Best Beaches for Swimming in Perth, Western Australia.

All of the beaches on this list have very little waves, if any at all. For me a good swimming beach needs to have a great stretch of sand, and the water needs to be flat-ish. I’m not very good with waves. I used to be, I used to love swimming under the waves and out to the deep flat ocean behind them, but then I had a little incident in 2009 when I was 17 – I was caught under a dumping wave for what seemed like forever, almost drowned, and ended up in hospital with too much water in my lungs.

It literally felt like I was in a washing machine, I was being tumbled around under the water, I couldn’t see the surface, I had no idea how to get out, and I just remember the feeling of not being able to hold my breath anymore and my lungs feeling as though they were going to explode.

Thankfully my boyfriend at the time pulled me out and dragged me onto the beach naked (the waves had forced my bikini off me and while the bottoms were around my ankles the top was further down the beach) whilst I screamed hysterically.

So since then I’ve avoided them and they genuinely terrify me, and I now only swim when the water is flat, which means I’ve sussed out the best beaches in Perth where the water is flat most of the time.

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So, ready to find out where the best beaches for swimming in Perth are? Let’s go!

1. Leighton Beach

Leighton Beach is hands down my favourite beach in Perth. The beach is huge and white and sandy, the water is always calm and completely flat, and they have some amazing food options right on the beach – Bib & Tucker and Shipping Lane. Although I choose Bib & Tucker every time.

2. Parakeet Bay, Rottnest Island

If you head to Rottnest for a day or longer, you must go to Parakeet Bay, I have quite a few ‘favourite’ beaches on Rotto, but Parakeet Bay is one of my top 5 as it’s always flat, and I always get a meat pie from the bakery and then head to Parakeet Bay on the Island Explorer bus for a swim.

 

 

3. South Cottesloe Beach

Ahh South Cottesloe. The only reason this one isn’t number one is because of the insane amount of steps you have to walk down (and then back up) to get to the beach. I mean, it’s not actually a crazy amount, but when it’s 35 degrees celcius, the last thing you want to do is walk up a load of steps. However, the beach is worth it. The water is also super calm and you can literally just float around in the water soaking up the rays.

 

4. Swanbourne Beach

The water at swanny isn’t always calm, but when it is, it’s beautiful. So, so dreamy. I mean just look at it!

5. Yanchep Lagoon

Ooooh Yanchep Lagoon. It was actually Hannah that introduced me to this gem. It’s a little far up from Perth, around a 45min drive up the coast, but well worth the extra time. The lagoon is protected by a reef, so not only is the lagoon completely calm, but you don’t need to worry about sharks 😉

6. The Basin, Rottnest Island

Another goodun’ from Rotto. The Basin is similar to Yanchep, the swimming hole is surrounded by a reef, so it’s great for snorkelling and swimming! It’s also really close to the main village of Thompson Bay so you can easily walk there within 10mins.

 

7. Floreat Beach

I love Floreat Beach despite the frequent dumping waves. When you go on a calm day early in the morning before the sea breeze comes in, it’s just bliss. Also the Floreat Kiosk is just amaze and they do really great food!

 

 

I’m so excited to go back to Perth in two weeks! Fingers crossed the weather is still good, it was super rubbish when I was back over Christmas so I spent the whole week in jeans haha.