active folks

The train, meal and tunnel tour were great. I wasn’t impressed with the buss and hopped off once we got back to the settlement. The tour bus was loud and it’s too beautiful of a location to just watch from a window. Good for folks with ambulatory issues.

Worth doing.

Great day out. Very informative guide, Glen. Really enjoyed the bus and train trip. Could have spent less time at the gun and more at the light house. Good picnic lunch. Lovely to meet the quokas.

Island Tour

Good guide gave lots of information about the island. Great tour of island seeing many locations. Recommend this tour as there is so much to see and learn.

Well worth the money

Got to see a lot of the island. Lunch was nice. Great day. The guides were very informative and I would recommend this grand tour.

Childhood’s dream came true

Unforgettable trip. I’m glad that I chose the bus tour which easier for my elderly parents. Love the train ride too with great views. Our tour guide make sure that we are able to take picture with Quokka. Nice and healthy lunch. My son love how they arrange outdoor lunch with amazing view. While we were eating, our tour guide shared the stories about Rottnest. Really appreciate it and highly recommended.

Delightful day

Lovely day for boat trip, island has interesting history, narrow gauge railway, cute quokkas, delicious packed lunch

Rottnest

This trip was not properly described online. It involved significant walking, climbing stairs, going into tunnels and climbing uneven staircases. We spent 1.5 hours of a 3 hour trip at the WW2 gun placement site, which only got a tiny mention on the list of things to do. We travelled partly by train - again not mentioned. We were picked up from our hotel at 7.40am for a 10am ferry ride?????? We got back to our hotel at 6.30pm!!! This was not a 3.5 hour trip.

A1

Very well organized tour. Highly recommended. Saw Quakkas around bakery and in the wild. Good that we didn't bike. It is very hilly for biking, especially in the Heat! Glad the tour was by bus!

Not worth the money or the aggravation

First: the tour guide was excellent, all the staff we met on the island were great. My problems were with the tour company and how transportation and communication were handled. As you can see the tour advertises itself as being from "Perth." That is not true. The Ferry leaves from HIllary Habor about 45 minutes from Perth. It is in the description if you read it further but you need to look for it. I had. rejected other tours because they did not leave from Perth. The distance to Rottnest is the same from Perth as from Hillary. It does say that they pick-up from various hotels in Perth but not which ones. I contacted them to find out how we would be transported to the Harbor. I was told to go to Crown Perth. I looked it up on Maps and there were 5 locations that used the name Crown Perth. I then asked for a actual street address. I did receive a response after we were on our way to the Harbor. Luckily our Uber driver was able to take us to the correct place once I described the location (Crown Perth, at the back entrance by MacDonald). This proved to be the casino back car park. Once on the bus the driver made multiple wrong turns and had to backtrack and turn around several times. It was obvious that she did not really know where she was going. As we approached the CBD (downtown) Perth she announced that she had never driven in Perth before. Somehow we made it too the Harbor and went to Rottnest. The tour guide was great and was able to tell you a lot about the history of the island. The lunch they served were chicken wraps that were very good, however, that was down to the restaurant that prepared hem. If you want to see the Quokkas you really cannot do so from a bus. There was no time built into the tour for photos or to walk around different areas. We finally saw one Quokka in the picnic area as we were leaving to get on the ferry. The best way to see this island is on foot or bike. Quokkas are semi-nocturnal so going out from 12-4 is not a good time. If you are walking out in the bush or riding bikes you have much more of a chance. I would recommend going to the island around 2-3:00 and leaving on the last ferry. For those unable, or not inclined, to bike or walk I think the best way to meet the Quokkas is to bring a picnic, or buy from the local eateries, hang around the playground and shopping areas and wait for them to come out to play. If there is a next time, I would take the ferry to Rottnest and purchase tickets for the Hop-on-Hop Off bus or simply hang out and walk around

Lovely, interesting day

The day was great but would have liked to be warned about all the steps at Oliver Hill. The ferry ride and bus around the island were great.

Great day out

Great day out. The tour was very well organised, from pick up to drop off. Our day on the island was fantastic. Would definitely recommend.

Must do if in Perth

A great trip from start to finish. All travel arrangements went well and saw a lot of the island, especially the WWII tunnels which were very interesting along with the train ride. Lunch was good with water provided. Only down side was we only saw one Quokka. Weather was brilliant. Hint: if possible don't go at the weekend, its very busy.

It’s a good tour needing improvement in some areas

This is a good tour but needs improvement. It’s not actually what I was expecting. After morning pick up, we were told to make our own way to the island from jetty. Once arrived at island no one greeted, had a hard time finding tour bus. Too long time spent on historic site, rushed through rest of the tour and no time to visit lighthouse. No guidance to go back to ferry, find your own way. It’s not that hard, however it maybe difficult for older people requiring assistance. Overall, it’s a good tour with lovely tour guide but organising needs to be improved for customer convenience.

