Tourist in my own city — Perth, Western Australia.
Navigating Perth’s CBD on a tight budget.
I love this city, guys. I LOVE IT.
Perth is a wonderful blend of the new and the old. We have buildings here that date back to the early 1900’s next to impressive, perfectly blue glass skyscrapers. I love the mix and feel so proud to show the city to friends when they visit.
What I wanted to tell you was how to see the city on a low budget.
Here’s how to get around the city with only $30.00 and have the best day ever — either on your own (my preference) or with mates/your family.
You ready?
First, catch the train into the CBD. It saves on petrol and parking and is so convenient. Perth’s train lines run from all over the city so getting into the central business district (where all the best things are) is really easy. Best of all, it’s really cheap. I recommend getting a ‘day ticket’ for about $8-$12 which allows you to travel within Perth’s city all day without having to buy more and more tickets as you go.
Now you’ll have $20.00 (ish) left.
You’ll get off at Perth’s main train station. It’s a beautiful old station and packed with people. Here’s where you can choose somewhere to go for breakfast/brunch.
Personally, I recommend popping into one of Perth’s many little, 7/11 stores for a muffin and a hot drink. People mostly order coffee, I always go a hot chocolate or cup of tea. It’s not as ‘cool’ as going to a cafe, but the prices are lower and I honestly think their hot chocolates are better than from a cafe. This will probably cost you about $5.
$15.00 left.
From William Street (one of the main and most busy streets in the CBD) You can catch a FREE “Cat bus” and see the city from the comfort of your airconditioned bus. You can catch the Red or Green Cat buses to Kings Park and go for a walk in our amazing Aussie bushland. If you are in Perth during Spring, you can check out the incredible Wildflower Display at Kings park — for free.
Once you’ve had a good walk around and seen the lush gardens and parkland, you can catch another free bus back into the city centre.
From the CBD, you can grab a FREE cup of cold water from McDonalds (make sure you keep hydrated!) and you can either spend a few hours in the Perth Library (internet usage is free for up to 2 hours) reading great books/doing some internet browsing or you can spend the afternoon wandering the Art Gallery or Museum. The Art Gallery, Library and Museum are all next to each other, so depending on the time you have, you can check out all 3 or you can focus on just one; it’s up to you.
When you are more ‘cashed up’, you can go to specific shows at the Art Gallery or Museum but on a low budget, you can visit both of these wonderous places on a ‘gold coin donation’ (so $1 — $2 — or more if you feel inclined) and see the main exhibitions. On your “free” visit, you’ll have to be your own guide, but I think discovering your favourite art pieces or museum displays that ‘speak’ to you in your own time and at your own pace is more fun than taking a guided tour. I’ve gone to the Art Gallery and seen an amazing men’s choir as well as been treated to a talk about the history of ‘wooden artwork’ (complete with slides).
On this occasion, you decide to see both the Art Gallery and the Museum, contributing $2.00 to each visit.
$11.00 left.
It’s late afternoon now and you’re feeling peckish. I recommend hitting up one of our fast-food places for a bite to eat. At the corner of William and Murray St, we have what I call “The Gauntlet” because there’s a long row of fast-food options one after the other. It’s like walking through an area of sinful food, honestly. It’s not great when you’re addicted to fatty processed food like I am, but it’s cheap.
You can get a large fries from “Lord of the Fries” for about $6-$7 dollars, a happy meal from McDonalds for about $4.50, a lunchtime “$5 Special” from KFC or you can go to HJ’s for the best takeaway meal ever.
Hungry Jacks does something called “The Stunner Meal” for about $5.00. It’s amazing. For that small amount, you get a small burger, fries, nuggets, an icey cold drink AND an ice cream!!! Can you believe it? I can’t believe how great value for money is, there. You can either ‘eat in’ or take it away and sit under one of the many trees lining our outdoor malls.
I recommend going to “Forest Chase” and watching the children run through the water sprinklers in the middle of Forest Square. You’ll see a huge marble ball there that is on a water contraption and children love being able to make it spin around. It’s lovely to see little ones playing. Alternatively, Forest Chase is the ‘hotspot’ for buskers, so take a seat nearby and enjoy a talented singer cover some of the latest songs or see a really lovely little old lady dance as her husband (I assume he’s her husband — I always see them together) plays wooden pan-pipes.
You have $6.00 left.
Depending on what you’d like to do, you can either walk down the hill (it’s a long walk) or catch the Blue Cat bus (Perth has 4 ‘Cats’ that all run on different loops around the city) down to Elizabeth Quays.
Elizabeth Quays is a beautiful little by-the-river area with little stores, cafes and pubs along the ‘jetty’ area. You can spend your last $6.00 on a scoop of home-made gelato (so good), a hot chocolate from a cafe or a cold non-alcoholic drink from one of the pretty waterside bars. Take a walk around Elizabeth Quay’s waterside areas. You can take a selfie in front of the newest ‘art installation’, take photos of boats leisurely going by, or sit back and relax in the sunshine and indulge in ‘people watching’ as others are constantly around; checking out Elizabeth Quay’s sights and sounds.
That’s it. That’s your $30 day and you can head home with your ‘day pass’ still able to be used for a bus, train or ferry home.
