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Travel Itinerary

Ningaloo & Coral Coast 19 Day Itinerary

An East Coast Family's Exmouth to Monkey Mia Return Journey

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What to Expect

A quick overview of our Ningaloo and Coral Coast road trip adventure. After flying direct to Exmouth from Sydney, we journeyed south along the Coral Coast to Monkey Mia before making our way back north to Exmouth, exploring some of Western Australia's most spectacular coastal landscapes along the way.

❋ Flights

We flew direct with Qantas to Exmouth (Learmonth Airport) via Perth. We departed Sydney at 6am, with a 2 hour stop over in Perth and arrived at Learmonth Airport at 2.30pm local time. We then drove 25 minutes to our accommodation in Exmouth town.

❋ Car Hire

We hired Toyota Landcruirsers from HERTZ which we could pick up from the airport. The kids car seats were delivered to the cars ready for us to install when we arrived. We hired these through Ningaloo Camp Easy and 3 car seats fit perfectly. Louise was incredible to deal with and they offer plenty more items like Eskys and an air compressor for off-road driving.

❋ 19 Day Adventure

Our total time away was 19 days, departing on Thursday morning and arriving home on a Monday night. For context, we travelled in a group of 2 families and we each have 3 young kids including 1yo, 4yo & 6yo. We drove a total of 2,200km during our road trip.

❋ Accommodation

We stayed at a mix of locations on our road trip from holiday homes, resorts to caravan parks. Most offer cot hire and high chairs, but make sure you book them in before you arrive. I would recommend travelling with your own port-a-cot if possible. More details on where we stayed below.

How we structured our trip

June 2026

Day 1

Travel Day. Arrive in Exmouth for 1 night. Pick up supplies.

Day 2-4

Travel to Coral Bay for a 3 night stay.

Day 5-6

Travel to Carnarvon for 2 night stay

Day 7

Travel to Shark Bay area, stay 1 night in Denham

Day 8-12

5 Night Stay at Monkey Mia Resort

Day 13

Full Day of driving (7.5 hrs) back to Exmouth for 6 night stay

Day 13-19

Exmouth for 6 nights. Fly home on day 19, depart 7.30am.

Accommodation

We did a mix of accommodation styles and each had their advantages. Caravan parks were particularly great as you have access to all the fun of a holiday park but the luxuries of your own villas.

Exmouth

Exmouth Escape Resort. Bonus points for their restaurant Whalers which we had a delicious meal at and returned MANY times for their amazing coffee. We stayed in their 2 bedroom Apartments.

Coral Bay

Coral Bay Bayview Villas for 3 night stay in their brand new 2 bedroom Bay Villas. We requested the ground floor which allowed for easy access to the grassy area which is great for kids. Incredible location and situated in a caravan park with amazing facilities like jumpy pillow, large playground, tennis courts, snorkel hire and laundry facilities to name a few.

Carnarvon

We stayed at the Discovery Park in their Superior 2 Bedroom Cabins.

Denham

Tasman Caravan Park in their Deluxe Ocean View Villas

Monkey Mia

RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort in their 3 Bedroom beachfront Villas. Incredible location! Get in early to secure these villas as they book out far in advance with only 11 available in the park.

Exmouth

Our final stop was at 6 night stay Exmouth Holiday homes in the Amberjack property.

Here are some of the nitty gritty details from our trip.

If there are any other details you’d like to know about, let me know and I can add it in!

