Is the Pinnacles Worth the Drive?
The Pinnacles are 189 km by road from Perth. Who finds the trip worth it, who is better off skipping it or going another way, and whether to take a tour or your own car.
Yes, if you go for the late afternoon. The Pinnacles are 189 km by road from central Perth, so you spend more of the day on the road than among the pillars, and what makes the distance pay is the light at sunset and the dark sky after it. The easiest way to get both is Autopia Tours’ From Perth: Pinnacles Sunset and Stargazing Tour with Dinner, from US$137 a person (checked November 2026), which does the driving there and back.
National park admission is in the price, and free cancellation runs until 24 hours before.
How far it is
From the centre of Perth to the Pinnacles is 189 km by road; Parks and Wildlife Service WA, which runs Nambung National Park, gives it as approximately 200 km north of Perth. That is the same distance again to get home. The tours fill the road with stops (a lookout at Guilderton, koalas at Yanchep, the dunes at Lancelin) so the drive is not dead time, but it is still most of a 9-hour day.
What the distance buys
Thousands of limestone pillars, up to 4 m tall according to the park’s visitor guide, standing in yellow sand among low coastal heath. The tours arrive late in the day for two reasons: a late-afternoon arrival misses the heat and the day visitors, and after sunset the park is far enough from city lights for stargazing.
That is why most tours aim for sunset. Sunset at the Pinnacles is at about 6:53 PM on 15 November and 7:21 PM on 22 December 2026 (computed for the park, matching Perth Observatory’s tables), and the tours move their start times to fit.
Worth it for
- Anyone who wants the sunset and the stars. This is what the place does best, and a tour handles the dark drive home.
- Photographers, for the low light and the long shadows.
- Visitors in September and October, when Parks and Wildlife Service WA says the heath flowers and the days are still mild.
- Families with children over 6. Autopia Tours’ sunset tour takes children from 6; the walks are 1 to 2 km.
Better skipped, or done another way
- If you only want a quick look. Nine hours there and back for an hour or two among the pillars is a lot. Three reviewers of Australian Pinnacle Tours' sunset tour wrote that they had only 12 to 20 minutes at the pillars before sunset; if time on the sand matters to you, choose a tour that gives you more of it, such as Tour2Holiday's sunset tour with three hours at the Pinnacles.
- In the heat of a summer day. Parks and Wildlife Service WA describes December to March as hot and dry, with fire danger often extreme. Go late in the day, not at noon.
- With a child under 6 on the sunset tour. Autopia Tours’ tour does not take them. A family car, or a private day, is the way to go.
- If you cannot walk on sand. The sunset tour’s walks need moderate fitness. At the Pinnacles Desert Discovery centre, the first 200 m of the Emu Walk Trail are wheelchair accessible, and the loop drive lets you see the pillars from a car.
A tour or your own car?
| Sunset tour | Your own car | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | US$137 a person, park admission included | Car hire and fuel, plus the park fee of A$17 per vehicle of up to 12 people |
| The drive | Someone else drives 189 km each way, including back after dark | You drive it, and after a sunset visit the 189 km home are on country roads in the dark |
| At the Pinnacles | A guided walk at sunset | As long as you like, on foot or on the one-way loop of about 4 km |
| After dark | A picnic dinner and a telescope, weather permitting | Whatever you bring |
| Extras | Guilderton Lookout, Nilgen Nature Reserve or Hangover Bay | Lake Thetis, Cervantes and Hangover Bay at your own pace |
Park fee from Parks and Wildlife Service WA, checked November 2026; tour price from GetYourGuide, checked November 2026.
A car wins if you want daylight, your own pace and a night in Cervantes. For the sunset and the stars, with Perth as your base, the tour is the simpler choice.
Check start times for the sunset tour
If you are driving, inside Nambung National Park has the fee, the loop and the rules.
More from Perth
Pinnacles and Coast Tours with Open Dates
Tours from Perth to the Pinnacles and along the coast with live availability. Where each starts, what it includes and the cancellation terms are shown before you book.
Go for the Sunset, Leave the Driving
Autopia Tours' 9-hour tour from central Perth: a guided walk among the pillars at sunset, a picnic dinner with a glass of wine and a telescope, with park admission in the price.
Check start times