Guide · Getting there

How to get to Bremer Bay for the canyon orcas

Bremer Bay is a small town on a remote stretch of the south coast. Here is how long the drive takes, how flying to Albany works, and what to do while you wait for your boat.

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Editorial team, bremer-bay-orcas.comUpdated October 24, 2026Read time: 6 min25 sources

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In a nutshell

01By car from Perth: Tourism WA gives 5.5 to 6.5 hours, depending on the page.¹ ²
02Via Albany: Fly from Perth in about 1 hour 15 minutes, then drive east.²
03From Albany: Just under two hours by car.¹
04The boat: The expedition starts at the Bremer Bay boat harbour, without hotel pickup.
05Coach: Transwa's GE1 line stops at Jerramungup, inland.³

Where Bremer Bay is

Bremer Bay sits at the mouth of the Bremer River on the south coast of Western Australia.² It is a small place: the 2021 Census counted 424 people in the Bremer Bay locality.⁴ The town belongs to the Shire of Jerramungup, in the Great Southern region.⁵

On a map, it lies roughly between Albany in the west and Esperance in the east. Tourism WA describes the coast road from Albany to Esperance as a near 500 kilometre leg that passes Two Peoples Bay, Mount Manypeaks, Bremer Bay and Fitzgerald River National Park.⁶ The canyon itself lies far out to sea, 70 kilometres offshore from the town.⁷

That remoteness is part of the appeal and the main planning challenge. There is no quick hop from a big city, and the boats leave from the town itself. Most visitors arrive the day before their trip, and many stay several nights to explore the coast and keep a spare day for weather.

A typical trip

From Perth to the canyon and back

Travel day

Fly or drive

Fly to Albany or drive the 5.5 hours from Perth.² ¹
Same afternoon

Drive east

Albany to Bremer Bay takes just under two hours.¹
Boat day

The canyon

8 hours at sea from the Bremer Bay boat harbour.
Spare day

Spare day

Use it if wind moves your trip, or walk Bremer Beach.⁸
Going home

Head home

Back via Albany or along the coast.

How far Bremer Bay is from Perth

Everyone planning the trip asks how far Bremer Bay is from Perth, and Tourism WA gives two answers. Its Bremer Bay page says the town is six and a half hours drive south-east of Perth.² Another of its pages says 5.5 hours drive south-east of Perth.¹ Plan for the longer figure and add time for stops, fuel and tired drivers.

The drive takes you out of the city, across the farming country of the wheatbelt and down towards the coast. Long stretches have little traffic and few services, so fill up when you can and avoid driving at dawn and dusk, when animals on country roads are hard to see.

If you hire a car in Perth, the road trip becomes part of the holiday. Many travelers drive down one way and return along the coast through Albany, turning the orca trip into a loop of the south-west.

Routes compared

Ways to reach Bremer Bay

Route	Time	Good for
Drive from Perth	5.5 to 6.5 hours	A south-west road trip
Fly Perth to Albany	About 1 hour 15 minutes	Short trips
Drive Albany to Bremer Bay	Just under 2 hours	After the flight
Coach to Jerramungup	Not given	Travel without a car

Times as Tourism WA and Transwa state them; Tourism WA gives two driving times from Perth.² ¹ ³

Three ways in

Car, plane or coach

Most freedom

Drive from Perth

Your own wheels

Time: 5.5 to 6.5 hours
Plus: Car for the area
Minus: A long day

Book the orca day

Fastest

Fly to Albany

Then drive east

Flight: About 1 hour 15 min
Drive: Just under 2 hours
Check: Summer timetable

Book the orca day

No car

Coach

Transwa GE1

Stop: Jerramungup
Then: Onward transport
Best for: Patient travelers

Book the orca day

Decision helper

Which way in suits you

Pick by time, budget and plans

Fly to Albany

The flight from Perth takes about 1 hour 15 minutes.²

Drive from Perth

Tourism WA gives 5.5 hours one way.¹

Fly to Esperance

Rex flies daily between Esperance and Perth.⁹

Coach to Jerramungup

Transwa's GE1 line stops there.³

Check Albany flights early

Rex ran a reduced Albany summer schedule in 2025 to 2026.¹⁰

Located at the mouth of the Bremer River, Bremer Bay is six and a half hours drive southeast of Perth.

Tourism Western AustraliaSource 2

Flying to Albany and driving east

The faster option is to fly. Tourism WA says you can fly from Perth to Albany in just one hour and 15 minutes, then take a two-hour drive east to Bremer Bay.² Another Tourism WA page puts the drive from Albany at just under two hours.¹

Check the timetable before you build a plan around it. The City of Albany published a notice that Rex would run the Perth to Albany air service on a temporary reduced schedule over the 2025 to 2026 summer, because of lower passenger demand in December and January.¹⁰ Summer is orca season, so confirm the flights for your dates early.

Tourism WA mentions that a flight from Perth gets you to Albany in just over an hour, and from there you can take a bus transfer on the day of your tour.¹¹ That applies to tours that offer such a transfer. The booked expedition does not include hotel pickup or drop-off, so you need your own way to the Bremer Bay boat harbour.

