Every car hire desk at the airport on one page, live wind and swell for the Cape to Cape coast, and the wineries, breweries, beaches and kids’ days out that are actually worth the drive.
Live wind, swell and the breaks worth driving to, refreshed every time you open the page.
Live wind and swell load here and rank the 24 breaks below for today.
The airport is small and car hire runs on pre-booked arrangements, with key drop facilities at the terminal. Book before you land and confirm collection details with the operator; walk-up availability is not guaranteed.
Independent guide, not affiliated with the City of Busselton or the airport. Links to hire companies may be affiliate links; if you book through one we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Prices and availability are the hire company's, not ours.
The Cape to Cape coast faces west and south-west, so easterly winds blow offshore and groom the swell, while the afternoon sea breeze from the south-west blows it out. Each break below is scored against the forecast wind and swell for the day you pick.
Scores are a rule of thumb from published break guides, applied to a forecast model. They do not know about tide, bank shape or crowds. Several of these breaks are heavy reef waves over shallow rock; the beginner options are marked.
Cellar doors, breweries, pubs, cafes, beaches, playgrounds, caves and the surf breaks above, from OpenStreetMap. Tap a pin for the website.
Margaret River has well over a hundred cellar doors, most within 20 minutes of each other along Caves Road. These are the ones that give a first-time visitor the clearest picture of the region: the founding estates, a couple of hilltop views, and the places where kids and dogs are welcome on the lawn. Opening hours and bookings are on each venue's site.
Margaret River's founding estate (1967) with an art gallery drawn from the Janet Holmes à Court collection, a wine lounge that spills onto the estate lawn, and an underground vault holding every vintage of its Cabernet. The restaurant has been running since 1989 and serves lunch daily.
Family-owned since 1971 and certified biodynamic, dry-farmed and run on renewable energy; wines are unfined and unfiltered. A quieter, philosophy-driven stop with a wine room and tasting experiences rather than a big-crowd venue.
Hilltop estate with wide vineyard views, a deck and sprawling lawns for a glass and snacks, plus a restaurant under chef Jed Gerrard (Thu-Mon lunch). Tastings come with matched small snacks or a ploughman's platter.
A whole-day estate: terrace restaurant and pizza bar over a lake and vines, a lakeside Taphouse on the lawn, picnic tables, on-site cabins, and a summer festival with live music and kids' activities. Cellar door open 11-5 daily, tastings free with lunch.
The easy family option: an open lawn, giant swings, an adventure playground, kids' menu, fire pits and wood-fired pizza-style kitchen, with dogs explicitly welcome alongside you. Open every day 11-5 (kitchen to 4).
The region's ocean-view winery, 10 minutes from Dunsborough: the restaurant looks across vines and bushland to Geographe Bay, and the walk-in cellar door pours both wine and the estate's own gin. Breakfast and long lunches, no booking needed for tastings.
Closest decent cellar door to Busselton Airport: a Hamptons-style beach-house tasting room with an open fire, deck and lawns, where you build your own platter from a produce counter. The gardens are described as pet- and family-friendly.
Burch-family winery whose feng-shui-designed cellar door looks across the Wilyabrup valley; the site also has a wine chapel with chandeliers made from old vines. Families are welcome in the garden and staff lend picnic blankets and lawn games.
Family-owned icon known for its Art Series Chardonnay, an on-site gallery of the Australian artworks used on the labels, and the big open-air concerts held on the lawn. Cellar door 10-5 daily with hosted museum-release tastings; restaurant open for lunch.
Cape Dutch architecture and formal rose gardens frame a restaurant named WA Regional Restaurant of the Year 2025 in the Good Food Guide; lunch is a 2.5-hour affair with a three-course children's menu. Dogs are allowed outside on the lawn but not indoors.
One of the pioneer family wineries (planted 1977 by Bill Ullinger), still family-run and billing itself as the friendliest cellar door; no restaurant, but you are invited to bring a picnic and use the panoramic views eight minutes from town near Redgate Beach.
Southernmost pick: the cellar door and restaurant sit high above the Five Ashes vineyard with sweeping views over rolling hills and karri forest, a good lunch stop en route to Hamelin Bay's stingrays or Cape Leeuwin. Cellar door 7 days; kitchen Thu-Sun lunch, small bites daily 11-4.
The region's breweries mostly sit on farmland between Busselton and Margaret River, with big lawns, pizza ovens and playgrounds. Most ask you to book on weekends and in school holidays. Three breweries that still show up in older guides have closed and are not listed here.
The first stop out of the airport: a large brewpub and kitchen right beside Busselton Jetty on the foreshore, open 7 days 10am-10pm and from 7am for coffee and bagels.
