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Perth with Kids (Part 1: City Beach, Fremantle, and AQWA)

We just came back from our 8D7N trip to Perth and Margaret River, and if you’ve been following our IG Stories, you’d know that we visited A LOT of places. C and I were saying that we need a holiday to get over this action-packed holiday!

We took the 740am SQ flight on Saturday morning from SG to Perth, which meant that we had to leave home really early in the morning. Since it was the start of the school holidays here in SG, you can imagine how crowded the airport was. What made things worse was that we didn’t know that we needed a visa to enter Australia! We had to run to the customer service counter to apply for the visa on the spot, and it took ages to process, and N had to run back to the check-in counter to pass me the passports, while C waited at the customer service counter to make payment ($50 per person). If you’re planning to visit Perth or any other state in Australia, please remember to apply in advance for your visa online via this link HERE.

Playing at the check-in counter while waiting for our visas to be processed

Boys on the flight

Meimei got to use N’s headphones because he was trying out a new pair

There was bad turbulence on the flight there, just after breakfast was served, which resulted in Meimei puking all over herself and needing to be changed. Didi got sleepy and was on the verge of tears because he couldn’t sit with me, so C and I had to switch babies across the aisle after I changed Meimei. After I got Didi to sleep, Meimei started whining for me, but thankfully, C was able to get her to sleep instead. Even though the kids have been on numerous flights before, this five-hour flight to Perth was the twins’ longest so far, and my goodness, it was exhausting keeping both the twins entertained and happy. N was the easiest of the lot, as he just needed his headphones (he was using the Oaxis myFirst Headphone on this trip) and was busy watching the different programmes available on the plane.

We got our prepaid SIM cards ($15 for 500mb over 28 days if I’m not wrong) from the Optus counter at the airport, while C waited to collect the rental car that we booked beforehand (we used Budget and you can check out the options online HERE). The car collection took longer than expected, so I had to keep the kids occupied with their Oaxis myFirst Sketch, before bringing them upstairs to the departures area for lunch, as it was getting late.

KorKor was drawing something for Meimei

N asked me to take a photo of the control tower so that he could draw it later

We booked a really lovely AirBnB at City Beach in Perth, and drove there directly from the airport. It was our first time staying in an AirBnB, and all of us agreed that it was great. Our host was very thoughtful, and prepared some croissants, cereal, and milk for our stay. There were also some books and toys for young children available, so the kids made themselves comfortable once we got there.

Our AirBnB was on the first floor, while our host and her family lived upstairs

We were a little concerned about the sleeping arrangements initially, as the kids usually sleep with us in the same room, but this time round, they had to sleep in a separate bedroom together. I was fully prepared for the twins to end up squeezing on our queen-sized bed with us, but we were pleasantly surprised that all three of them slept through the night in the separate bedroom on all three nights!

Our AirBnB was within walking distance of City Beach, so we took advantage of that, and walked down to the beach to explore. It was quite chilly that evening, but the kids had so much fun playing with the sand and picking seashells, while C and I admired the view. There was a playground nearby too, and I think we spent an hour there, before heading for dinner at an Asian restaurant next to the 24-hour IGA supermarket.

Our first proper day in Perth started early, as we drove to Fremantle Markets, which opens at 9am. We walked around for a while, and bought some food to share even though we already had breakfast, because everything looked so good. N and I really liked the Roogenic tea samples that we tried, so I ended up buying some. The kids scored a colourful Australian-themed wooden puzzle, as well as some splat balls, so everyone was pretty happy.

At Fremantle Markets

We then went on the Convict Prison Tour at Fremantle Prison, which was really interesting. The twins were bored, and N zoned out every now and then, but it was fascinating to listen to the different stories and information shared by our guide. If we didn’t have the kids with us, I think we would have gone on at least one other tour!

After the prison tour, we had a quick lunch before driving to the Aquarium of Western Australia. It’s not a very big aquarium, but we spent about two hours there, admiring the majestic sea creatures. The kids loved the Shipwreck Coast display, as they got to travel on a conveyor belt through the underwater tunnel. The rays were particularly impressive, and we all got really excited whenever one or two of them swam above our heads.

N wanted to draw this turtle

Exploring

We found many such shells at City Beach

The kids were a tad cranky when we were done, so we headed back to our AirBnB to have a simple takeaway dinner.

PS. For those who asked about our car in my IG Stories, we rented a Mitsubishi Outlander. Honestly, it didn’t have very comfortable seats, and both C and I got backaches after long periods in the car. The backseat was pretty cramped with the twins’ carseats, and the kids fought whenever they were bored. The twins especially liked sticking their legs out to try and kick N, who was stuck between them.

What usually happens in the car

That’s it for our first two days in Perth! Next up, Caversham Wildlife Park, Cuddly Animal Farm, and Cottesloe Beach!

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