Broome has so much to offer—when you’re touring the areas, how you travel depends upon what you want to see. We have at least five ways to get around in Broome! See which one suits your vacation plan.
Driving Around
If you’re up for a road trip, travel to Broome in your car, and then it’ll be your easy way to get around in Broome. There’s a lot to see in town, plus you can visit the beaches and the parks. You can also make Broome a central location and take a few day trips to visit Derby, Beagle Bay, or Cape Leveque—not so easy if you don’t have your wheels.
Of course, you can also hire a car in Broome and use it for all of those things. The airport has some great rental facilities, and if you shop around you won’t have to pay a booking fee.
You can hire a typical car, a four-wheel drive vehicle, or even a camper or van.
If you are driving in from points beyond Broome—Perth is 2,200 kilometres and Darwin is 1,900—you may want to invest in a so-called “Roo Shoo.” This is a device that emits a high frequency alert audible only to the local fauna, such as the kangaroos, that will motivate them to move off the road as you approach. They cost over $500, but if you hit a kangaroo you are likely to kill the animal and cause thousands of dollars in damage to your vehicle.
Town Bus
Broome actually has a privately operated town bus service, and it promises to be one of the most simple and least expensive methods for travelling around the area. Buses run seven days per week on an hourly schedule, and from May through October the buses run every half hour. Service starts at 7:10 a.m. through 7:10 p.m.
Broome Town Bus Service
Bus passes cost only $4 per trip, but you can stay on the bus and take a tour along the entire route if you’d like. In addition, you can buy a one-day pass for just $10—in case you want to make multiple stops in the area—and multi-ride passes starting at $18.50 for five rides. Students, seniors, and pensioners can purchase concessions passes for approximately half the cost.
If you buy the day pass, you will earn between 5 and 10 per cent off from any of several restaurants and souvenir shops.
If racing is your thing, you can buy a Race Round on certain days falling in June through October to attend the races at Gauntheaume Point’s luxurious Turf Club. Longing to see the Staircase to the Moon? The bus company runs extra buses on the days when this beautiful phenomenon takes place, on specific days from April through October. If opera’s your thing, take a bus out to Cable Beach—again, special service available in August—and watch a very special performance under the stars.
Broome Taxis
Want to travel in a car but leave the driving to someone else? Why not hire a taxi? The taxi service in Broome hires out vehicles that seat five passengers as well as maxi taxis. There’s taxi service for those with a disability, and you can even hire a bus-sized taxi. Fare is a bit on the steep side, but if you don’t want to risk driving in an unfamiliar area, or if you think you’ll stop for some cocktails, why not let someone else do the driving.
Bicycle Hire
Whether you’re staying in town or at Cable Beach, you may prefer cycling around the area in order to visit every place on your itinerary. It costs about $25 per day, with price breaks for additional days. You can hire a cycle right in town, or if you’re already staying on the beach you can watch out for a trailer owned by the cycle company that travels out that way.
Your cycle choices range from the standard type to mountain bikes, bikes for children, bikes with tandem seats, and even baby seats. All cycle rentals come with helmet and lock.
Shoe Leather Express
Broome is a great place to simply walk and enjoy the scenery, alone or with a companion. In town, you can easily walk from Town Beach into the town area itself and visit stores you might not see at home, like the Asian grocery store, or try the Broome museum.
Minyirr Park offers three different trails for hikers. There’s a three-hour walking tour from Cable Beach going out to Gauntheame Point. You’ll also find a two-hour trek through the bush, and a much shorter hike—just a half hour—going out to the beach. There are also full-day bush walking tours up at Cape Leveque.
No Matter How You Travel in Broome…
You can go reef walking, Harley triking, canoeing or kayaking, or even horseback riding. And even though you can’t really travel around on the camels, no trip to Broome would be complete without at least a ride along the beach on one of these placid humped animals! No doubt about it, Broome has it all, and access to travel is readily available. You only have to choose your favourite method!
