Greetings OZBs I am soon traveling to New York via Abu Dhabi on Etihad.
I'm leaving from Melbourne in the morning. I fly Virgin Australia to Perth and then have an approx 8 hour stop over and then take a Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi. So my question is is there anything to do in Perth that makes it worth it to pay for a taxi and have the extra hassle of leaving the airport to see? Or should I just stick in the airport? I realistically will never be traveling through Perth again.
It is but I have to fly that way for certain reasons. Interesting I know.
Are you snuggling drugs at Perth airport or something?
I hear he's going to get friendly with them but snuggling up may get awkward in an airport.
Not sure why you were down voted for a valid query Approx 22 hours Melb to NY Depending on stopover East + 1 stopover
28 hours Melb to NY Depending on stopover West + 2 stopovers minimum
@mgeisinsky So Perth Airport TBH the airport isn't all that special so if you're flying economy and don't have lounge access it could be a long 8 hours or will be anyway.
Depending when you arrive and that 8 hours Etihad is or was roughly just after 5 departure local time AM and PM
So i'll assume it's the pm flight departure so you arrive around 9 giving you about 5 hours free time in between peak so traffic shouldn't be bad either way, so even using the Airport shuttle into the city shouldn't be bad, you could check out the city and the new developments underway Elizabeth Quay, Bell tower, Yagan Square which is interesting given the cultural side of things which has just opened, they are all within the CAT transport area so you can walk or hop on and off it's all within free city transit zone. have a nice lunch somewhere near the river and chill,Kings park over looks the city quite nice for a casual lunch, get some sun it's a beautiful place. before you're locked inside a plane and airports for another 24 hours or so.
It's always hard trying to guess what people would be into but ……….
Feel free to DM me if you want me to give you a better idea of things on at the particular time your here and let me know what actually interests you.
It's just plain dumb going to the USA through the Middle East from Australia. Especially if you are stopping in Perth. The travel time would be insane.
Not what i would choose but we don't now op he may have to catch up with friends family on the way through and despite it being longer ends up easier
I put the calc above just add the extra 8 hours stopover in Perth
Op shouldn't be down voted for having to fly that way either.
Seems they have a reason for needing to do it this way
As I mentioned I have a very specific reason for traveling this way besides for the fact that I got the flight for 1k with 2 checked bags.
@mgeisinsky: You shouldn't really have to explain why your flying a certain route, wasn't the question :-)
Anyway the offer is there if you want, let me know and i'll check out what is on at the time you're here and if you have a look to see if anything in Perth does interest you, I'll let you know how to get there and if it's achievable without you missing connecting flight.
If you choose to bypass then safe travels and i trust you enjoy the trip NY is great if you haven't been before
Thank you so much for all the information! I really appreciate that you took the time to give such a thorough answer!
8 hours of binge-watching episodes of Scrubs?
if its significantly cheaper, id fly west.
i had to fly from almaty to bne once, and it was 3.6k via bkk, or 1.2k via frankfurt, then paris, then bkk.
14 hour flight for 3.6k or
65 hour flight for 1.2k.
im cheap so did the latter, and got trollied in the way to germany for free.
So if i offered to pay you $2400 in cash to fly for 2 days to Germany and back you would say no
i dont think so
any one on Ozbargain would froth at that deal.
People have different values of their time compared to money. Some people wait at the cheapest petrol station for half an hour to save roughly $5 on their petrol. Some pay an extra $10 going to their local to save 5 minutes.
This issue isn't really that important but you being unable to sympathize (understand another person's situation) is a bit worrying.
This issue isn't really that important but you being unable to sympathize (understand another person's situation) is a bit worrying.
come again?
@unclesnake: Factor in the cost of your own time, especially when you have limited time off from work
@Rohangiga: like I say if u can earn enough to give you 1200 tax free a day don’t do it. But I don’t..in fact I was unemployed / self employed at the time, so made no difference time wise.
Limited time off work sucks, but just slip your boss 200, they would understand
That really depends on what time you arrive, and what you are interested in doing.