Taphouse for the Jindong farm brewery (brewing since 2016), a short walk from the jetty, with a big back beer garden shaded by a 100-year-old mulberry tree; dogs on leash welcome and staff hand out kids' drawing and card games.
Family-owned brewpub on a working farm 10 minutes from Dunsborough, with a restaurant that looks over paddocks and bush to the Indian Ocean, a garden bar, a huge playground and lawn, and on-site vineyards. Open 7 days (11-5, kitchen to 4). No dogs.
Small-batch brewery in the hills behind Yallingup that rotates its beer list constantly, open 7 days with a weekday 'hoppy hour' and a full kitchen. Note the domain is wildhopbeer.com.au, not wildhopbrewing.
The original Cheeky Monkey brewpub on a 40-acre farm halfway between Dunsborough and Margaret River: sweeping lawns, gardens, a jetty over the lake and a big kids' playground, open every day 11-5 (kitchen 11-3).
Independent brewery and restaurant on a converted dairy farm, with farm-style food, Friday steak nights and weekend events; bookings are required and dogs are welcome inside and out.
Family-owned 8hL microbrewery open since December 2006 in a rural setting outside Cowaramup, with a restaurant focused on local produce, a kids' play area beside the shaded deck and lawn, and brewery tours by appointment.
Brewing in Margaret River since 2004, this large venue just outside town pairs its beer garden with a weekend mini-golf course; leashed dogs are welcome outside and in the beer garden. Kitchen 11-4 Sun-Fri, 11-5 Sat.
In-town brewery on the highway at the edge of Margaret River, open 7 days 11am-9pm, so it works for dinner when the rural cellar doors have shut. Owned by six locals (the six-armed mermaid on the sign).
Great Southern Distilling's Margaret River cellar door, set among peppermint trees and 50-year-old fruit trees on the edge of town: whisky and gin tastings, gin-blending classes, cocktails and a kitchen. Open daily 10-6/7, closed public holidays.
From fish and chips on the Busselton foreshore to the region's fine-dining rooms. Busselton and Dunsborough cover breakfast and the beach; Margaret River township is where the evening happens.
The region is unusually good for small children: sheltered Geographe Bay beaches with no surf, four show caves, a jetty with a train and an underwater observatory, mazes, animal farms, and enough chocolate and cheese factories to fill a wet afternoon.
Facts checked on 28 October 2026 against the airport's own website and the operators' pages. Drive times are typical road routing on a clear run.
The airport's own website lists six car hire operators: Avis, Budget, Hertz, Europcar, Avraa Car Hire and Busselton & South West Rent A Car. Thrifty also lists a Busselton Airport branch at the airport's address but is not on the airport's operator list, so confirm the pickup point when booking with Thrifty. Comparison sites such as Discover Cars search all of them at once.
Yes. The airport states that car hire operates by pre-booked arrangement, with key drop facilities at the terminal. Book before you fly and confirm collection details with the operator. Walk-up availability is not guaranteed, and cars sell out on long weekends and during school holidays.
No scheduled bus serves the terminal. The airport lists South West Taxis (1300 68 16 16), rideshare pick-up directly outside the terminal, and private transfer operators, and recommends pre-booking transport before arrival. Most visitors hire a car, because the wineries, beaches and towns of the region are spread over 100 km of coast.
Margaret River township is about 54 km from Busselton Airport, roughly 49 minutes by car via the Bussell Highway. Prevelly and the Margaret River surf breaks are about 57 minutes.
Dunsborough is about 33 km, around 34 minutes by car. Yallingup is about 41 km, around 41 minutes. Busselton town centre is 8 km, about 10 minutes.
Perth is about 227 km north, roughly 2 hours 49 minutes by car via Forrest Highway and the Kwinana Freeway. Bunbury is about 56 km, around 48 minutes.
Busselton Airport (IATA code BQB) is at 86 Neville Hyder Drive, Yalyalup, Western Australia 6280, on the eastern edge of Busselton. It is a small regional terminal; the car park, taxi rank and hire car bays are a short walk from the arrivals door.
The breaks our sources rate as beginner-friendly are Yallingup Main Break, Smiths Beach, Huzzawouie, Margaret River Mouth, Gnarabup, Redgate, Bunker Bay, Rocky Point and Meelup. Most other breaks on this coast are powerful reef waves over shallow rock and suit experienced surfers only. The live panel at the top of this page scores every break against today's wind and swell.
The Cape to Cape coast faces west, so the usual south-westerly sea breeze blows onshore and ruins most breaks by early afternoon. Bunker Bay, Rocky Point, Meelup and Castle Rock face north into Geographe Bay and are sheltered from that wind, but they only break when a big westerly swell wraps around Cape Naturaliste.
Typical driving times on a clear run, from the airport on Neville Hyder Drive. Add time on long weekends and during the Margaret River Pro.