melaniee

Anyone been?
Due to time off work etc we will be flying up and wondered what the recommended time would be, good places to stay etc.

Want to go in whale shark season.

Any hints or tips?

Would we need a hire car?

K14

We went there when we were living in Perth and drove up. There are some beautiful beaches along there. We went snorkelling at Turquoise Bay - stunning you have to go there.

Exmouth itself - not alot there. A few hotels along the main road as I remember. We stayed at the Novotel Ningaloo Resort which was v nice but very expensive and restaurant service was really poor. The pool is really nice there. I don't think it was really worth the money though overall. There are lots of other hotels around. The coastline and beaches are amazing.

You'd have to hire a car if you want to explore the beaches around Exmouth.

We went in October and could see humpback whales from the beach. In October it was nice and warm during the day - about 34 degrees I think and cooler at night.

Coral Bay isn't too far from there - 1 1/2 hours drive. We met some people who'd flown into Exmouth, hired a car and driven down, so maybe an option for you if you have enough time. We stayed at the Aspen place there, location was great. Accomodation a bit basic but ok and clean. We loved Coral Bay, if you've got kids it's great for snorkelling as it's enclosed by a reef so feels a bit safer. They have a subaqua boat so you can see the coral from inside the boat which was good. If you do decide to drive there remember that it's a road in the middle of nowhere so take extra water etc with you just in case.

The whaleshark thing looks really good. We went at the wrong time of year - hope you have a great time.

lancastrian48

Like everything, youv'e seen it in a day

renth

Great place, we go every year - 8 times in total now.

We usually stay at either Potshots or the Aspen place (we call it Auschwitz as when we first stayed there it was really run down but has since been renovated).

Ningaloo is great for snorkeling, best spots are Turquoise Bay, Lakeside bommies and Oyster stacks.

Cape range is awesome too. Great place to go geocaching if you like that kind of thing.

Whale sharks - incredible! (expensive though).

SCUBA is great @ the Navy pier and Muiron Islands.

Superb fishing too.

We love it Exmouth is a great, friendly (Aboriginal free) town.

Definitely need a car to get around.

HelenTD

We drove up to Exmouth, but it wasn't a 4WD for going along the coast or up into the National Park. We joined a tour, which might be another option for you to consider, various options available: http://www.exmouthwa.com.au/tours.asp. It might work out about the same as car hire, or less, and you don't have to pay for local petrol ($161.80 for ULP today in Exmouth). You can also relax and let someone else do the driving. On non-tour days, you can do things around the town or laze around the pool.

EvannTel

Agree with everything everyone has said.
We stayed there at Xmas and loved it.
You defo need a car though but not a 4WD - you can access pretty much everything in a car.
Coral Bay for a day or two is great too.