You could easily check out the City, Kings Park, Fremantle, beaches and back to the airport in that time.
I'm not a specific beach guy but is there something that's a only in Perth Destination?
Only Perth Airport… :(
Is it at least a nice ap?
@mgeisinsky: Best in the city!
Haha nah just joking about the airport, Perth’s a beautiful city but it’s hard to think of something special for an 8 hour stop besides a general open top bus tour
Perth airport isn't that big. I get bored after 1 hour waiting, never mind 8 hours. I don't think there is anything to do there other than eat at the overpriced food outlets.
@mgeisinsky: Perth Airport is ok but like any Australian airport, it's a place you end up rather than pass through. There's very little for the transiting passenger to do there. Perth itself is a lovely spot for a day long look around. Grab a bus to the city. You can do the whole thing on foot in a few hours and you'll sleep much better on the plane for your effort.
i think people in perth all hang out at the airport..
What interests you the most? General places to check out in Perth are historic buildings/landmarks, winery and art gallery/museum.
Or maybe consider something like a rickshaw tour? There is one that shows you around the city area (with a little bit of everything) and it only takes about 2.5 hours.
Do you like art? Sculptures by the sea is on at Perth's Cottesloe beach at the moment. The only other place you can see it is Bondi beach. http://sculpturebythesea.com/cottesloe/. NY on the other hand is amazing! Enjoy.
Visit Kings Park and Elizabeth Quay. Take the bus, it's much cheaper.
Little Creatures Brewery for a coldie then hit the Fremantle Markets
Winner winner winner!
You can tour the whole city, see all the sights, have lunch and then come back in time to catch your plane lol.
Perth is like, 20 minutes end to end? :D
What time of the day will you be at Perth?
Morning till 5pm
Perth Airport is pretty boring. Unless you have lounge access or plan to sit and read, I’d recommend going into the City.
When will you be visiting?
If you’re not on a tight budget - get an Uber into the city as it will be quickest.
If on a budget, use Transperth (Bus 380 - departs T1 and T2 - which is where Virgin’s Terminal is and takes you to Elizabeth Quay bus station). $4.70 each way. You need change or a small note to buy the ticket on board. Takes approx 45 minutes to get into the city.
Once in Perth - I’d recommend sticking to one area - I don’t think you’d have time to head to the beach or Freo. Maybe just stick with the city/Northbridge?
Suggested itinerary - get off on St George’s Terrace, after Barrack Street. Grab a coffee and something to eat (their donuts are amazing or something savory if that’s your thing). Walk down to Elizabeth Quay. Wander around, take some photos.
Short walking distance to the Quay are the Supreme Court Gardens. Walk back through there as you head into the ‘City’ which is really St George’s Terrace, Hay St and Murray St. you could then head over to the next street, Wellington Street and look at the newly opened Yagan Square and Perth City Link. (Perth City Street generally operate on a grid system making it easy to navigate) Lots of great food places their - casual dining / takeaway. There’s also a new pub/bar called Market Grounds which is nice.
You could then wander around Northbridge, check out the Cultural Centre - there is an art gallery - the year 12 art students exhibition ‘Perspectives’ is on now - free and usually decent. The Museum is currently under renovation.
If you have time / depending on the weather you could squeeze a trip to Kings Park in. You can walk from the city (approx 15 mins up St George’s Tce which turns into Malcolm Street. Or get the 935 bus from St. George’s terrace (heading west).
None of the lounges I have visited at Perth, domestic or international, are worth 8 hours of your time if you have an alternative.
If you really will never be travelling through Perth again, I'd do one of three things, depending on how "busy" you want to be. If you're flying J, I suggest you tire yourself out and enjoy a nice sleep on the way to AUH.
This assumes you arrive around 9am need to be back at the airport for 5pm.