In June, Western Australia’s Coral Coast (stretching from Monkey Mia to Exmouth) experiences ideal winter weather, offering warm, sunny days and mild to cool nights. Daily maximums typically range from 22° C to 28° C, while overnight lows drop to between 10° C and 16° C. Rainfall is historically low, making it the perfect time for outdoor activities and exploring the Ningaloo Reef. We did get some windy days and rainfall during our time, but most of our trip we had perfect weather. Bring lots of layers.
• Best coffee in Exmouth - Social Society in town and Whalers at Exmouth Escape Resort.
• Bullara Station Woolshed Cafe
• Denham (Shark Bay) SHORELINE Cafe and the Broughshed in Monkey Mia resort
We took our trusty YETI keep cups which I highly recommend to reduce waste because we drank litres of delicious coffee.
We had some incredible meals out throughout the trip but some stand outs were:
• Whalebone Brewery Exmouth
• Whaler’s Restaurant Exmouth
• Bullara Station Woolshed Cafe
• Monkey Bar - Monkey Mia Resort
• Wooramel River Retreat Cafe
We hired a 20 litre Esky from Camp Easy Ningaloo which made transporting food with us so much easier. We did lots of home cooking with plenty of great grocery stores along the way. Carnarvon has a huge Woolies that we did a direct to boot order to stock up before getting to the Shark Bay region.
Pro-Tip: we bought the kids lunch boxes and some containers for leftovers.
The peak season for swimming with Whale Sharks runs from April to June.
While the overall official season generally spans from mid-March through October/November, planning your trip during the mid-season months maximizes your chances of an unforgettable encounter. We went with Ocean Eco Adventures and we had the most amazing experience. This was a day to leave the kids at home, for our family it was suitable for just the adults.
This was the best way to freshen up some toys & books along the road trip. We hit Mrs Mac’s Op Shop in Exmouth, FOCUS Op Shop in Carnarvon & Shark Bay Op Shop in Denham. Make sure you leave enough time to drop things back before you get on the flight home.
We bought 2 large water containers around 20Lts in Exmouth to have along the road but we never felt we didn’t have access to safe drinking water on our trip. However, the taste can take a while to adjust to. Along the Coral Coast in Western Australia, drinking water can be scarce and its availability varies heavily by location. While tap water in major towns is strictly regulated and safe, many remote coastal destinations, caravan parks, and stations rely on untreated, saline bore water.

Ningaloo Reef Coral Coast Shark Bay Turquoise Bay

Things to do

• Swim with Whale Sharks. We went with Eco Ocean Adventures and they were incredible. We even had a bonus swim with a huge Mantaray
• Discovery Centre and Aquarium
• Turquoise Bay - Clearest and Bluest water for swim and snorkel
• Yardie Creek Trail Walk - we did this instead of the boat tour as our kids just wont sit still! (we have 1yo, 4yo & 6yo) but the river cruise looked epic.
• Our fishing charter was cancelled due to weather however we did book with Blue Horizon Charters and heard great things! Next time hey…
• SunCream Ningaloo Ice Cream Van - you can usually find this parked at Hunter’s Beach near the lighthouse, approximately 17km out of Exmouth town (perfectly placed for a coconut treat on the way home from Turquoise and Yardie Creek)
• Whalebone Brewery has epic pizzas, burgers and cocktails PLUS a kids playground at the rear of the venue (genius) and regular live music.
• Unfortunately the Exmouth Spray Park was CLOSED due to damage caused by cyclone Narrelle.
• Visit Bullara Station on your drive from Exmouth to Coral Bay. They have the Woolshed cafe with delicious coffee & food.
• Book a glass bottom boat tour with Coral Bay Eco Tours and the age of our kids meant we just went for the 1 hour cruise.
• Drive to 5 Fingers Reef (4×4 only) and onto the beach. We spent the day here snorkelling and exploring.
• Walk from Coral Bay to Paradise Beach
• Fruit Loop Trail is fun and you can tick off Humpty Dumpty from the scavenger hunt. You have to hit up Bumbaks and pick up some of their Chilli Jam and Chocolate covered bananas.
• Amazing waterfront playground near the town centre.
• Fishing at Dwyer’s Leap
• I would skip the cactus farm as it’s very neglected and not worth the stop.
• Direct to Boot shopping with Woolies to stock up before heading south towards Shark Bay.
• Stop at Wooramel River Retreat when travelling from Carvarvon to Denham/Monkey Mia. They have incredible naturally heated baths
• Dolphin Feeding at various points of the day at RAC Monkey Mia Resort. You will need to purchase a Parks and Wildlife Permit for Shark Bay area $60.00 per family. More information here https://www.sharkbay.org/advice/parks-wildlife-fees-bookings/
• Day trip to Big and Little Lagoon in Francois National pay (day permit required and 4×4. DO NOT FORGET insect repellent like we did to avoid being swarmed by sand-flies/midges.
• Kayak or SUP Paddle board at RAC Monkey Mia

We created our own scavenger hunt sheet which we printed and laminated for the kids to tick off as we explored. Reach out if you’d like me to personalise one for your kids. Best for ages 3+