Perth’s museum lets children in free for life, its biggest park charges nobody, and on Sundays the whole transport network is free. Few cities make a family day this cheap; the trick to Perth with kids is knowing which paid stop is worth one ticket a day.
Half the Best Things Are Free
Start from what costs nothing, because in Perth with kids that is most of the list. Kings Park, 400.6 hectares with playgrounds, lawns and free guided walks at 10am and 1pm, is a 15-minute walk from the centre or a free CAT bus. WA Museum Boola Bardip, 200 m from Perth Station, is always free for children under 15; check the current adult admission.
Elizabeth Quay adds a free water playground, a nature playground and a carousel, and every Sunday Transperth is free for anyone tapping a card.
So build each day around one free anchor and add at most one paid stop. The things-to-do guide lists the anchors in walking order from the centre.
Elizabeth Quay and the Ferry Are a Morning on Their Own
The quay is where the youngest children are happiest, and the ferry is the cheapest excursion in the city.
- The playground hour. Water jets with lighting effects, a sand pit, slide and climbing ropes, and a carousel, all beside the pedestrian bridge. Pack a change of clothes.
- The crossing. About 10 minutes on the Transperth ferry to Mends Street Jetty, South Perth, any Transperth fare or a card tap, free on Sundays.
- The far side. Perth Zoo, open since 1898 on 17 hectares, a walk up Mends Street; this is a good first paid stop.
Elizabeth Quay station sits on the Free Transit Zone boundary, so getting to the quay from a central hotel costs nothing even on a weekday.
Perth Zoo, AQWA and Scitech: Pick One Paid Stop a Day
Three paid attractions suit children, and they are far enough apart that one a day is the realistic pace.
Perth Zoo is the closest, across the ferry. AQWA, the Aquarium of Western Australia, sits at Hillarys Boat Harbour about 30 minutes north by car, with a 98 m underwater tunnel, the largest in Australia. Scitech in West Perth combines interactive galleries with a planetarium and suits a hot or wet afternoon.
Check the current prices for all three; none were sampled for this guide. Pair the zoo with the quay, AQWA with a northern beach day, and Scitech with the museum on a day the weather turns.
Rottnest and Penguin Island Need a Calendar Check
The two wildlife days families want most both have rules that catch people out.
- Rottnest. The ferry takes about 30 minutes from Fremantle, every visitor pays an admission fee, about AUD 21.50 (around US$15) per adult and AUD 11 per child aged four to 16 on a day visit, and the quokkas are protected: no touching, no feeding, fines on the spot.
- Penguin Island. Forty-five minutes south, a five-minute ferry, boardwalks and sheltered beaches, but closed from early June to 14 September for nesting. Open with an hourly ferry from 15 September to early June.
Prices in this guide are approximate and were last checked on 5 October 2026.
The Penguin Island guide times the day by train and bus; book Rottnest for a clear forecast.
Family Fares: Sundays, FamilyRider and the Quokka Club
Transport is where you save most in Perth with kids, and three rules do the work.
Sundays are free on every bus, train and ferry for SmartRider and contactless users, so put the longest trip, Fremantle or Rockingham, on the Sunday. On other days, a FamilyRider cash ticket of about AUD 7 covers up to seven people, at most two full-fare adults, for the whole day, but only at set times: any time on weekends and public holidays, after 6pm Monday to Thursday and after 3pm Fridays in term time, and after 8.30am on weekdays in Western Australian school holidays. Check the current conditions.
On Rottnest, one operator’s Quokka Club lets children aged four to 12 ride the ferry free, paying only the island fee. The Rottnest day-trip guide explains how to book it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Rottnest departure is easiest with a toddler?
Fremantle. The crossing is about 30 minutes against about 90 from Perth’s Barrack Street Jetty, and the train to Fremantle takes about 30 minutes, so the whole outbound trip is an hour of sitting rather than two. Children aged four to 16 pay an admission fee of about AUD 11, and under-fours pay no ferry fare with either operator’s child policy; check the current rules.
What is the cheapest full family day in Perth?
A Sunday: free Transperth with a card tap, Kings Park in the morning with its free guided walk at 10am, the free museum for under-15s in the heat, the free water playground at Elizabeth Quay in the afternoon and the ferry across the river for a card tap that costs nothing. The only spend is take-away lunch at about AUD 12 to 17 a head.
Can under-fives go on the whale-watching cruise?
Cruises run September to December from Hillarys and Fremantle and last about two hours on open water with no guaranteed sightings, which is a long time for a small child. Check the current operator age policy, and consider Penguin Island, open from 15 September, where a five-minute ferry and sheltered beaches suit under-fives better.
Is Perth too hot for children in January?
It needs a rhythm rather than avoidance. January averages about 12 days at 32°C or hotter, so do Kings Park and the beach before 10am, the museum or Scitech in the middle of the day, and the quay’s water playground after four. Patrols at Cottesloe run October to April, so January swimming is between the flags.
Do children pay on Transperth?
Children pay concession fares, and a FamilyRider at about AUD 7 covers up to seven people at the set times, which is usually cheaper than individual fares for a family of four. On Sundays everyone tapping a card travels free, and inside the Free Transit Zone and on the CAT buses nobody pays at any age.
Booking Your Flight and Stay
Book a central room on the Free Transit Zone and a Sunday in the stay; the fares and the museum take care of the rest.
