4 Night Road Trip to Denmark and Albany, WA

The Trip — 4 Night Birthday Getaway in Denmark and Albany, Western Australia

Duration — 4 Nights

Origin — Perth

Type of Trip— airbnb, Beach, Historic Sites, Couples, Wine, Nature, Road Trip

Trip Dates and Comments — Early March. The first week of fall and you could tell the season was changing - no more beach weather, light rain on 2 days which makes overeating and drinking all the more justified!

Mode of Transportation — Car

Arrival Logistics — 5 hour 15 minute drive from Perth to Denmark

Cost per Person — $750 / person including accommodation, activities and meals

General Route — Spend the first 2 nights in Denmark, the next 2 in Albany and eat and drink like the locals along the way

Accommodation — In Denmark we stayed at the Aiyana Retreat (www.aiyanaretreat.com.au) in the ‘Mira’ house and in Albany we booked an airbnb (https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/10463069?s=q26I1NT3)

Main Activities — Treetop walk, Denmark Animal Farm, wineries, Porongurup wine festival, ANZAC museum, whaling station tour, beaches

Food and Drink Highlights — In Denmark: Denmark bakery for pies, Ravens for coffee, The Lakehouse for more pie and grazing boards, Kirby’s at Rickety Gate for overall food and service. In Albany: Earl of Spencer pub for local drinks and decent pub food, Emu Point Cafe for ocean view breakfast, Rustler’s for good steaks, Gourmandise for delightfully French breakfast

Essential Packing for this Trip — Several layers of clothing including a light rain jacket, moccasins to wear in your accommodation, umbrella in the car

Our Experience

This was our first time to Denmark and Albany. We were expecting the beautiful beaches and laidback country feel of Esperance mixed with the foodie scene of a smaller Margaret River. I’d say that’s pretty much how it was and it was well worth the trip. Despite all the driving, it was still a relaxing 4 days.

Denmark: We arrived at our accommodation in Denmark Friday night around 7:30pm. For anyone who doesn’t like driving in the dark where kangaroos live, that was about 45 minutes too late as dusk kicked in around 6:45 and it was dark not long after. We settled into our lovely lodging and then went to Boston Brewery for a bite to eat. There aren’t too many late options for dining in Denmark. The food at Boston Brewery was decent and the atmosphere was a bit lacking simply because it was pretty empty. They brew their own beers too, which I recommend before their wine.

Saturday we started with the Treetop Walk which was a great activity. The trees were certainly impressive and the bridge walk gave me butterflies! Afterward there’s a nicely laid out forest walk with educational signs that the Australians do so well, to learn more about the different trees and forest floor. The treetop walk cost $20 each and we spent about 1.5 hours there in total. Next we went to Bartholomew’s Meadery which was an interesting change to drinking wine all weekend.

We had lunch at Kirby’s at Rickety Gate which was a great experience. They were recently named the top winery restaurant in all of WA and I couldn’t find any reason to disagree. From the food (the beef cheek gnocchi was to die for) to the service (very attentive without being formal) to the beautiful setting overlooking the yard, it was all great. It’s not cheap and note that you choose either a 2 course or 3 course menu, so I recommend going hungry because you can’t just order a single plate.

We visited a few other wineries (Single File, Burch’s, Forest Hill) and that was it for the day. We weren’t very hungry for dinner so just picked up a few snacks from the local IGA.

Sunday before driving to Albany we drove to the much talked about Greens Pool. I could have stayed there for hours it was so beautiful. It was a chilly day so I didn’t swim but my husband did, along with a few other locals. There were also a few kayakers out. After a year in WA, Greens Pool is my favourite beach.

Next we went to an animal farm / petting zoo. It cost $19 per person, plus $1 for each little bag of food. Buy the food!! It is so much fun to feed the animals and hang out. It’s a small farm with a good mix of animals ranging from koalas and kangaroos to your usual goats, chickens, rabbits, donkeys, horses and pigs. The setup was great because a lot of the animals just roam, and those that live in pens are mostly ok to enter and visit. We were the only adults without kids there but I elbowed my way to hold the chicks just the same. All of the animals looked really well cared for and happy.

