Rottnest Express

Booked the Rottnest Ferry from Perth City, and included the Discover Rottnest 90-​minute coach tour, both came to $ 146 per person. They offer complimentary hotel pickup and drop off, and that made it more convenient. The express takes about 25 minutes from Fremantle, making it about an hour from Perth City. The benefit of taking the ferry from Perth CIty, is that it includes a Swan River cruise and commentary tour as you make your way to Fremantle.
Damian was the narrator of our entire day. He had a very lively voice, and was so informative during the river cruise. It was hands down better than the Captain Cooks Swan River cruise we spent time and money on the day before. If only we had known that the Rottnest Express included the commentary along the Swan River.
Because we went through them for the on island coach tour, Damian was again our guide. This was a 90 minute coach tour that went around the entire island and stopped at various points for us to take pictures and have a look around. He was good on the ferry over and great once on the island. He was so informative with the history, patient for us to take pictures, and good at pointing out everything. He had a sense of humor, which is always a plus for tour guides and gave a very good commentary throughout our entire Rottnest experience.

If you manage to get a deal with Rottnest express they are awesome. If you pay normal prices they are insanely expensive!
We’ve taken advantage of the $ 29 Sundowner deal a couple of times now and it’s pretty great. You head across from Fremantle at about 3pm on Friday arvo and have about 3.5hrs to spend doing what ever you want on Rotto, before catching the ferry back.
It’s seriously an awesome deal — for tourists, for locals, for families, for hen’s parties, anything at all. A good way to get a taste of rottnest without the ridiculous price tag.
Bring a cardigan as the ferry can get really really cold. It also smells pretty weird.
They have a bar on board with drinks and nibbles — The first time we went they didn’t have a few of the drinks listed, and the staff were a bit rude when we tried to order them (how are we meant to know they’re out of stock?!).

I’m not normally a fan of boat travel but I found the Rottnest Express very pleasant to travel on. The seats are quite comfortable and the boat has a decent snack/​drinks bar. Both our trips left pretty close to on time and were very quick.
The standard tickets are quite expensive, although a substantial portion of this is island entry fees not set by Rottnest Express. If cost is an issue, look out for deals they sometimes run for travel on certain dates or time of day. If you have a local friend who subscribes to the Entertainment Book, see if there’s a discount coupon in there they don’t need.

Nice and efficient service — relatively on time (⁵⁄₁₀ minutes late) with baggage delivered right to your room in rottnest island.

Quick Service, Clean and spacious ferry, Offer Bike Rentals, VERY expensive!!!
The ferry service was super expensive but major part of the fee goes to govt. for island preservation as per understanding. The Fremantle station at Shed E was easy to find and the queue moved faster. The ferry offers food option but I would suggest get it from the E shed market because they have larger variety. The boat was pretty clean and there were plenty of seats in all configuration to pick and choose from. The total ride was of 30 mins and we got out bikes by showing the tickets once we got off from the ferry.
Make sure to book the bikes in advance. Take an earlier ferry to spend most time on the Island if you are not planning to stay there because the last ferry is at 5 pm for Fremantle.

This ferry service is extremely expensive but it is really the only way to get to Rottnest Island. The terminal in Fremantle was clean and easy to find. There was a long line, but it moved fast. Once tickets were confirmed with the staff, patrons are able to just walk out back and get on the boat. The boat has a large number of seats in all different configurations. There are forwards, backwards, upstairs, downstairs, long rows, and short rows. The ride itself is about 40 minutes and it was very smooth sailing. There were refreshments for sale on the trip but not many people partook in this added benefit of sailing with this company. Overall, I was good with the service and boat ride. The price was steep, but you get a good trip out of it. I would recommend taking this company to Rotto mainly because it is the only way to get there from Fremantle.

The ferry service to Rottnest is a rip off, everyone in Perth complains about it. And I’d have to agree $ 100 for 20mins each way. I had a entertainment book voucher which cannot be used on public holidays and even though my return wasn’t on a holiday there was no discount given.
The service was pretty shitty, the girl at the counter we checked in at didn’t give us our luggage tags or bike tags until we went back and asked.
I was travelling with another female friend and during the ride over we were hassled by a male employee who was being extremely unprofessional. If the trip wasn’t so short I would have asked him to leave us alone. He sat with us the entire trip and only left when another passenger asked for a sick bag (his only job) and then returned.
We have our return trip tomorrow but I’m not expecting much of a better experience.

