Things to do in Broome
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Broome
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Peak dry season, best weather, highest prices and crowds, book everything early.
Dry season shoulder, warm days and tours running, with May and September the best value meets weather.
Wet season build up, hot and humid, stinger season starts and many tours and restaurants close.
Wet season, monsoon rain and cyclone risk, with January and February the worst months outright.
What's on
- Staircase to the Moon March to October, 2-3 nights per month
Full moon over Roebuck Bay mudflats, with night markets on selected nights at Town Beach.
- Kimberley Cup early August
Part of the Broome racing season at Broome Turf Club, building toward the Broome Cup.
- Broome Cup mid-August
The climax of the June to August racing season, book accommodation early for Cup week.
- Shinju Matsuri, Festival of the Pearl late August to early September
Broome biggest festival, with parade, Chinatown Feast, lanterns, dragon boats and art exhibitions.
- Shinju Sunset Long Table Dinner during Shinju Matsuri
Signature Shinju Matsuri dinner on Cable Beach, tickets scarce and worth planning a year around.
- Broome Marathon July/August window
Beach and town fun runs in dry season sunshine, check the year dates before booking.
- Mango Festival late November
Small local mango harvest festival in the build up, a bonus if you are there rather than a reason to come.
- Roebuck Bay birding windows March-April and September-October
Migratory waders depart and arrive in vast numbers, with Broome Bird Observatory courses in both windows.
Best things to do in Broome
Cable Beach
A 22 km arc of white sand and turquoise water, best in the last two hours as the sun drops into the ocean.
Broome Camel Safaris
The classic Broome image, camels in line on wet sand at sunset on a calm 30 to 45 minute ride.
Staircase to the Moon
On full moon nights the moonlight on Roebuck Bay mudflats creates a glowing staircase illusion.
Gantheaume Point
Red pindan cliffs over turquoise water, with dinosaur trackways visible in reef rock at very low tide.
Sun Pictures
The oldest operating outdoor picture garden, with deckchairs under the stars and planes passing low overhead.
Pearl Luggers
Restored pearl luggers and diving gear tell the brutal story of Broome as the world pearling capital.
Japanese Cemetery
More than 900 graves, many of Japanese divers, anchor a self guided Chinatown heritage walk with the museum.
Broome Courthouse Markets
Saturday morning markets in tropical gardens with mango food, local art, jewellery, food vans and live music.
Where to stay in Broome
Cable Beach precinct
first trip, all-round base
The beach, sunsets, resorts and camel rides are here, quiet at night and a short bus ride into town.
Old Broome / Chinatown
no-car, food-and-heritage trips
Walk to Sun Pictures, restaurants, pearl showrooms and the museum, but there is no swimmable beach here.
Roebuck Bay / Town Beach edge
staircase chasers and repeat visitors
Bay sunrises and staircase viewing on your doorstep, with a local feel and a drive or bus for every swim.
Out of town
a night or two within a trip
Wonderful wilderness beach quiet at Eco Beach or the Dampier Peninsula, but wrong as a sole first visit base.
Think twice about
- Male Oval frontage and Chinatown fringe
Visible street drinking and antisocial behaviour in town public spaces. Do not base in an unsecured motel here just for price.
- Town Beach car parks and foreshore late at night
Reports of street drinking, shouting and people sleeping rough late at night. Take a taxi after dark and do not walk alone.
Best restaurants in Broome
The Aarli
Broome best dinner, modern Australian with Mediterranean and Asian flair, share plates and excellent local fish.
Cichetti Club
Italian leaning fine dining inside Cable Beach Club, the luxury half of the resort beachfront pair.
Sunset Bar & Grill
A west facing table for drinks and share plates as camels file past below and the sky turns red.
Johnny Sausage
Italian trattoria over Roebuck Bay, known for cacio e pepe in a pecorino wheel and proper tiramisu.
Matso's Brewery
A Broome institution for alcoholic ginger beer, mango beer, tasting paddles and a big bay facing deck.
The Wharf Restaurant
Broome seafood address since 1995, with Kimberley chilli mud crab, oysters, ceviche and scallops.
Papa Fuego
South American fire cooking in dry season only, with wood fired meats, ceviche and pisco in a small room.
Spinifex Brewing Co
A Cable Beach local for WA craft beers, share plates, live music Sunday sessions and highly rated pizza.
Outdoor things to do in Broome
Horizontal Falls
Seaplane in to Talbot Bay for fast boat runs as huge tides pour sideways through gaps in the ranges.