We had a quick bite of lunch at The Lakehouse. They are known for their sharing boards and pies. The pies aren’t on the menu because they only make a certain number each day. Order one!

We stayed at Aiyana Retreat in Denmark which has a small number of self contained houses. We stayed at the Mira house which had been built only 2 months earlier. It still smelled of the beautiful local wood they used. Although expensive at $290 / night, it didn’t feel like robbery. They obviously put their heart into the construction with beautiful interior finishings mostly made with local materials and a perfectly equipped kitchen complete with Le Creuset casseroles!

Albany:

We kicked off our drive to Albany which was about an hour and a half, stopping more than half way there to go to the Porongurup Wine Festival. It was the cutest, local shin-dig I’ve been to in ages. The community was out in full force drinking each other’s wine and enjoying some live local music.

We checked in to our airbnb and then headed into town looking for a drink. We started at Due South bar which was certainly polished and had nice views over the water, but it was a bit posh for what we were in the mood for. We ended up at the historical dive of a pub called the Earl of Spencer. Cool building, lots of swearing locals inside with friendly bartenders and a seat at the bar. We ended up hanging out a long time and ordered surprisingly good pub food for dinner.

The next morning we had a great breakfast outside overlooking the water at Emu Point Cafe. We paid $24 each to go to the National ANZAC Centre which was really well done and I would recommend everyone visit just to see the architecture and views over the Indian Ocean.

We drove on to the Albany Whaling Centre which is what the town was known for long before it became a departure point for the war ships. We were loathe to stay for the actual tour, but in the end gave in to the sales pitch. It was $48 extremely well spent! It was a very interesting tour through each part of the whaling station from a very knowledgeable tour guide with a very dry sense of humour. I would definitely recommend paying for the tour rather than going around yourself.

Next we did a walk around the town centre which was completely shut down because it was labour day. Shame, but that’s the reality of a small town. We went for a few rounds at the Earl of Spencer and then for a delicious steak at Rustler’s. The atmosphere at Rustler’s was the kind seniors would enjoy, but I can’t deny my steak was delish.

We finished off the night star gazing wrapped up in blankets with some beers on our balcony. I haven’t seen the sky so lit up for the longest time, it was really special. We learned afterward that Albany is a good spot for star gazing.

Tuesday morning we were up early to head back to Perth, but grabbed a freshly baked croissant and croque monsieur at a very French cafe called Gourmandise before leaving town.

In Albany we booked an airbnb https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/10463069?s=q26I1NT3. It was about 10 minutes out of town which is probably the main reason we wouldn’t stay there again. It was impeccably clean with really nice hosts who lived in the unit beneath ours. The views were just incredible (see the photo) and really made me feel in awe of nature. Consider booking this place for the views which are just like the photos! It did rustle my feathers though that they advertised the place as premium or luxury. It was well maintained and clean, but there was nothing premium about it beyond the views. It was dated with inexpensive finishings and white shag carpet.

Best Bits

The mix of nature, small town charm and great food and wine options makes it a very accessible 4 day trip from Perth, and a good change from the usual.

Worst bits

All the driving! There’s no way around it, there’s just heaps of driving to do. Also, we would have liked one more day in Denmark to do a hike or something else sporty. The Bibbulmun Track goes through here.

Ratings

Rate the overall trip — 8/10

Rate the activity on your trip — 9/10

Rate the ease of logistics — 7/10

Value for money — 7/10

About The Traveller

Gender & Age Range
Female, 25 - 35

I’m from
the Canadian Rockies

My favourite trip as of late
a long weekend in Byron Bay

Travelling Style
Book the important stuff, but leave some flexibility in the schedule.

I like to go on the following types of trips
Culture, sporty, beach, gourmet, relax

It’s a dealbreaker when
The accommodation is dirty

Continent I know the best
Asia