Margaret River, AU

Margaret River's founding winery (1967) with a serious restaurant above the cellar door — Aravina-style modern Australian using estate produce, a private art gallery on-site, and a Heytesbury Cabernet that's still the region's benchmark.

The Art Series Chardonnay maker with one of the world's most photogenic cellar doors — vineyards rolling to karri forest, an outdoor amphitheatre that hosts the summer Leeuwin Concert, and a fine-dining restaurant that's been a regional anchor since the '80s.

Cape Dutch-style white buildings, rose gardens, and a serious Cabernet program — the most polished cellar door experience in the region, with a multi-course wine-paired lunch that's the destination dining you came here for.

Biodynamic, carbon-positive, and run by Vanya Cullen — the most quietly serious winemaker in the region. The restaurant uses estate biodynamic produce and the Diana Madeline Cabernet is one of Australia's great wines.

Hilltop winery in Yallingup with sweeping vineyard views and a tasting menu that's regularly rated among Australia's top regional restaurants — modern, ambitious, and the wine list naturally favours the house.

Big tiered cellar door and restaurant on the road south to Augusta — the view across the vines to the karri forest is the destination dining shot you've seen on Instagram. Modern Australian, well-executed.

Margaret River's local pub on the main street — wood-fired steaks, an enormous wine list (multiple GT awards), live music most weekends, and the only place in town where you'll find both winemakers and surfers at the bar.

All-day cafe-bar in town with a small-plates menu, well-made cocktails, and an outdoor courtyard that fills up on warm nights. The most reliable not-a-winery option in Margaret River town.

Dunsborough's most ambitious kitchen — chef Aaron Carr (ex-Vasse Felix) runs a wood-fire-driven menu with serious Margaret River wine pairings in a small shopfront on Dunn Bay Road.

Right on the sand at Bunker Bay between Cape Naturaliste and Dunsborough — windows open straight onto the turquoise water, breakfast through dinner, and one of the best beach lunches in WA.

Tin-shack beach cafe at Gnarabup with the best coffee on the coast and a deck that's three steps from the water. Pure Margaret River — surfboards leaning on the railing, dogs under the tables.

Working dairy and cheese factory with a tasting counter, cafe, and a paddock of grazing cows behind the window. The yoghurt and the marinated feta are the regional staples; the cheeseboard is the easy lunch.

Funky-label, serious-wine cellar door just south of town — Luminosa Chardonnay sits with the best in the region and the cellar door has a relaxed share-plates menu in the courtyard.

Feng-shui designed cellar door at Wilyabrup — geometric architecture, sweeping vineyard views, and a Cabernet program that quietly punches above its weight. The Marchand & Burch Pinot Noir is a left-field surprise.

Off-grid biodynamic winery and farm in the Yallingup hills — kitchen-garden-to-plate restaurant with the produce literally growing outside the window. Hard to find, worth the drive.

Big open warehouse on the main street with 24 taps, pizzas from a wood-fire oven, and an enormous beer-garden courtyard. The relaxed end of Margaret River dining.

Garden-set bistro in Yallingup attached to a sculpture studio — French-leaning menu with serious technique, garden seating among the artworks, and a quietly excellent wine list.

Japanese omakase counter on the main street — chef Miki cooks fish landed that morning in front of you, paired with Margaret River wines from a small but thoughtful list. The town's best dinner ticket.

Bush-set brewery on Bussell Highway 2km north of town — timber tasting room, fire pits in the garden, generous pub food, and craft beer brewed on site. The most relaxed long-lunch in the region.

The northern start of the 123km Cape to Cape Track — 3.4km easy section along the cliff path with whale-watching platforms in season and Bunker Bay's turquoise beach at the end. Two hours, low effort, big view.

The headland section between two of the region's best beaches — 4km of clifftop walking with granite outcrops, ocean views the whole way, and a swim or a coffee at either end.

10km coast section south from Surfers Point — limestone cliffs, beach walking at Boodjidup, and finishing at the dramatic Redgate Beach. Half-day walk, sandy in places, big ocean the whole way.

The far-south section through coastal heath with white-sand beaches, granite formations, and the only stretch of the track most visitors never reach. 7km, half-day, with the rays at Hamelin as the warm-up.

Short coastal walk around the southern cape from the lighthouse, including the calcified waterwheel and the meeting-of-oceans plaque. Easy 2km loop on sealed paths.

A 14km gravel drive winding through one of the tallest karri forests in WA — 60-metre pale-trunked karris that regrew after 1880s logging, picnic areas, and a 6km loop walk through the heart of the forest.

Bushland reservoir 10km east of town — a 7km return walk along the dam wall and through jarrah forest, kangaroos at dusk, and a picnic spot at the water's edge.

