13 July 2023
7 mins Read
This seaside country town might be small, but it has a mighty history and even mightier modern-day experiences. To really understand how it came to be – from its multi-cultural food scene to its wild pearling history – these Broome tours are a must.
Be sure to contact tour providers before you go, as tours can be very dependent on the weather and the seasons, thanks to rapidly changing tides.
First things first, get situated and familiar with Broome on a Panoramic Town Bus Tour with Broome and Around Tours. Do this right at the start of your trip to get all the local knowledge on where to eat, where to find local art, secret swimming spots and a good overview of the fascinating and brutal history of Broome.
Get a Broome overview on a Panoramic Town Bus Tour. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
Your second stop should be Mabu Buru Broome Aboriginal Tours for the Cable Beach Cultural Talk with local Yawuru, Karrajarri, Nyul Nyul, Bardi man, Johani. Meet on the famous Cable Beach where he will walk you through some local Indigenous history and customs, a song performance, and he’ll even help you find the hidden-in-plain-sight dinosaur footprints left in the rocks. More than a tour, however, this is a conversation during which Johani creates a safe space for asking, learning and sharing.
Share local knowledge, culture and insights with Johani. (Image: Jarrod Saw)
Have you even been to Broome if you didn’t ride a camel? It may be an iconic tourist activity, but it’s also a whole lot of fun. There are multiple tour providers who will line up along the beach in the mornings and at sunset, but our pick is Red Sun Camels for their friendly staff, relaxing atmosphere and camels that are far less smelly than some others (trust me on this one).
Tick off a Broome bucketlist experience with Red Sun Camels. (Image: Kassia Byrnes)
While there are a million gorgeous views to stop at on tours around Broome, beverage aficionados will be pleased to know Moontide Distillery is leading the way in craft liquor, even boasting a few awards for their unique gin flavours – like The Pearler’s Gin, crafted with actual oyster mantle. Take a tour to see the behind-the-scenes action, or just have a tasting with nibbles.
See how the gin is made, then test it out in the tasting room. (Image: Kassia Byrnes)
Speaking of craft brews, Matso’s Mango Beer is a staple on the taps of pubs around Western Australia, and it all started in Broome. A brewery and a restaurant, you can book in for a tour and then sit down to an award-winning lunch.
Treat yourself to a Mango beer at the end of your tour.
To brag about catching your own dinner, you can join a Mud Crabbing Adventure with Broome Tours. Follow your guide through the mangroves of Roebuck Bay on a hunt for the prized Kimberley Mud Crab, then cook up your catch for the freshest of seafood lunches. Be prepared to get dirty as you leave the catamaran and wade in shallow water, and also be aware that this tour is weather dependent.
Catch your own fresh seafood lunch with Broome Tours.
Join Broome Tours for the mud crabbing, but stay for a Sunset Cruise along Cable Beach to catch the shoreline from a different perspective. Broome subsets have not been overhyped, and an unforgettable way to experience it is with a beverage in hand, being served snacks, while sitting on the back of a 42-foot catamaran.
The crew know many Broome tours require concentration, so they’re here to bring the chill vibes and relaxed fun – you can even go swimming in a boom net off the back of the boat (April to early October).
Jump onboard a 42 foot catamaran and sail into the sunset. (Image: Kassia Byrnes)
Thanks to the unique immigration history in Broome, it’s an unexpected foodie haven. Locals are more than happy to offer up their favourites, but a Small Bar Walking Tour of Broome’s historic Chinatown with Salty Plum Social is the perfect way to hit all the best spots in one afternoon.
Eat, drink, walk and talk your way through the town, discovering the truly unique background of the area, stopping along the way for drinks and canapes.
Eat, drink, walk and talk your way through Chinatown. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
Described by David Attenborough as “one of the greatest natural wonders in the world”, the Horizontal Falls near Broome are caused by the rise and fall of the tides, as water rushes to get through two narrow gaps into the seas beyond.
Join Horizontal Falls Adventures to see this phenomenon from all angles – from your seaplane flight into Talbot Bay, to a jet boat ride through the falls themselves and even a swim with the Tawny Sharks that call this area home.
There’s a huge range of tour options, from day tours to the brand new luxury overnight epic during which you stay aboard The Jetwave Pearl and get to see this incredible part of The Kimberleys at all times of day.
Zoom through “one of the greatest natural wonders in the world”. (Image: Kassia Byrnes)
If you don’t have time to visit Willie Creek Pearl Farm 38 kilometres north of Broome, you can still get an insight into the wild history of pearling in Broome on their Pearl Luggers Tour, located in Chinatown. Hold a pearl, taste pearl meat, hold original diving gear and even see a fully rigged and restored pearl lugger, originally built in 1903.
See a fully rigged and restored pearl lugger.
Before there were people in Broome, there were dinosaurs, and you can’t leave without discovering the evidence they left behind. Journey across Roebuck Bay with Broome Dinosaur Adventures’ Dinosaur Adventure Tour. Explore secluded bays, creek inlets and beaches to find 120 million-year-old dinosaur tracks, with cocktails, of course.
You’ll need a moderate level of fitness for the walking portions of this tour and be sure to pack your reef shoes. Tour dates depend on the tides.
Jump on a Dinosaur Adventure Tour at low tide to find evidence of dinosaurs. (Image: Kassia Byrnes)
See far beyond Broome with Greg Quicke’s Astro Tours, which focus on what’s said to be some of the best stargazing skies on the planet. Using massive telescopes and lasers, guests will see planets, galaxies and moons visible from both the southern and northern hemispheres due to Broome’s proximity to the equator.
For two to three days a month between March and October, you may even get to see the phenomenal ‘Stairway To The Moon’, caused by a full moon’s reflection rising over the mudflats of Roebuck Bay.
Gaze at the night sky under the guidance of Greg Quicke. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
Bikes and buses are nothing new; but a trike or better yet, being chauffeured in a limo trike is certainly unique. This is one of the options with Broome Trike Tours, which takes guests around the local area. Other tour options include meeting crocodiles at the Croc Feeding Tour at Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park and taste-testing bush tucker.
This is The Kimberleys for the time poor: Broome Aviation’s Gorgeous Gorges Tour is a full-day adventure – starting and ending in Broome – that encompasses the region’s must-dos, with scenic flights over gorges, waterfalls, red ranges and remote islands that make up the Buccaneer Archipelago.
But what makes this experience so special is the opportunity to travel on land too. Among the many stops is Windjana Gorge, home to the revered Johnstone River Crocodile and an ancient reef system that’s significant to geologists. Passengers can cool off with a swim at Bell Gorge waterfall.
Stop for a swim at Bell Gorge waterfall. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
LEAVE YOUR COMMENT