If you’re from outside australie be prepared that all touristical facts /​info given during the boat trip are very hard to understand. Not only because of the local dialect also because the sound system is rotten. When making a remark the reply was clear: «i know after 7 years, the sound improvement will take place in due course …»
So the lady basically spoke to herself…

The Rottnest Ferry is a locally owned business that runs ferry services to and from Rottnest Island all year round. They have a terminal in Perth, Fremantle and Northport. You can book a ferry trip online through their website or alternatively at the terminal. They offer some great packages including a cheap Tuesday ferry ticket. You can hire a bicycle and they will have it ready for you as soon as you disembark, this is very handy and no lines!
I think the business has won a few tourism awards and I can understand why as they offer a fantastic service and the staff have plenty of energy and always happy. The ferries are modern, comfortable and clean with different styles of seating and television. There is a refreshment bar and toilets.
The trip to Rottnest from Fremantle is super quick, under 30 minutes and generally a smooth trip.

Total rip off but unfortunatley the only way to get to Rottnest Island unless you own a boat, which may be cheaper.
$ 200 for two people return there has got to be some sort of mark up law against this kind of thing.
INCREDIBLE, please someone give them some competition!!!

Rottnest Express seem to hold a complete monopoly over transport to Rottnest Island. Fares range considerably depending on the time of the year but can often work out to be very expensive at peak periods. Luckily, they do deals for midweek trips and winter crossings. If you can always try to buy your tickets online.
If you are just going for the day with a few friends then I am sure you can justify the price of a ticket but if you are looking to take your whole family with you then I imagine it may be a little bit more difficult.

With a group of friends we decided to go to Rottnest for the day as a little get away and thankfully due to good organisational skills we bought our Rottnest Express tickets online at a cheaper price and without having to wait in a queue for ages.
Unfortunately the day we decided to go, the sea was beyond rough so the chance of sitting on the deck, soaking up the sun and getting all that fresh air was not even an option — a little disappointing as I was really looking forward to it. Either way the ride was bumpy but our seats were comfortable and we got to watch some TV with information about Rottnest and things to do.
The journey was a little longer then I had anticipated but I think that’s because I was feeling under the weather, but finally we made it to destination and the staff were friendly and wished us well and I will be sure to use Rottnest Express again, but next time I will be outdoors!

For anyone heading to Rotto– you want to trip from Freo (otherwise it’s about an $ 80 round trip from Perth which hurts a little more than it should.)
The express ironically enough isn’t the fastest way to traverse the sea to make Rottnest (but it is a little tamer than the jet boat!) Best of all, beverages are served onboard, so if you get in quick and score a prime position outside to soak up the sun and sea breeze while your mates take care of your hydration needs you are living the dream.
This is a very pleasant ferry indeed, if i wasn’t so excited about being in Rottnest I almost would have been disappointed that it came to an end!

Unless you are an avid swimmer, the best way of reaching Rotto from the mainland is through the Rottnest Express.
The Rottnest Express is a roomy ferry. There are two options — the seats inside, or you can stand outside and brave the spray and wind. For those prone to motion sickness, standing outside can be helpful as it is less stomach-​churning than taking a seat.
The Rottnest Express is a no-​nonsense service and does exactly what its name suggests — to bourne passengers to Rotto.

Rottnest Express runs ferry services between Fremantle and Rottnest Island, with services also departing from Perth and North Fremantle.
I recently went on a weekend camping trip to Rottnest Island, and Rottnest Express were the ones who conveyed me thither. The journey from Freo was everything you’d expect a ferry ride to be — we got on the boat, it took us there in a timely fashion, and, despite making my boyfriend feel a little sick and turn slightly green (he is a self-​confessed land-​lubber), it was entirely satisfactory.
The journey back, however, was an entirely different story. We booked a service with the intriguing name ‘Mega Blast’, without knowing exactly what this entailed. I assumed it just meant it was faster. And yes, it was faster. It was also somewhat like a rollercoaster ride. The skipper and his assistant acted like comperes at a comedy show, showing us onto the little power boat and making jokes through microphones. We chose seats at the front of the boat, the ‘rollercoaster section’, as opposed to the back, the ‘getting wet section’. The skipper urged us to wear spray jackets, which we did, mainly for comedy reasons — we looked like fishermen. And then off we went. It was exhilarating, to say the least. The front of the boat bumped up and down on massive swells which had me almost flying out of my seat, and had everyone on the boat screaming (with excitement, I hasten to add). The skipper steered us in zigzags, looping through the waves, making the ride as wild as possible. The journey went in a flash, and as we slowed down and slid serenely into Fremantle Harbour, the skipper gave us a mini guided tour as we waited for another ferry to leave our berth. All in all, this journey was FUN — I’d say at least a million times more fun than the regular ferry ride. What’s more, my boyfriend didn’t feel sick on this one at all. If going really fast and being thrown around and sprayed with water sounds like your idea of fun, then I highly recommend choosing Mega Blast.