Broome town tour with beach sunset

What the tour is

This is a six-hour afternoon tour by air-conditioned coach with a local guide and commentary. It runs on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from April to October, and a minimum number of passengers applies, so a departure can be cancelled if too few book. Pick-up from your accommodation is available and confirmed after booking, ahead of the tour start. Light refreshments and nibbles are included, and the evening ends with the sunset and a drop-off at about 6:30 pm. Guests describe the guides as friendly and knowledgeable, and the tour as a broad introduction to Broome's history and coast.

Chinatown and the pearling story

Broome's town centre grew around the jetties where pearling crews landed from the 1880s, and it is still called Chinatown. By 1910 the town was one of the world's leading pearl producers, with most of its roughly 5,000 people working in the industry. The early years involved slavery and indentured labour, and Indigenous people, especially women and girls, were forced to dive. The tour passes the old pearling masters' homes and tells that history.

Sun Pictures and the Japanese Cemetery

Sun Pictures is the world's oldest picture gardens still in operation, a 1903 building in Chinatown that shows more than one film a night. It lies under a flight path, so a passing plane can drown out a scene. The Japanese Cemetery is the resting place of 919 Japanese divers who died working in the pearl industry. The tour visits both.

A beer tasting and Town Beach

At Town Beach the guide tells the story of Broome's One Day War, then the coach stops at Spinifex Brewery for a beer tasting hosted by one of the brewery's staff. The tour operator asks you to mention any dietary requirements when you book, and food is not included for infants. If you do not drink alcohol, tell the guide and ask what else is on offer.

Gantheaume Point and the sunset

The tour reaches Gantheaume Point, known for dinosaur footprints about 130 million years old that show only at very low tide. Then the coach goes down to Gantheaume Beach for the sunset, with refreshments and nibbles as the sun sinks into the Indian Ocean. The point is a headland at the southern end of Cable Beach, so the view faces the same open water as the catamaran cruise, from the land rather than the sea. The tour then makes a brief visit to Cable Beach, and you are dropped at your accommodation at about 6:30 pm or you can stay on at Cable Beach and make your own way back.

Booking, pick-up and cancelling

You can check availability for a date on the booking page, reserve now and pay later, and cancel free up to 24 hours before for a full refund. The ticket is a mobile ticket, available straight after booking. The tour is run in English. Pick-up from your accommodation is earlier than the tour start, and the time is confirmed after you book. Because minimum numbers apply, there is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if too few passengers join.

Who it suits, and who it doesn't

This is for visitors who want Broome's history, a tasting and a beach sunset in one afternoon, and who are happy on a coach. It is not for anyone who wants to be on the water: there is no boat, no swim and no tender. It runs three days a week, so a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday trip needs the catamaran cruise instead. Guests describe the coach seating as snug, and larger passengers may find it cramped.

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