Perth on a Budget: Prices and Free Days
Perth on a budget: what actually costs money here
Perth is the rare Australian capital where the single best thing to do, Kings Park, costs nothing and never closes. Between that, free CAT buses, a Free Transit Zone covering the whole CBD, and two beaches (Cottesloe, Scarborough) with no entry fee, a visitor can spend a full day here without a transaction. The two sights that do charge, WA Museum Boola Bardip and the Bell Tower, run $15 and about $18 respectively (roughly US$10.50 and US$13). This is the city-proper overview; Rottnest Island, Fremantle and the Swan Valley are a separate trip covered in Perth day trips .
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Kings Park & Botanic Garden | Free | 400ha, open 24/7 |
| Free CAT buses + CBD Free Transit Zone | Free | No card needed on the CAT |
| Cottesloe / Scarborough beaches | Free | No lifeguard fee, patrolled seasonally |
| Transperth Go Anywhere Fare | $3.50 cash / $2.80 Autoload SmartRider | Flat fare since 1 Jan 2026, 3-hr transfers |
| WA Museum Boola Bardip | $15 adult / $10 concession | Free under-15s; NOT free in 2026 |
| The Bell Tower | about $18 adult (concessions/family cheaper) | 10am-4pm daily, last entry 3:45pm |
| SmartRider card | $10 standard / $5 concession + minimum load | Buy in person only, not sold online |
Is Perth an expensive city to visit?
Only if you skip the free half of it. Kings Park, the beaches, and the entire CBD transit network cost nothing, which covers a genuine full day of sightseeing. The paid layer is thin and cheap by comparison: $15 gets you into the WA Museum, about $18 gets you up the Bell Tower, and a $2.80 Transperth fare gets you almost anywhere else you’d want to go.
What’s free in Perth, and what’s worth the $15
Kings Park is the anchor: 400 hectares on Mount Eliza, bigger than New York’s Central Park, with a treetop walkway and 3,000-plus native plant species in its Botanic Garden section, free and open around the clock. Elizabeth Quay’s foreshore, the Swan River walking paths, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia (closed Tuesdays) round out the free list. Of the two paid sights, WA Museum Boola Bardip is the better value for most visitors: five heritage buildings, including the 1855 Perth Gaol, reopened in 2020 after a $400M redevelopment. Note that its widely repeated “free entry” reputation is outdated; a promotion ran December 2024 to March 2025 and has since ended, so $15 adult ($10 concession, free under-15) is the real 2026 price. The Bell Tower, by contrast, is a shorter visit, 18 bells including 12 genuinely historic ones from London, for about $18 adult with last entry at 3:45pm daily.
Getting around without spending much
The Go Anywhere Fare, introduced 1 January 2026, replaced Perth’s old zone system with one flat price: $3.50 cash or contactless, $2.80 with an Autoload SmartRider, covering any trip up to three hours anywhere on the network. Inside the CBD you often won’t pay at all: the Free Transit Zone covers trains between City West and Claisebrook and any bus trip within the City of Perth boundary. A SmartRider only pays for itself once you’re heading out to the beaches or the airport regularly; it costs $10 (standard) or $5 (concession) plus a minimum credit load, and it’s sold in person only, not online.
Check Perth CBD or Northbridge hotel rates on Booking.com before booking, since staying inside the Free Transit Zone saves more on a short trip than most people expect. If a guided orientation is worth the money for a first visit, browse Perth city tours on GetYourGuide rather than a paid hop-on bus; a lot of what it covers is walkable and free anyway. For the full day-by-day breakdown, see the Perth budget guide and the 2-day through 5-day itineraries.