In particular if the weather is good, option one is: exit airport and rent a car (20mins), drive to fremantle (40mins), jump on the 1030 ferry to rottnest (30 mins check in + 30 mins travel) which takes you to 11.30 or so (ferries go every hour on the half hour). Ferry is shortest from freo. Have a walk, pet some quokkas, have lunch. Rent a bike, ride around as much of the island as you like, ferry back at 2.30, back in freo at 3, have a walk around if you're into hipster stuff, then drive back to the airport (allow more time as you get closer to 5).
Edit: I forgot to mention quokkas. As uniquely WA as you can get.
https://www.rottnestexpress.com.au/ferry-timetable or you could even consider flying http://www.rottnestairtaxi.com.au/
Option two: exit airport and rent a car (20mins) drive to Yahava or Fiori in the swan valley (30mins) or Bolt Coffee in Midland (20mins) for a morning coffee, visit a winery or two in the swan valley for lunch (takes you to 2pm or so). Then you could visit whiteman park and chill for a few hours (if you're into nature etc) or you could hit up an escape room in malaga or morely https://www.ultroomscape.com.au/ or http://realmz.com.au/ (assuming you're not by yourself). Grab a coffee at Slate Cafe (bennett Springs) then head back to the airport.
Option three: taxi or uber straight to kings park in the city ($30-40). Get them to drop you at the War Memorial where there's a cafe if you need coffee. Explore for as long as you like. Walk or get a bus (free from kings park to CBD) down to the city, you could then check out Elizabeth quay or the art gallery in northbridge as other posts have mentioned. Good coffee at standing room only (CBD). Could head out to East Perth or West Perth via cat buses for a nice lunch (atlas cafe or joes bakery in west perth, or in east perth, toast bistro). Uber back to the airport once you're done.
Who the hell are you did you discover Perth?
Might live there
Don't pet quokas, keep hands to self. Rejected by other quokas if smell like humans, or so I was told. Also, 100 bucks return ferry seems an expensive way to see a quoka, but each to their own.
Hard to believe Quokkas have that keen a sense of smell, it's called Rottnest for a reason.
Lived in Perth for 4 years and couldn't stomach the price of the ferry.
Rottnest is nice, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you only have 8 hours in Perth. You will spend a lot of time traveling (drive to Freo, ferry ride and the same return).
It’s also expensive $50+ for return ferry tickets.
You’re better off staying on the mainland - if you need to see the Ocea, visit Freo or Cottesloe.
The old venue is no longer used and Barbagallo Raceway is nowhere near the airport.
Interested to know what you ended up doing?
I will post a full summary of all our activities!
Freo (Fremantle) can be a good way to spend the time. Lunch at Little Creatures with their quality beers and you'll be relaxed enough for the next leg of your journey. Plenty of niche art galleries and the old Freo Prison to visit as well.
Kings park, Elizabeth quay and Murray Street. That the cheapest way to see three attractions in 8 hours.
Head to The Vic in Subiaco. $3.50 pints. Will get you right into that holiday vibe :)
I'm so sorry
Something that will greatly influence my decision to leave the airport or not. Im flying the first leg of the journey through virgin Australia to Perth. In Perth I am then transferring to Etihad to fly to Abu Dhabi 8 hours later. So will virgin Australia give my baggage over to Etihad or do I have to pick it up and drop it off myself and if I do, how long before departure can I drop off my bags by Etihad?
Bags will be checked through on the way out. On the way back you'll need to collect bags at Perth to do customs before domestic flight back to Melbourne.
If the two flights are on the same booking then you check bags in Melbourne and get them back in AUH.
This was the case, the bags were checked all the way through to JFK. We had to wait in Abu Dhabi for the bags to arrive and then clear immigration into the USA but we didn't see them from Tullamarine to JFK.
I work at Perth Airport and can honestly say, whilst they've done a bit to improve it over the last 5 years or so, 8 hours there would be a long time.
As others have suggested, either hire a car and head to Freo or catch the 380 bus and check out the city. That would be my suggestion.
Just uber to crown for a few hours. It's not far and will kill the time.
Anyone know where we can rent a car under 21 close to Perth ap?
