If you’re looking for the best things to do in Coral Bay, or wondering if Coral Bay is worth visiting, you’ve found the right guide to help you plan your trip. Having last visited the beautiful Ningaloo Reef town a long time ago, we recently came back here to see if it’s still got its charm and whether the town has changed much over the years.
While many people head straight to Exmouth to visit the Ningaloo Reef, Coral Bay shouldn’t be missed. Although it’s one of the most popular getaways from Perth, Coral Bay is a popular town for anyone looking to see the incredible marine life the reef has to offer.
Where is Coral Bay?
If you’ve not heard of this tiny beach town before or wondering if Coral Bay is worth visiting, it is located a 12 hour drive north of Perth. We drove an amazing Star RV motorhome (get 10% off using the promo code LIS10) which fits up to 6 people! So while we arrived in comfort, we saved money on eating out etc.
There is an airport here too so you could essentially fly up here if needed and take the airport transfers to your accommodation. Home to coral gardens and the gateway to the Ningaloo reef, it’s a lovely little holiday town to snorkel with tropical fish, manta rays, and jump on fishing charters to the outer reef.
Alternatively, fly up to Exmouth and drive the 1h40m drive down to Coral Bay from there.
What makes Coral Bay special?
Renowned for being home to manta rays which can been seen all year round and also home to rare swimming with whale shark experiences, it also brings in Aussies who love to fish (which to be honest felt like they had taken over the town with big boats).
The tiny town is home to about 300 people and I was told there’s a rule here that people essentially can’t buy property, and if they do, they can’t live in it, they have to rent it out. I’m not sure how true this is, but when I questioned the local who told me about it, he said it’s because Coral Bay is simply a tourist town. And he’s kinda right.
You can walk the length of the town within about 3 minutes.
The town starts at the backpackers which I remember is still there from my last visit. It’s then predominately made up of two large caravan parks with three restaurants, a pub and a handful of shops. A lot of the workers in town live at the back of the caravan parks in trailers and that’s about it.
Has the town changed much since my last visit nearly 20 years ago?
At the time of visiting, the iconic classic Aussie pub at the end of the main street had been knocked down and a RAC resort is going to replace it. I think that’s kinda sad as it really made the town what it was.
The main beach called Bills Bay had almost disappeared too. I remember being able to walk along a long beach to the famous shark sanctuary whereas you now have to walk along the rocks to get there. I asked some locals about what had happened to the beach and they think it could be due to the jetty being built that has pushed the sand away.
Also at the time of visiting the beach was full of seaweed and with the lack of beach, Steve didn’t quite understand why I had hyped it up as much as I remembered it to be.
With that in mind, Coral Bay still has a certain charm to it and the sunsets are spectacular. I have just left the town still with a little piece of my heart in it, but understandably it’s not quite the same as I remembered it to be.
Best Time to Visit Coral Bay
If you’re wondering when is the best time to visit Coral Bay, I’d recommend visiting between March – June as you’ll be visiting during the whale shark season and the temperature will be much cooler than in summer. When we visited during May, the mornings and evenings were cool enough for a light jumper or jacket and warm in the daytime.
Best Things to do in Coral Bay
While in town, you might be wondering what are the best things to do in Coral Bay besides the obvious? My guide will help you plan your trip so you can make the most of your time here.
1. Swim with whale sharks
One of the top experiences in Coral Bay is to swim with whale sharks. Considering Coral Bay and Exmouth are the best places to swim with whale sharks in the world, you’d be mad to miss this opportunity. But how easy is it to actually see them? While it might be the best place in Australia to swim with whale sharks, it’s not guaranteed, and you won’t get your money back if you don’t see them.
I did the whale shark tour twice with Coral Bay Eco Tours and have written an honest review if you’d like to read more about the experience.
2. Swim with Manta Rays
Now, if you’d like to swim with manta rays, Coral Bay is one of the best places in Australia to do so (check out this swim with mantas tour). They consistently hang around the Ningaloo Reef and it’s almost guaranteed you will see them. The experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity and highly recommended from Coral Bay. I did it years ago and loved it, and we even saw a couple on our whale shark tour and it was brilliant.
The only other place I would recommend swimming with manta rays is on Lady Elliot Island in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. The underwater life there is mind-blowing and home to the world’s only pink manta ray!
3. Go on a glass bottom boat tour
The glass bottom boat tours in Coral Bay have been running for years. I went on one on my last visit and loved seeing the live coral and marine life from the comfort of the boat without having to get wet. This is a great experience for the whole family to do together, even for those who can’t swim or are afraid of the water.
4. Quad Bike Tour
We met another tourist in our caravan park who did the quad bike tour on the sand dunes and he said it was amazing. You can book the sunset tour which I think would be stunning! The problem I have with these kind of tours is feeling like you need to keep up with everyone, but the tourist said you can go at your own pace and enjoy the views out to the ocean.
We also loved the quad biking tour at Tangalooma in Moreton Island near Brisbane. This was an amazing tour and we did wonder if we should have done the Coral Bay tour too. Our problem is the whale shark tours took up most of our time in this town.
5. Watch The Sunset at Coral Bay Beach
It’s so nice seeing everyone appear at sunset with a couple of drinks in hand on Bills Bay. I would highly recommend walking up to the top of the sand dune at the end of the street by the car park at Bills Bay. This will give you a beautiful view point of the sun setting over the ocean and above Paradise Beach. It is so beautiful, you won’t want to miss it. It’s also a great spot to watch the sunrise from too.
6. Walk to the Shark Sanctuary
I remember walking to the shark sanctuary and seeing hundreds of reef sharks in the water here years ago. Unfortunately now you have to walk over slippery rocks to get here or in the water (check tides before doing so as the walk is 1km long).