Cape Leveque
A peninsula day taking in Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, Beagle Bay church and red cliffs and swimming at Kooljaman.
Willie Creek Pearl Farm
A working pearl farm tour covering seeding, harvest and grading, plus a boat ride over the farm lines.
Narlijia Experiences
A Yawuru led mangrove forage in reef boots, finding bush foods and cooking the catch over a fire at sunset.
Broome Whale Watching
Catamaran cruises for shy snubfin dolphins in the mornings and migrating humpback whales at sunset.
Windjana Gorge
A walk through an ancient reef gorge with freshwater crocodiles, as part of a long Gibb River Road day.
Tunnel Creek
Wade 750 metres with a headtorch through the oldest cave system in Western Australia, water up to your waist.
Rowley Shoals
Pristine coral atolls reached only by multi night liveaboard, with walls, turtles, reef sharks and clear water.
Best hotels in Broome
Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa
The only resort directly fronting Cable Beach, with tropical gardens, two pools and a spa in low rise buildings.
The Billi Resort
Boutique villas and luxury eco tents with private decks and outdoor showers in dense tropical gardens.
Pinctada Hotel Broome
A smaller elegant boutique hotel in pearling master style with a saltwater pool and well regarded restaurant.
Seashells Broome
Spacious self contained apartments and a bungalow in gardens around a pool, walking distance to the beach.
Oaks Broome Hotel
Modern self contained apartment hotel on the town side with a lagoon pool, suited to town based trips.
Oaks Cable Beach Resort
Modern self contained apartment hotel on the beach side with a lagoon pool, suited to beach based trips.
Mangrove Hotel
Rooms over Roebuck Bay with the best Staircase to the Moon viewing in town from the Bay Club.
Moonlight Bay Suites
Spacious one and two bedroom suites with full kitchens and bay views, suited to a week plus town base.
Is Broome expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$180 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$400 a person |
| Splurge | A$900 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Broome Camel Safaris: a few days ahead
- Horizontal Falls: weeks ahead
- Cape Leveque: weeks ahead
- Willie Creek Pearl Farm: a few days ahead
- Narlijia Experiences: a few days ahead
- Broome Whale Watching: weeks ahead
- Windjana Gorge: weeks ahead
- Tunnel Creek: weeks ahead
- Flights and Cable Beach rooms for June to August book 6 to 12 months out. Shoulder months book 3 to 6 months out.
- Book Horizontal Falls first on a spring tide date and build the trip around it. Neap dates are a lesser falls, not a discount.
- Sunset camels, whale cruises, Dampier Peninsula and Gibb tours book days to weeks ahead in peak season.
- Kimberley cruises and Rowley Shoals liveaboards book a year ahead for prime dates. Popular restaurants book when you book the room.
Is Broome safe?
- Swim at patrolled Cable Beach between the flags in the dry. Stingers are present roughly November to April or May and can be life threatening.
- Saltwater crocodiles live in Kimberley creeks, rivers and estuaries and are sometimes sighted off beaches. Never swim in unpatrolled waterways.
- UV is extreme even in the dry. Start early, rest in shade at midday, and carry water on every excursion with no reliable signal or fuel.
- Never drive through floodwater, avoid rural roads at night for wildlife and cattle, lock cars and rooms, and call 000 in an emergency.
Broome travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Town Beach is a lookout, staircase venue and water park stop, not a swimming beach.
- Staircase disappointment is usually logistics. Go on a clear second night, at Town Beach or the Mangrove, and arrive early.
- Camel rides at midday waste the money. Sunset is the slot, or walk the beach free at the same hour.
- Pearl buying without paperwork or under pressure. Good showrooms educate at low pressure, and serious purchases need valuation papers.
- Visiting in the wet for cheap hotels buys closed tours, closed roads, stingers and possible cyclones.
Getting around Broome: public transport and more
- Hire a car if you can. Broome is two areas 6 km apart plus excursions 15 to 200 km out, and cars sell out in the dry.
- No car is workable. The Town Bus loops Cable Beach, town and Chinatown, most tours include pickups, and taxis should be pre-booked.
- Walk or cycle within each precinct early or late. Heat, not distance, is the constraint, especially November to April.
- Beach driving north of the rocks is tidal and patrolled. Vehicles get bogged and swamped every season by drivers ignoring tide charts.
Who Broome suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Broome your trip
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