Pinnacles Desert & New Norcia Day Tour from Perth

Limestone spires rising metres out of the sand, and a monastery town that feels like Spain transplanted to Western Australia.

This day tour from Perth visits two of Western Australia's most distinctive sites: the Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park, where thousands of limestone formations rise from flat, barren ground, and New Norcia, Australia's only Benedictine monastery town, with its Spanish colonial architecture, museum and art gallery. The tour includes hotel pickup and drop-off, a local guide through New Norcia, a guided walk or lookout view of the Pinnacles, park entry, lunch, and live commentary in an air-conditioned vehicle. The full day runs 11.5 hours from pickup to return.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore New Norcia and Pinnacles Desert

• Guided New Norcia town tour
• Visit New Norcia museum and art gallery
• See Pinnacles Desert from lookout
• Take guided walk through Pinnacles spires
• Visit Pinnacle Desert Discovery Centre

The Experience

What makes this tour work is the pairing: you spend the morning in New Norcia learning the town's history from a local guide, walking past the museum, art gallery and the abbey itself—a place that looks and feels nothing like the rest of Australia. The architecture is Spanish, the stories are about Aboriginal mission work and farming heritage, and the artifacts inside the museum date back to when the town was a hub for education and culture. Then the landscape shifts completely. The Pinnacles Desert is a flat, barren plain punctuated by thousands of limestone spires, some reaching several metres tall. You see them from a lookout or take a guided walk through the formations themselves, depending on time and preference. The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre is there if you want to dig deeper into how these formations came to be.

The day is structured around inclusions that keep the logistics simple: hotel pickup in Perth, the drive out, park entry, a local guide in New Norcia, lunch (fish and chips), the Pinnacles stop, and the return drive with live commentary on board. The vehicle is air-conditioned. At 11.5 hours total, the tour leaves the rest of your day free only if you're staying near Perth and don't have evening plans, but it's the kind of full-day commitment that fits when you want to see both sites without renting a car or piecing together public transport between them.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Perth.
• a local guide through New Norcia town with access to the museum and art gallery.
• fish and chips lunch.
• entry to Nambung National Park.
• a guided walk or lookout view of the Pinnacles Desert.
• air-conditioned vehicle.
• and live commentary from the driver throughout the day.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Australian Pinnacle Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you're staying in Perth and want to visit both Nambung's pinnacles and New Norcia's abbey in one day without driving or switching between transport—the guide handles navigation between the two sites.

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Top questions

What exactly are the Pinnacles and why do they look so strange?

The Pinnacles are thousands of limestone formations rising out of the sand in Nambung National Park, some reaching several metres tall. They're described as mystical and eerie because they jut up from an otherwise flat, barren plain, creating one of Australia's most unique landscapes. You'll see them from a lookout or walk among them, and the Discovery Centre explains how they formed.

Is New Norcia really the only Benedictine monastery town in Australia?

Yes, New Norcia is Australia's only Benedictine Abbey town. It was founded as an Aboriginal mission and grew into a hub for farming, education and culture. The town has Spanish colonial architecture, a museum with artifacts from its mission days, and an art gallery, all of which you'll see on the guided town tour with a local guide.

What's included in the lunch, and can I request something different if I have dietary needs?

Lunch is fish and chips served in New Norcia and is included in the tour price. You should advise any specific dietary requirements at the time of booking so the operator can accommodate you.

Can I walk through the Pinnacles, or do I just see them from a distance?

You can do both. The tour includes either a guided walk through the Pinnacles spires or a view from the lookout over the park, depending on time and preference. If time permits, you can also visit the Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre to learn more about the formations.

Do I need to be very fit to do this tour?

The operator asks that travelers have at least a moderate level of physical fitness. The tour involves walking through the Pinnacles and exploring the New Norcia town on foot, so some walking is part of the day.