Things to Do in Albany WA: 15 Stops Worth the Drive

Albany sits on the south coast of Western Australia, about 417 kilometres from Perth, and it holds more in one town than most people expect. The big three are The Gap and Natural Bridge in Torndirrup National Park, the National Anzac Centre on Mount Clarence, and Albany's Historic Whaling Station at Frenchman Bay. Around those sit swimming beaches, a working harbour, granite headlands and a historic precinct you can walk in an hour.

Most visitors need two days to do Albany properly. One day covers the coast or the history, not both. This guide runs through 15 stops worth the drive, with what each one costs, how long it takes, and how far it is from town, so you can build a day that actually fits.

We run a motel in Kojonup, about 1 hour 40 minutes north on the Albany Highway, and we send guests down this road every week. The drive times below are the ones we give them.

The 15 stops at a glance

Distances are from the Albany town centre. Park entry fees are per vehicle and cover every Parks and Wildlife Service park you visit that same day, so one fee can cover Torndirrup and Porongurup if you are moving between them.

If you are driving down from Kojonup, add about 1 hour 40 minutes to each of these. Leaving Kojonup at 7am puts you at The Gap by 9:30am with a coffee stop in Mount Barker on the way.

What is the one thing to see in Albany?

The Gap and Natural Bridge in Torndirrup National Park is the stop most visitors put first. The viewing platform sits 40 metres above the Southern Ocean and is reached by a raised concrete path from the car park, wheelchair accessible the whole way. It's a 20-minute drive from the Albany town centre. Standard park entry fees apply.

The Gap is a narrow channel cut into the coastal granite, where ocean swell surges into a steep-sided chasm. Alongside it, the Natural Bridge is a granite span the sea has cut underneath over thousands of years. Both lookouts face the open ocean from Bald Head to West Cape Howe, and the experience changes completely with the weather. Calm mornings are quiet and clear. Winter southerlies turn the same platform into wind and spray.

Allow an hour to do both lookouts and the walk between them. Go early if you want the car park to yourself, or go in a blow if you want to see why it has a railing.

One thing to check before you drive out. The second stage of the State Government's $3.3 million Gap Improvement project is still underway, covering new toilet facilities at The Gap and an upgrade to the Cable Beach car park. Minor disruptions have been ongoing. The lookouts themselves have reopened.

How many days do you need in Albany?

Two days is the honest answer for a first visit. Albany's main attractions split into two clusters that sit in opposite directions, and trying to cross between them twice in a day wastes an hour you'd rather spend somewhere else.

The coast cluster runs south down Frenchman Bay Road: Torndirrup National Park, the Whaling Station, the wind farm and the southern beaches. That's a full day on its own, especially if you give the Whaling Station the three hours it needs.

The town cluster is Mount Clarence, the Anzac Centre, the historic precinct, Middleton Beach and Emu Point. All of it sits within ten minutes of the centre, which makes it the easier day to shorten if you're tight.

One day forces a choice. Three days lets you add Two Peoples Bay, a Porongurup walk or a run out to Denmark. More than three and you're using Albany as a base for the wider Great Southern, which is a good idea but a different trip.

What can you do in half a day?

In half a day, pick one cluster and stay in it. The strongest half-day in Albany is Torndirrup National Park: The Gap and Natural Bridge, then the Blowholes or Salmon Holes, then back along Frenchman Bay Road. That's about four hours including the drive and one park entry fee covers all of it.

The alternative half-day is Mount Clarence. The National Anzac Centre takes two hours on its own, and the Princess Royal Fortress grounds and the Padre White Lookout sit beside it at no extra cost. Park once at the top and walk between them.

If you're passing through with less again, say two hours between a late check-out and a drive on, the pick is The Gap plus the Albany Wind Farm. Both are short, both are on the same side of town, and the wind farm boardwalk gives you the coastline without a ticket.

The coast: Torndirrup, Middleton Beach and Emu Point

Albany's coastline does two very different things within fifteen minutes of each other. South of town it's exposed granite and open ocean. North and east it's sheltered sand you can swim at with kids.