Map

Bremer Bay, the marine park and the south coast

The town and the Bremer Marine Park offshore, the coast from Albany to Esperance, and the long drive down from Perth.

Map of Bremer Bay on the south coast of Western Australia with the Bremer Marine Park offshore and Fitzgerald River National Park to the north-east — Bremer Bay and the marine park

Map of the south coast of Western Australia from Albany past Bremer Bay and Hopetoun to Esperance, with Jerramungup inland — The south coast

Map of south-western Australia with Perth, Albany, Bremer Bay and Esperance — From Perth

1
Bremer Bay
A town of 424 people at the mouth of the Bremer River.⁴ ²
In Google Maps ↗
2
Bremer Marine Park
Holds the Bremer Canyon, which Tourism WA puts 70 km offshore from the town.¹² ⁷
In Google Maps ↗
3
Fitzgerald River National Park
Home to 75 plant species found nowhere else, with whale platforms at Point Ann.¹³ ¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
4
Albany
Just under two hours by car west of Bremer Bay.¹
In Google Maps ↗
5
Jerramungup
A stop at Lions Park on the Transwa coach line between East Perth and Esperance.³
In Google Maps ↗
6
Hopetoun
The Fitzgerald Biosphere Reserve stretches between here and Bremer Bay.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
7
Esperance
Rex runs daily flights between Esperance and Perth.⁹
In Google Maps ↗
8
Perth
5.5 to 6.5 hours by road from Bremer Bay, depending on the Tourism WA page.¹ ²
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you set off

Plan the journey

Arrange your own way to the boat harbour
Arrive the day before your trip
Keep a spare day for wind

On the road

Fill the tank when you can
Avoid driving at dawn and dusk
Carry water in the national park

Video

Bremer Bay's hidden gems: campsites, quiet beaches and dolphins

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Coming from Esperance or by coach

From the east, Esperance is the other gateway. The Shire of Esperance says Regional Express (Rex) operates daily passenger flights between Esperance and Perth.⁹ From Esperance you follow the coast west towards Bremer Bay, past Hopetoun and the Fitzgerald River country.

Without a car, options are thin. Transwa's GE1 coach line runs between East Perth and Esperance via Jerramungup, with a stop at Lions Park in Jerramungup.³ Jerramungup lies inland from Bremer Bay, so you would still need onward transport to the coast. Ask your accommodation whether they can help with the last stretch.

In practice, a hire car gives you the most freedom. The town is spread out along the coast, the beaches and the national park are a drive away. For a few days in the area, your own wheels make everything simpler.

Getting to the boat on the day

The expedition starts and ends at the Bremer Bay boat harbour, with a safety briefing before you sail. The listing gives no fixed departure time, so check the time on your booking and plan to arrive early. Park, use the bathroom on shore and get your warm layers ready before you board.

The day lasts 8 hours on the water, and the cruise out to the canyon takes around 1.5 hours. Food and drinks are included, so you do not need to bring lunch. Seasickness tablets are highly recommended by the operator, and should go down before you leave the harbour.

Do not plan a long drive straight after the trip. After a full day on the Southern Ocean most people are tired, sun-dazed and sometimes still feel the swell. A night in Bremer Bay after the boat is the safe and pleasant choice.

What to do in Bremer Bay around the trip

The town is a good base for a few slow days, and there is plenty of what to do in Bremer Bay between boat trips. Tourism WA says Bremer Beach is only a 10 minute walk from town and has a sheltered cove for swimming.⁸ It recommends Fisheries Beach Marina for sheltered swimming too, and boats can be launched there.¹⁶

History is close by. Tourism WA says Bremer Bay was named by Surveyor General John Septimus Roe in honour of Sir James Gordon Bremer, captain of HMS Tamar.¹⁷ Wellstead Museum, built in 1850, is the original settlement of the region, and the heritage-listed Quaalup Homestead, built in 1858, lies inside Fitzgerald River National Park.¹⁸

For a small town, the basics are covered. The shire says Bremer Bay has a primary school, a resource centre, a pharmacy and a health centre with a resident nurse, with a doctor available on 2 days each week.¹⁹ Tourism WA lists a caravan park near Main Beach, across from the Wellstead Estuary and a 10-minute walk from the town centre.²⁰

Fitzgerald River National Park next door

The big attraction on land is Fitzgerald River National Park, which runs along the coast north-east of town. DCCEEW says it holds around 1,748 plant species within its 297,244 hectares, including 75 found nowhere else.²¹ DBCA adds about 200 bird species.¹³ The park was placed on the National Heritage List on 6 May 2016.²²

Timing matters here too. The shire says the wildflower season peaks in spring, from September to November.²³ DBCA says the whale platforms at Point Ann are popular from June to the end of October, when southern right whales can be seen in the bay on most days.¹⁴ Tourism WA adds Trigelow Beach as another winter vantage point.²⁴

Plan the visit like any remote park. DBCA does not allow dogs or other pets in the park.²⁵ Carry water, tell someone your plans and expect gravel roads. A day in the park before or after the canyon trip shows you the other side of this coast.

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