ROTTNEST ISLAND TOUR

Was a wonderful day spent at rottnest island my only thing was the walking up the steps at top of Rottnest Island if had known would not have done the part of tour but overall a great day had

Very good way to see the island

I’ve never been to Rotto so thought a tour would be a good way to experience everything. I booked online the night before. When we collected our tickets there was some sort of a mix-up that required the lovely clerk to rebook everything- no issues, it just took her a few extra minutes. The ferry ride over on Rottnest Fast Ferries was good - smooth, in a spacious 3-deck catamaran with a snack bar that also sells alcohol. It was a 45 minute ride from Hillary’s to Rotto. There’s no tour guide for the whole journey. We were left to find our own way to the train station for the tour to Oliver Hill once we reached the island. Signage was average but we managed. This tour was excellent, run by very knowledgeable volunteers. It does involve a bit of walking and some stairs. Side note, keep your ticket after you get on the train, as you need it to get into the Tunnels tour. (Shoutout to the awesome lady at the Fast Ferries call center who reissued my ticket via email after I threw it out!) We took the train back into town - it was a 30 minute ride out but 15 minutes back, arriving at 1330. The bus part of the tour was to depart at 1345. We went to the bakery to buy pre-made rolls for lunch. (The tour provided Subway vouchers for lunch but Subway was busy and we didn’t want to miss the bus.) The bus tour was run by Kevin who was an excellent guide, sharing many stories and facts about the area. This bus tour is a stay-on-the-bus tour, something to keep in mind if you want to take photos, as you need to be quick! We were unable to see West End due to construction in the area, and landed back in the settlement at 1515. We had an adequate hour to relax with a drink and quokka-watch before our ferry departed at 1630. All in all, this was a very good way for a first-timer to see everything without cycling 25km!

Magical Rottnest

After a rough crossing on the ferry, we had the most delightful day. Great tour guides on the train and bus trips around the island. Delicious boxed lunch. Sadly morning tea was promised but not offered. Highly recommend you take travel sickness medication in case of rough crossing.

Day Tour at Rottnest Island

This was a great tour. We were picked up from our Hotel for the tour. Our bus driver was just so thoughtful and helpful and ever so patient. We did a tour which took around all the different beaches, we toured the installations used by the Army during the last War and saw the beautiful little quookas in the afternoon. We then took the ferry which was very quick and comfortable back to our bus and Terry who deposited us back at our hotels.

Lovely ferry ride ...

Lovely ferry ride informative and friendly bus guide interesting tour under the island at the armourment Fun train - a different view Magical beaches.

Disappointing Experience

We booked this tour thinking it was a small group tour with a maximum of 15 people. It was one of the more expensive tours as well. The tour had more than 30 people and the lunch was the same for everyone (a cold chicken sandwich and bottle of water). We were ripped off as we could have paid less with other tours and got the same service. Disappointed at the false advertising.

Interesting and would recommend this tour.

Unfortunately it rained heavily all day but the tour was interesting and the driver/guide was very good giving a history of all the sites we visited. would like to go back if I am in Perth again when the sun shines!

Amazing place to visit

Great place to visit our even to stay a night or two as there is so much to see there. We did the grand island tour and can thoroughly recommend. Our tour guide was really informative and ask the stops we amazing.

Fantastic

Everything about the adventure was to expectation. Pick up from hotel on time. Tour around island interesting. The guide was very knowledgeable and informative. Would I recommend this tour? Absolutely!

Fantabulous

A perfect day! Pick up on time; Tour ran to schedule. Guide extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. Quokkas ever so cute. Definitely value for money and best way of learning all about Rottnest Island

An overview of Rottnest Island

This tour is best seen as providing a days look at the Island. You spend much of your time in the Second World War tunnels and then a bus tour around the island. There’s no time to properly experience the beauty of the place and is best used as a useful reconnaissance to go back another time knowing the best beaches to go to and how to orientate yourself.

Fantastic day

Fantastic experience, staff extremely friendly and informative. Had a wonderful day. So many wonderful, beautiful things to see and do

Nice day on Rottnest Island

Enjoyed the train and bus tours. Thought the gun battery tour was a bit too long. The lunch served was good. The walk from the ferry to the train was confusing and not well marked.

Don’t waste your money

They called it the Grand Island tour of the island - it should instead be called the grand bus ride on an island . The bus didn’t stop at any points for us to take pictures . The ticket mentions the lighthouse and while it was open there was no mention of it on the tour . At the beginning of the tour there’s no clear demarcation of start points (they can be clear in saying that the tour starts with the train ride ) Random people joined our group as we disembarked from the train at Oliver hill which just added to the confusion . For the price paid , the cold wrap provided to us as “lunch” left a lot to be desired . There is mention of a morning tea in the description but we were never offered anything . I would have been better off walking around myself or taking the hop on hop off bus . Take this tour only if you have too much money to spare and want to sit for three hours in a claustrophobic bus eating a cold wrap watching a beautiful island go past along the side from the tinted bus window

A Most Enjoyable Day

The professionalism of Rottnest Island Tours is to be commended. They were prompt for pick up, well organised and most pleasant at all times. The tour itself was very enjoyable and informative. The boat ride was comfortable each way. We particularly enjoyed the Oliver Hill Battery and tunnel tour and stopping briefly at various sites while on the guided bus tour. Finally we saw Quokkas back at the settlement. Well done. 👏👏👏

Great day on Rottnest

Great experience, especially as they accomodated us at the last minute. The explanation online and on Rottnest of the starting point is a bit difficult to get.