Are you 21 or under 21(I.e 20)? You’ll have difficulty if under 21 or it will be more expensive.
TBH, hiring a car is a lot of messing around. You’ll chew up at least an hour in the hire/return process. Just jump in an uber ($30-40 each way from the airport to centre of City). You’re just transiting through so don’t try and see the whole of Perth in a day :)
Someone above suggested heading to Crown Casino, also a good option. If you don’t want to travel too far / cheaper Uber consider East Victoria Park. It’s my neighborhood so I am biased, but it has restaurants (Roy-Als, Sedap Place are two favorites), cafes (The Imp, Sparrow Cafe are particularly good), bar (Daddy Long Legs) and a pub ( The Balmoral) and is about a $20 uber from the airport - you could just eat and drink, sit and relax.
From East Vic Park it’s about a 40 minute walk down to the Swan River (McCallum park) where you can walk along the foreshore.
no birds dot com dot au
Sorry for the late update but I just wanted to plug everybody on what we ended up doing. But first a pretty intense story that happened to us on the way to Tullamarine airport in Melbourne. We were driving our car, a friend was accompanying us and he was going to drive it back. On the entrance to the bridge, I feel the gas petal start to vibrate weirdly and the engine putter out. I could feel the vibration engine go into an unnatural pulse rather than its usual hum. And then suddenly it died completely. We were turning a bend but Thank GD the car managed to make it around the bend before the car fully puttered out. We were unable to pull to the shoulder around the bend due to the speed of traffic and immediately after the bend the shoulder disappeared. At exactly the time the engine gave out for good and we were stuck in the second lane of the busy highway with no engine. Rarely in my life have I been in a situation where I literally did not know what to do. We couldn't drive the car, we couldn't push the car, we couldn't even get out of the car. We were pretty powerless. We called triple 0 and they told us they were sending someone over. So we sat and waited there in the middle of the highway with cars flying past us at 80 km/h. Suddenly the car filled with flashing light and out of the blue came 2 large tow trucks. They stopped blocking 2 lanes. One of the workers walked up to the passenger door and my friend opened it. I can tell you confidently I have never been so happy and reassured to hear "Mornin' Mate." He then instructed us to remain in the car and pull over to the shoulder he told us to get in the tow truck as he and the rest of the crew loaded our car onto the bed. After that we were off, about this time we realized WE HAVE A FLIGHT TO CATCH! If it wasn't for the speed and care that those workers showed, we DEFINITELY would have missed our flight (which we barely barely made) so in this public setting I would just like to thank those workers for helping us make our flight and far more importantly possibly saving our lives! Now after making our flight and spending 4 hours on the plain coaxing my heart back into a steady beat we landed in Perth. Now with all the wonderful suggestions and information given on this forum, I think some people may be disappointed with our 'adventure' in Perth,but I think it was definitely the best way to use the time and mainly to lessen the strain of travel. It turns out some of our friends were in Perth at the time so they picked us up from the airport and we headed back to their place. We picked up some ingredients and nurofen (48 of traveling requires such) , I made breakfast and took a shower, tried to take a nap (no luck), then headed a little early to the ap. In the airport a nice lady from the Australian office of tourism approached us and asked us to partake in a lengthy survey about our expenditures in Australia. After which we got on the plane and started our 10 hour flight to Abu Dhabi. It was one of the most uncomfortable flights I've ever taken despite Etihad being a pretty awesome airline. I was just tired and uncomfortable. The second leg (14 hours) from Abu Dhabi to NY was much easier for some reason. Anyways! Thanks so much for all the help guys! It was pretty awesome to see everyone responding and just so willing to share their knowledge thanks again!
Pretty sure it's stories like this one that are the reason my dad plans to get to the airport 8 hours before he needs to…
Lol ya, we were so confident with our 2 hour leeway.
Oh in case anyone else is interested in what to do in Perth. Check this out. http://cathwood.com/perth-in-a-day/
Isn’t Abu Dahbi in the opposite direction to NYC in terms of time in the air?