We went over to check out the sharks and saw a couple heading back. When we stopped them to ask how it was, they said there weren’t any there and you’d need to go early in the morning to see them here.
7. Humpback whales swim
If you’ve ever wanted to swim with humpback whales, you can do so during the humpback whale season which is from July – September. Although this is a once in a lifetime experience, remember that it is not guaranteed that you will swim with them. You can check out our review from when we did this experience on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland if you’re keen to learn about it.
8. Or go whale watching
If you don’t fancy getting in the water with humpback whales, why not stay dry on a whale watching tour? You’ll learn all about the incredible mammals while looking out for them in the Ningaloo Reef.
9. Turtle lovers will love this turtle encounter tour
Turtle lovers will absolutely love a turtle eco tour where you’ll spend three hours on the lookout for the many many sea turtles out in the Ningaloo Reef! You’ll find turtles all year round so you don’t have to visit at a particular time of the year to spot them in the Ningaloo Reef!
10. Snorkel off Bills Bay Beach
The great thing about Coral Bay is you can snorkel right off the main beach in town. Bring your snorkel gear and head out to the reef in your own time to spot everything from turtles, rays and more.
11. Or Snorkel at Oyster Bridge (if you have a 4wd)
We actually snorkelled off Oyster Bridge at the end of our whale shark tour to swim with manta rays. It’s a stunning beach with a nice long stretch of sand which reminded me of how Coral Bay used to look when I last visited.
12. Go for a run down to the jetty first thing in the morning
When we were on our way to the jetty from town to swim with whale sharks in the Ningaloo reef, we saw a lot of people going for their morning walk or jog between town and the jetty. I would have done this too if I had known about it as it would be a great way to start the day.
13. Fishing in Coral Bay
Fishing in Coral Bay is a huge activity that brings a lot of people to this town. You’ll see a lot of boats parked up at the caravan parks and even big round tables in Bills with massive screens that cater to the footie crowd.
We noticed a lot of people all hovering around the park in town to watch people skin the fish they’d caught (pictured above) and it kinda felt like Coral Bay has turned into a fishing charter town now, compared to what it was years ago.
14. Drive on the Sand Dunes
If you’d like some space from the campgrounds in Coral Bay (they pack you in like sardines) then head up to the sand dunes for some four wheel driving for the day.
15. Book a sunset cruise
We stayed at Bayview Campground which run tours, including a sunset cruise around Coral Bay. At the time of writing, it cost $90 to go on a two hour BYO cruise which we would have done as I think it would have been pretty special watching the iconic sunsets from a boat.
16. Where to eat in Coral Bay
You’ve got three restaurants in Coral Bay to choose from, with all being above average prices for meals in WA, called Reef Cafe, Bills Bar and Fins Cafe. A steak sandwich will set you back $38, as will a chicken green curry. A lentil dhal dish will cost you $29 with all three restaurants serving almost exactly the same menus. If you’re after locally caught seafood, it will cost you $45+.
We were told by locals that Fins Cafe serves up the best food, although we ended up going to Reef Cafe to get a pizza (they are huge) and a chicken parmie (also massive).
For breakfast or lunch items, head to Coral Bay bakery, and if you go around 2pm, you’ll see the salad rolls are mostly likely half price.
If you’re looking for exceptional food, read about our favourite option below.
17. Stop by Bullara Station for exceptional pies and scones
If you’re looking for a fantastic food near Coral Bay, you absolutely MUST visit Bullara Station Stay Cafe. Although it’s about a 45 min drive from Coral Bay on the way up to Exmouth, the food is amazing. This hipster station stay feels almost like you’ve entered a hip cafe in the city, yet here we are in the middle of nowhere.
Expect exceptional pies (the Bullara pie must be the best pie we’ve ever eaten) and incredible scones that I actually asked the people behind reception if the chef is English because they taste like the real deal (sorry Australia, but it’s hard to find decent scones usually).
We didn’t know about this place until we were leaving Coral Bay, but it turns out Friday nights are the best time to visit this incredible station stay. They have live music, cook burgers up on the bbq and it honestly goes off here.
If we had known how amazing it is, we would have left Coral Bay early to come here.
Come here early to buy their steaks, burgers and sausages. They sell out very quickly so arrive in the morning and head to reception to pick some up. We loved it so much, we’re planning on dropping when we head to Karijini after Exmouth.
18. Bringing your own food to Coral Bay
If you’re on a road trip from Perth to Coral Bay, we recommend stocking up on food at Geraldton which will be your last Coles stop before coming to this tiny beach town. You can stock up at Woolies in Carnarvon and there is a Foodworks in Coral Bay but expect hefty prices here. I would highly recommend buying drinking water at Coles or Woolies before you come to Coral Bay as the water in town is D-sal (aka filtered ocean water which is not exactly nice).
19. Drive to Exmouth for a day trip
If you’re staying in Coral Bay for a while, drive 1h30m up to Exmouth to visit the top beach in the South Pacific by Trip Advisor Travellers Choice Awards in 2022, Turquoise Bay. It is honestly stunning and makes the beaches in Coral Bay look not great. If you’re up for diving, pre-book a Navy Pier dive, aka one of the world’s top 10 pier dive sites in the world!
20. Where to stay in Coral Bay
There are two campgrounds in Coral Bay which basically make up the entire town.
- People’s Caravan Park – we wish we stayed here as they give people more space but it looked like it was more expensive.
- Coral Bay Bayview Caravan Park – sits opposite Bills Bar (don’t worry it’s not noisy, pictured above) and they pack you in like sardines. Expect to be sharing the campground with about 300 other campers (at least).
- Coral Bay Backpackers – the backpackers sits at the end of town and is a great spot for travellers.