Excellent learning experience

Train ride to the pinnacles and bus ride around the island. Informative learning experience about Australia’s involvement in World War II

Wonderful tour of Lovely Rottnest

Really good day on Rottnest. The pick-up was good and the reception at Hillary’s straightforward. An excellent ferry ride was followed by a fun train ride to see the gun tunnels. The guide gave us a really good and informative tour. Lunch and then a fantastic bus trip to see the highlights of Rottnest including magical beaches followed. Yes we did get lots of pictures of Quokkas

Beautiful scenery!

The tour guide was very informative. It was a very enjoyable day seeing the sights and the Quokkas. Beautiful scenery by bus and train.

Excellent

Thank you to the bus driver Steve who saved us from catching the wrong bus in Perth and getting us onto the right bus. A great day out - we enjoyed the ferry, bus, train, lunch and the free time on Rottnest Island.

Rottnest Island adventure

Great bus driver Steve who drove us from Perth to Hillary harbor to the ferry. He went out of his way to pick up and accommodate confused travelers on his route. Once on the island, the train tram was a little confusing to locate and ran behind schedule. The volunteers on Oliver hill were great docents. Lunch count was not accurate and my husband got none ( which was paid for as part of the tour package) as he boarded the return train last. Bus tour of island was very informative. Smooth ride on the ferry in both directions.

Great day at Rottnest with the quokkas

After a very rocky boat ride to the island the tour proceeded in a well ordered efficient way with good commentary and a fine lunch. Ferry ride back was a dream.

Awesome trip

It was wonderful trip and quick reply when I wanted to change my return ticket. The excellent and helpful guide made my day happy. Just one little thing about the trip is that it could have been much easier to find out if you could explain more details about the trip on this app.

Rottnest Revellers

Great day out! Boat, train and bus travel! A busy day with plenty to do and a lovely lunch. Even time for an ice cream and quokka watching at Thompson Bay before boarding the ferry home! Highly recommend!

Meet the quokkas

Rail trip and island tour were the highlights. Complimentary pickup from Perth CBD was a bonus. Super fast ferry crossing. A great day out and a bargain at the price

Enjoyable Day

Good way to see the Island and Wildlife and hear about the Islands history. The Train station needs better signage as the start point of the tour.

A day at rotnest

Had a lovely time very relaxing enjoyed the history. Was so glad when we managed to see a quocka as it was a really hot day

Lovely day out on Rottnest Island

Had a lovely time on Rottnest Island - got to see plenty of cute quokkas, and the guided tour of the island was very interesting. One note of caution if you opt to be picked up from your hotel/accommodation: you're expected to be standing outside 5 minutes early, and if you're not, the pickup will leave without you, and you will not be contacted. This happened to us and fortunately we were able to make our own way to the ferry terminal in time, but please be aware that the pickup will not try very hard to find you if you're not exactly where they want you to be when they arrive.

The tour guide Jason was...

The tour guide Jason was amazing and very knowledgeable. Oh and those gorgeous little quokkas, just devine.

Great organisation

Absolutely brilliantly package. Coach from outside the hotel to the ferry, clear directions for a short walk to the railway station on Rottnest. Train ride, tour of the gun battery, train ride back. Straight onto a coach to see the rest of the island. Quokka aplenty at the end then onto the ferry for the ride home and the coach back. Very well put together and executed.

Great day out

We were delighted to see little quokkas everywhere, some with joeys in their pouches. I think the grand tour was a good choice to see most of the island in a short time. The volunteer guides were fantastic. One aspect, however, that was glossed over somewhat was the appalling treatment the Aboriginal prisoners endured for over 100 years. The WA museum in Perth has handled that very well. Perhaps that’s something that could be improved on the tour.

Fun Day.

Great service - we booked the bus on Rottnest and the pick-up/return via them. Their ship is very modern and moves along. One warning - it does go into the ocean - if you are slightly of the "nauseous persuasion" when on a boat - travel downstairs in the rear - middle preferably. The ship was extremely clean and staff were excellent. Comfortable seats and good room. Food and drink onboard and toilets. I saw people bringing bikes etc. People staying on the Island also had luggage which was stored by the crew. A lovely marina so you might want to have a look about and a coffee. It seems a more efficient set-up than via Fremantle - but both would be fun.

Not as we had hoped

While I am understanding of the fact there had been some minor disasters that occurred on the day of our tour which caused the day to be confusing and a bit all over the place, we were disappointed that our full-day tour lasted from only 11.30 to 3.30ish, and that the lunch provided was a chicken and salad wrap and we were told to go and find somewhere to sit and eat it. For the price we expected more. The tour guides were very nice and informative although a lot of the time could not be heard as the microphone was ineffective and the air-con was struggling to keep the 8 people on board cool. Overall fairly disappointing.

Great value for money.

Touring the tunnels and gun turrets with a knowledge guide was fascinating. Our driver on the bus was terrific. Took us to places we would never had seen. Most interesting day.