Allow about three hours door to door, closer to four with stops: Kwinana Freeway south, Forrest Highway to Bunbury, the Wilman Wadandi Highway bypass, then Bussell Highway through Busselton. Perth to Busselton alone is 227 km.
Kwinana Freeway then Forrest Highway: dual carriageway most of the way, 110 km/h where signed, long stretches with no services, so leave Perth with fuel.
The Wilman Wadandi Highway bypasses Bunbury and joins Bussell Highway. Busselton is the last big town for supermarkets and fuel choice.
Bussell Highway south through Vasse and Cowaramup, about 50 minutes, with cellar doors either side of the road for the last twenty.
If there is no sign, the limit is 50 km/h in built-up areas and 110 km/h on open regional roads; Main Roads WA confirms these are the state's default limits. Freeways default to 100 km/h, school zones and some shared areas are 40 km/h, and anyone towing a caravan or trailer is capped at 100 km/h. Signed limits override the defaults, so watch for 80 and 90 km/h zones through towns like Cowaramup and on Caves Road.
Yes, especially at dawn and dusk. RAC says kangaroos were involved in 88 per cent of its animal-collision claims in 2023, with the riskiest times being early sunrise (5am to 7am) and nightfall (5pm to 8pm), and April to July the worst months. Its advice is to limit country driving at dawn and dusk and, if an animal appears, slow down but do not swerve. If you hit one: brake, sound your horn, and call the Wildcare Helpline on 9474 9055 if you injure a native animal. RAC's Margaret River guide specifically warns about kangaroos at dusk on the drive down.
0.05 blood alcohol for a full licence; driving at 0.05 or above is illegal. A first offence between 0.05 and 0.08 can be dealt with by an on-the-spot infringement of A$1,000 and 3 to 5 demerit points, and higher readings go to court with fines and licence disqualification. The limit is zero for learners, P-platers and anyone driving a bus, taxi or small charter vehicle. Police run random breath tests and it is illegal to refuse one.
Only if it is in a mount fixed to the car and you do not touch it; set the route before you start. You may touch the phone only to answer or end a call when it is in a mount, otherwise calls must be hands-free via Bluetooth or voice. Holding, touching or resting a phone on your body costs A$500 and 3 demerit points; creating, sending or looking at a text, email, social media, photo or video is A$1,000 and 4 points, even if the phone is mounted. WA uses safety cameras to detect phone offences.
You will not meet a toll between Busselton Airport and Margaret River, or on the drive down from Perth. Tourism Australia notes that many capital-city motorways are tolled, but Linkt, the national toll operator, covers toll roads only in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland, and none of Main Roads WA's driving-in-WA pages mention tolls. If you drive your hire car interstate, tolls there are billed back through the hire company (Budget's terms include a Linkt rental service fee of A$3.30 per tolled day).
Perth Airport is served by more than 20 international, domestic and regional airlines, so it has far more flights to choose from, but the Margaret River Region is about a three-hour drive from it (three to four hours allowing for stops) and the same again on the way back. Busselton Airport has only Jetstar's three-a-week Melbourne and Sydney services, but it is about 10 minutes from Busselton and 45 minutes from Margaret River, so you can be at a cellar door within the hour. For a short trip from the east coast the direct flight saves most of a day; if you need daily departures, come from overseas, or want to combine Perth with the South West, fly into Perth and drive the Forrest Highway and the new Wilman Wadandi Highway bypass. Busselton Airport to Margaret River is about 54 km, or 49 minutes; Perth is 227 km, about 2 hours 49 minutes.
About three hours without stops, three and a half to four with a break; the Margaret River tourism body quotes about three hours and the RAC about 274 km.
You will not meet a toll between Busselton Airport and Margaret River, or on the drive down from Perth. Tourism Australia notes that many capital-city motorways are tolled, but Linkt, the national toll operator, covers toll roads only in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland, and none of Main Roads WA's driving-in-WA pages mention tolls. If you drive your hire car interstate, tolls there are billed back through the hire company (Budget's terms include a Linkt rental service fee of A$3.30 per tolled day).
Fuel is easy to find on the main route. FuelWatch, the WA Government's free fuel-price service, lists about 14 sites in Busselton and Vasse (BP, Shell Reddy Express, 7-Eleven, Ampol, Caltex, Liberty, Vibe, Geographe Petroleum, United Vasse); three in Dunsborough (Shell Reddy Express, 7-Eleven, BP); BP Cowaramup and Gracie's General in Gracetown; four in Margaret River (Shell Reddy Express, Better Choice, Geographe Petroleum) plus Vibe Witchcliffe; and one in Augusta (BP). Fill up before Caves Road or the Boranup forest, and use fuelwatch.wa.gov.au or the email alerts to see tomorrow's prices, which are published around 2:30pm and fixed for 24 hours from 6am.
Every desk at the airport in one place. Book before you fly; keys are at the terminal.