Western Australia Holidays

Langorously-paced Broome has a distinctly Asian flavour and cosmopolitan atmosphere, making it a consistently popular travellers' centre and a favoured spot for alternative lifestylers and urban burnouts. An upmarket tourism campaign has saved the town from a tacky downfall.

Some say Esperance has the best beaches in Australia - you'll find it hard to argue with them. You'll have to drive to reach some of the picture-perfect ones, such as Lucky Bay, but even the town beaches, like Twilight Cove, have squeaky, white sand and clear, azure water. No need to fight for solitude because Esperance's isolation guarantees that.

Jutting out into the turquoise waters of Shark Bay, Monkey Mia is the ultimate resort. A World-Heritage coastline that lends itself to an abundance of wildlife - bottlenose dolphins, dugongs, loggerhead turtles, sea snakes - and a fascinating look-see into local Aboriginal culture.

Perth is a vibrant and modern city sitting between the cerulean Indian Ocean and the ancient Darling Ranges. It claims to be the sunniest state capital in Australia, though more striking is its isolation from the rest of the country - Perth is over 4400km (2750mi) from Sydney by road.