By Louise Sandow

Cruising Western Australia’s Kimberley coast is one of the most enjoyable holidays you’ll ever take – a bucket list item for many people in Australia and worldwide (and if it’s not on your bucket list yet, add it on there). Read our insider tips to ake this magical holiday even more enjoyable.

Here’s how to get ready for your Kimberley Cruise to get the best out of it.

Request a cabin facing the land

One of the great things about Kimberley cruises is that there are no ‘inside’ cabins (that is, cabins in the centre of the boat that don’t have any windows) – all cabins are along the sides of the boat – so at the very least you’ll get a porthole so you can see outside.

Since you’re there to see the spectacular Kimberley coast, you might as well enjoy the views when you wake up in the morning, so make sure to request a cabin facing the land. If you’re travelling, say, Broome to Wyndham (headed North up the coast), that would be a cabin on the right-hand side of the boat (starboard), and vice versa if you are travelling from the top of the North West (Wyndham, Darwin or Kununurra) down towards Broome – in which case you’d want a port-side room (i.e. a room on the left side of the boat).

If you don’t know or have trouble remembering your starboard from your port side, don’t worry – just ask for a land-facing cabin and the booking staff will know what side to assign.

If you have a special interest, let them know beforehand

If you’re into photography, birdwatching, Aboriginal art or something else, say so at the time of booking or on your cruise form. The smaller boats are usually able to work around their passengers’ interests and will make sure you’re at the best spot for a King George Falls panorama, you go a bit further into the bush to spot a rare bird, or they’ll point out a piece of rock art that you would have otherwise missed.
If you’re trying to save money, choose the cheapest cabin on the best cruise

Being an expedition cruise, you spend most of the day off the boat and exploring the region. Even when you’re on the boat, the best experience is on the upper decks, enjoying the scenery with a cold drink in hand. Invest in the boat and itinerary that you want, rather than the cabin.

Bring a good camera (and figure out how to use it beforehand)

We guarantee that you’ll come home and tell friends, “photos just don’t do it justice!” but you might as well try. There’s no internet access, so make sure you know how to use the camera in advance as you can’t quickly look up an answer! And bring a backup memory card and then another backup memory card just in case. If you can, also bring a Go Pro so that you can film the time the boat cruises under the waterfall, or the climb you took to get the most incredible views.

Fly in a day early

While some cruises don’t leave until the evening, don’t be tempted to fly in the day of departure. It’s not unusual for flights to the North West get delayed due to bad weather, and unlike regular cruises, there are no major ports between the beginning and end of your cruise to join fellow passengers. Arrive a day early and get settled into Kimberley time instead.

Image: Image source: Broome Kimberley & Beyond

About the Author

Louise Sandow works with Broome Kimberley & Beyond, offering tours and cruise bookings in The Kimberley region from a wide range of operators. The staff at Broome Kimberley & Beyond have been living in and travelling around the Broome and Kimberley region for over 20 years, so they can be trusted to provide expert local and independent advice to help you find the right tours and cruises for your desired dates and budget.

If you would like to submit a guest post on food, wine or travel to Where and What in the World, I would be happy to feature your travel experience , drink, special wine tasting, or family or simply delicious recipe. If you go to submission tab, you will see how to submit, as well as have the opportunity of telling me if you would like to would like to be a regular contributor. When uploading a file for submission, you are also able to upload jpegs. Please feel free to put a last paragraph about you and a link to your profile. No html please. You can also include a head shot.