Torndirrup National Park

Torndirrup is the granite peninsula that shelters Princess Royal Harbour from the Southern Ocean. Beyond The Gap and Natural Bridge, the park holds the Blowholes, where swell forced through cracks in the rock throws spray on a big day, and Salmon Holes, a sweeping beach below a lookout. Standard park entry fees apply across the whole park, so plan to do several stops on the one fee.

Salmon Holes deserves a warning that most guides skip. It's known for king waves and people have been swept off the rocks there. Stay on the lookout and the beach, and treat the signs as instructions rather than suggestions.

Middleton Beach and Ellen Cove

Middleton Beach is five minutes from the town centre and it's the one locals swim at. Calm, patrolled in season, with a boardwalk running around Ellen Cove and cafes at the top of the sand. This is where the town goes for a swim before work, and it's the obvious choice if you want a beach without a drive.

Emu Point

Ten minutes further around, Emu Point sits where Oyster Harbour meets the sea. Sheltered water, a swimming enclosure, grass and barbecues, and a boat ramp. It's the calmest swimming in Albany and the easiest stop with small children.

Albany Wind Farm

Not a beach, but it belongs in this group. Twelve turbines stand on the clifftop at Sandpatch, with a boardwalk and lookouts running along the coast beneath them. It's free, it's a 15-minute drive, and the walk gives you a stretch of coastline most visitors never see. Allow 45 minutes.

The history: the Anzac Centre, the Whaling Station and the town

Albany was the first European settlement in Western Australia and the last Australian port the first convoy of Anzac troops saw in 1914. The history here is unusually concentrated, and two of the three sites below are the reason a lot of people make the drive at all.

National Anzac Centre

The National Anzac Centre sits on Mount Clarence at 70 Forts Road, ten minutes from the town centre. It's open 9am to 5pm seven days with last entry at 4pm, open on public holidays and closed only on Christmas Day. Allow two hours.

Inside, you're given the identity of a real service man or woman and you follow them from recruitment through the convoy and the campaigns, finding out at the end what happened to them. It's a quiet, well-made museum rather than a loud one. The Centre itself notes it isn't generally recommended for children aged seven or under, which is worth taking at face value.

The ticket covers the Anzac Centre exhibition. The Princess Royal Fortress grounds around it, the gun emplacements and the other exhibits are free to walk, and the Forts Store and fortress buildings close at 4pm, an hour before the Centre does. Do those first if you want both.

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

At the end of Frenchman Bay Road, 20 kilometres and about 25 minutes from town, Albany's Historic Whaling Station is the only complete whaling station anywhere in the world that's open to visitors. It was Australia's last operating station, closing in 1978.

Adult entry is $36, concession $32, children aged 6 to 17 are $14, a family of two adults and up to three children is $85, and under-5s are free. Open 9am to 5pm daily with last entry at 4:15pm, closed Christmas Day. The ticket also covers the Australian Wildlife Park and the Regional Wildflower Garden on the same site.

Allow three hours. You can climb aboard the Cheynes IV, the world's only preserved whale chaser, watch films screened inside converted whale oil tanks, and walk the largest marine mammal skeleton display in Australia. It's self-guided, so the pace is yours.

The Historic Precinct

In town, the Albany Historic Precinct holds the replica of the Brig Amity, the ship that brought the first settlers in 1826, along with the Museum of the Great Southern. A few minutes away, the Albany Convict Gaol Museum is a small, unsettling building that most visitors skip. Both are walkable from the harbour.

If you're visiting in 2026, there's more on than usual. In 2026 Albany marks its bicentenary, 200 years since the first European settlement in Western Australia, with a year-long program of cultural events marking the first place where Aboriginal and British people began living alongside each other on the western side of the continent. Check what's on before you set your dates.

In November, the Albany Agricultural Show runs on Friday 13 (9:00am to 10:00pm, with fireworks) and Saturday 14 (9:00am to 5:00pm). If you're making a weekend of it, we've written a separate guide to fitting a Kojonup night around the show.

What is free in Albany?

Plenty. Albany's two big ticketed attractions get the attention, but you can fill a good day without paying for anything except a park entry fee.