10km of riverside walking and cycling track from Old Settlement to Rotary Park along the river — wooden bridges, river pools, and a flat, family-friendly path through the town's back edge.

4km one-way coastal headland walk between two of the region's best swim beaches — wildflowers in spring, granite headlands, and turquoise water the whole way.

Jarrah-marri bushland just east of town with a 6km walking loop along the river — kangaroos, blackboys, and quiet bush only 10 minutes from the main street.

The region's founding cellar door (1967) — a free art gallery downstairs (the Holmes a Court collection rotates), formal tasting upstairs, and the most polished introduction to Margaret River wine for first-timers.

Family-friendly brewery on Caves Road with a lake, ducks, a beer garden, and an enormous kid-zone lawn — the relaxed brewery option between the wineries.

Hilltop brewery between Dunsborough and Eagle Bay with a wood-fired pizza kitchen, lawn seating, and a view down to the bay through the peppermint trees — the picture-perfect WA brewery lunch.

Working brewery on a converted dairy farm in Metricup — open-air bar in a former milking shed, lawn seating with food trucks, and a constantly rotating beer list. The most relaxed beer hang in the region.

Self-guided show cave in Boranup Forest with audio-guided walkways through limestone chambers and the fossilised jaw of a giant marsupial (the zygomaturus) embedded in the wall. The easiest cave for kids.

Crystal-water lake suspended underground, surrounded by formations that reflect into the surface as a mirror. Guided tour only, 62m below the surface, and the most dramatic of the show caves.

Largest show cave in WA, near Augusta — three vast chambers with a 5.9m straw stalactite (one of the longest in the world). Guided tour, 42m underground, the most cathedral-like of the caves.

Yallingup's show cave — the oldest tourist cave in WA (open since 1899), with semi-guided tours through chambers of shawls, helictites, and the famous Oriental Shawl formation.

Working chocolate factory at Metricup with viewing windows into the kitchen, free truffle tastings, and a cafe doing drinking chocolate that lives up to the hype. Family staple.

Saturday-morning farmers' market on the education campus — regional producers, breakfast stalls, coffee carts, and live music. The town's social anchor for the weekend.

One of the oldest breweries in the region — a bush-set tin shed with a lawn, lake, and relaxed Sunday culture established in 1994. Under new ownership since 2024 and back open Wednesday to Sunday; still the most unpretentious beer stop on Caves Road.

Yallingup winery with a vintage sports-car museum, surf gallery, restaurant, and cellar door all on one estate — a half-day visit in itself even if you don't drink the wine.

Whisky and gin distillery in town — Limeburners single-malt is the regional benchmark, gin and brandy round out the line, and the tasting room is right on Bussell Highway.

Lakeside brewery and distillery in Wilyabrup with a pizza restaurant on the deck — beer, gin, and wine all on one site, plus a lawn that wraps around the lake.

Original site of one of WA's biggest craft breweries — pizza kitchen, lawn seating, and an enormous oval-shaped tasting room. The beer is widely distributed but the brewery hangout is worth the visit.

The headland at Prevelly where the Margaret River Pro is held every April — limestone cliffs, world-class lefts breaking off the reef, and a viewing deck right above the action. Even on a flat day the coastline is worth the 10-minute drive from town.

The tallest lighthouse on the Australian mainland, marking the meeting point of the Indian and Southern Oceans at the most south-westerly tip of the continent. Built 1895, still operational, and you can climb the 186 steps with a guide.

1903 stubby white lighthouse on the northern cape — shorter than Leeuwin but the view across Geographe Bay is the better one, especially during humpback migration. Guided tours every half hour.

White-sand beach 40 minutes south where wild stingrays cruise the shallows at the old jetty ruins and let you wade right up to them. The rays are the draw but the bay itself is also one of the prettiest swims on the coast.

Yallingup's signature sea-sculpted granite chain where the Indian Ocean funnels through narrow channels between the rocks — a boardwalk and footbridge let you walk out among the swells. Pure drama on a big-sea day.

An enormous granite monolith just offshore north of Yallingup — a red-tailed tropicbird breeding ground and the best sunset photo in the region. Five-minute walk from the car park.

Bussell Highway through town — the strip of cafes, surf shops, bookstores, and the visitor centre. Small enough to walk end to end in 20 minutes but you'll get pulled into half the shopfronts on the way.

Sheltered turquoise bay between Dunsborough and Cape Naturaliste — calm enough for kids, clear enough for snorkelling, and rimmed with the kind of holiday houses that make you want to stay forever.

The river meets the ocean at Prevelly — a sandbar that opens and closes seasonally, calm river-side lagoon on one bank and Indian Ocean swells on the other. Locals' summer swim spot.

Wide crescent of white sand south of Yallingup with reliable surf, easy parking, and a beachfront cafe at the holiday resort. The starting (or ending) point for the best section of the Cape to Cape Track.