📍Perth, Australia

Start soft — this is arrival day, and little legs (and jet-lagged parents) need ease, not ambition. The inlet's flat, pram-wide promenade curls beside the Swan River, eucalyptus-scented breeze drifting off the water while the city skyline glints behind you. Arrive by 9am, before the lunch crowds swell the waterfront cafés, and let kids chase pigeons along the water's edge or watch the ferries glide past.

A five-minute stroll delivers you to Boola Bardip, where soaring ceilings give way to a dinosaur hall that reliably produces delighted gasps from under-10s. Keep the visit tight and kid-paced — the interactive zones and hands-on discovery areas are built exactly for small hands and short attention spans, and there are plenty of spots to pause with a stroller.

Arrive by 8am and the hilltop gardens are hushed and cool, native birds calling across flowering slopes before the heat and crowds arrive. Kids can hunt for wildflowers along the easy, flat trails while the State War Memorial terrace offers a sweeping — and stroller-accessible — view over Perth Water for parents to catch their breath.

A short drive across the river brings you to dappled, tree-shaded paths where kangaroos doze in paddocks and quokkas peek from native shrubbery. Arrive by 10am to beat the mid-morning school-holiday rush, and pace the visit around your child's energy — the zoo's paved, shaded loops are built for exactly this kind of unhurried family wandering, with rest benches every 200 metres.

Arrive by 8am while the sand is still cool and the water calm — Cottesloe's turquoise arc is sheltered enough for confident little waders, with Norfolk pines throwing shade along the promenade for sunscreen top-ups and snack breaks. This is the kind of morning built for young families: no agenda beyond sandcastles, tide pools, and the occasional ice cream run to the Indiana Tea House.

After the nap window, a shorter, cooler late-afternoon visit to Scarborough rounds out the beach theme with a change of scenery — golden sand, calmer waters, and beachfront restaurant terraces humming gently as the sun drops. Kids often have a second wind for sandcastle building here while the light softens toward dusk.

The ferry ride itself is half the adventure — 25 minutes of salt spray and excited pointing at the island silhouette rising ahead. Arrive at Thompson Bay Settlement by mid-morning, where quokkas famously wander close enough for photos (never feed or touch them), and settle into an unhurried loop between shaded settlement areas and calm swimming coves. Pace this generously for young families: pause often in the shade, keep close to Thompson Bay's flatter paths rather than the more rugged Parker Point trails, and treat this as the day's single big outing rather than trying to see the whole island.