• Albany Wind Farm. Boardwalk and clifftop lookouts at Sandpatch, 15 minutes from town.
• Princess Royal Fortress grounds. The gun emplacements, the outdoor exhibits and the views over King George Sound, all outside the Anzac Centre ticket.
• Padre White Lookout and the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial. Top of Mount Clarence, the best view in Albany and no charge for it.
• Mount Melville Lookout. The other hill, looking back the other way. Quieter than Clarence.
• Middleton Beach and Emu Point. Swimming, boardwalks, barbecues.
• Albany Farmers Market. Saturday mornings in town, local produce, worth planning a Saturday around.
• The Historic Precinct streets. You can walk the old town, the harbour and the heritage buildings without going inside anything.

One thing worth knowing: Parks and Wildlife Service entry fees don't apply if you walk or cycle into a park. They're vehicle fees, not person fees.

Where should you eat?

Albany's eating splits across three areas. The town centre and York Street hold most of the cafes and the pubs. Middleton Beach has the beachfront options, which is where you want to be at the end of a day on the coast. The harbour and the Albany Entertainment Centre end of town covers the evening sit-down meals.

Two practical notes. Albany is a regional city, so kitchens close earlier than you might expect on a weeknight, and the better places fill on Friday and Saturday. Book if you're eating late.

If you're out at the Whaling Station over lunch, there's a cafe on site and undercover barbecue areas if you'd rather bring your own. There is nothing else at that end of Frenchman Bay Road, so decide before you drive out.

Is Albany worth the drive from Perth?

Yes, if you give it two days. Albany is 417 kilometres from Perth on the Albany Highway, about four to four and a half hours without stops. Arriving at the end of that drive and leaving the next morning gives you one tired afternoon, which is where most people's disappointment with Albany comes from.

The fix is to break the drive. Kojonup sits at the 250 kilometre mark, roughly three hours from Perth and about 1 hour 40 minutes from Albany. Stopping there overnight turns a long single day into two easy halves, and it means you arrive in Albany in the morning with a full day ahead of you rather than at 4pm with everything closing.

Kojonup is worth more than a bed, too. The Kodja Place is open seven days, 9am to 4pm, so if you arrive by mid-afternoon you can see it before dinner.

That's the pattern we see most often from the front desk. Guests drive down from Perth on a Friday afternoon, stay the night in Kojonup, and are standing at The Gap by mid-morning Saturday. The return works the same way in reverse.

Cornwall House Accommodation is a 12-room motel on the Albany Highway in the centre of Kojonup, with contactless check-in from 2pm for late arrivals. Our Perth to Albany drive guide covers the route leg by leg, including fuel stops and where to break for a coffee.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a park pass for Torndirrup National Park?

Standard Parks and Wildlife Service entry fees apply at Torndirrup. A single day fee covers every fee-charging park you visit that day, and an annual or holiday park pass covers it instead. Fees don't apply if you walk or cycle in, since they're charged per vehicle rather than per person.

Is the Gap viewing platform suitable for wheelchairs and prams?

Yes. A raised concrete pathway runs from the car park and picnic area out to the viewing platform, with a maximum gradient of 1:14 and designated parking bays at the start. It's one of the few coastal lookouts in the region built this way.

What is there to do in Albany when it rains?

The National Anzac Centre is two hours indoors and the Whaling Station has film screenings inside converted oil tanks plus large covered displays. The Museum of the Great Southern and the Convict Gaol Museum fill another couple of hours in town. A wet day in Albany is a history day.

When is the best time of year to visit Albany?

Spring, from September to November, for wildflowers and mild walking weather. Summer is warm and the beaches are at their best. Winter brings big swell, which makes The Gap and the Blowholes far more dramatic, and whales pass through between roughly June and October.

How far is Albany from Kojonup?

Kojonup is 160 kilometres north of Albany on the Albany Highway, about 1 hour 40 minutes' drive with no detour. It sits a little past the halfway point between Perth and Albany, with The Kodja Place and its historic town walk to fill an evening on the way.