Monkey Mia, Coral Coast, Western Australia © Tourism Australia
Guide to Monkey Mia
From friendly dolphins to vivid desert-meets-ocean vistas, Monkey Mia and World Heritage-listed Shark Bay offer adventures like nowhere else on earth.
At Monkey Mia (850km/530mi north of Perth), wild dolphins have been dropping by for generations, garnering international fame. But Monkey Mia and the wider Shark Bay region have more than friendly mammals to offer. World Heritage-listed for its natural assets, this is a wild, arid landscape of massive skies and stiff ocean breezes. Striking ochre sand dunes dive into turquoise waters; where emus splash in the shallows and dugongs raise babies in swaying seagrass. The world’s oldest living culture thrives, as do stromatolites, some of the world’s oldest living lifeforms. There’s European history here too, being the site of Australia’s first European landing in 1616, and even today, modern explorers will find much to discover about Monkey Mia and Shark Bay.
Monkey Mia is located 847km (526mi) north of Perth.
- The closest airport to Money Mia is Shark Bay Airport (MJK)
- Shark Bay Airport (MJK) is 18km (11mi) from Money Mia. The drive will take you 13 minutes.
- The drive from Perth takes just under 9 hours.
- As there are no public transport options in Monkey Mia, if you are not a part of a tour, you will need to hire a car to adventure along the turquoise coastline.
There are no public transfers from Shark Bay Airport (MJK) to Monkey Mia, so you will need to hire a car for the easiest travel option.
The best time to visit Monkey Mia is early Summer (December to February) as the skies are clear and the water is glistening blue. In the middle of summer, the temperature can grow upwards of 40°C (104°F), so between November to mid December is the perfect time to enjoy the cooler climate while also soaking up the sunshine.
- High season: Summer (December to February)
- Low season: Winter (June to August)
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