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Broome packs a lot into a small town. You can fill three or four days without leaving, from camel rides on Cable Beach at sunset to a 130-million-year-old dinosaur trackway exposed at low tide. Most sights sit within a 15-minute drive, and several are free. Prices below are in Australian dollars and were current for the 2026 season, but confirm opening hours before you go, because many operators close or cut hours during the November-to-April wet season. For where to base yourself, see the Broome neighborhoods guide.
Things to Do in Broome: Cable Beach and the Coast
Cable Beach camel ride at sunset
The 22km sweep of white sand known as Cable Beach is the town’s signature sight, and the classic way to see it is from the back of a camel at sunset. Red Sun Camels and Broome Camel Safaris run morning and sunset rides from the Cable Beach car park at the end of Cable Beach Road. A short 30-minute sunset ride costs around AU$25 to AU$35, while the full one-hour sunset ride runs about AU$100 to AU$130. Book ahead in July and August, when sunset slots fill days in advance. The beach itself is free and open year-round, and the far northern end is a designated clothing-optional section. See the Broome weather by month guide for the full climate table.
Gantheaume Point dinosaur footprints
Gantheaume Point, at the southern end of Cable Beach, is where you’ll find the fossilised footprints of a sauropod dinosaur pressed into the red rock, dated to about 130 million years ago. The prints are only visible at low tide, specifically when the tide drops below about 2.16 metres, so check the tide table at the Broome Visitor Centre before you go. A plaster cast of the prints sits at the top of the cliff if the tide is wrong. Nearby Anastasia’s Pool is a small rock pool that a former lighthouse keeper carved for his arthritic wife in the 1920s. It’s all free, and the clifftop has good sunset views back over Cable Beach. See the best time to visit Broome guide to pick your dates.
Broome Bird Observatory
Roebuck Bay is one of the most important shorebird sites in the world, and the Broome Bird Observatory, about 25km from town on Crab Creek Road, is where you can watch the migration. Between March and April, tens of thousands of migratory waders such as bar-tailed godwits and red knots stop over to feed before flying north to breed in Siberia. Entry is about AU$15 for adults, with guided walks and a hide pass available. Bring binoculars and insect repellent, and check the observatory’s opening days, which vary by season. Check the Broome events and festivals calendar before you book.
Things to Do in Broome: Pearling History and Culture
Sun Pictures open-air cinema
Sun Pictures on Carnarvon Street claims to be the world’s oldest operating open-air picture gardens, having opened in 1916. It still shows films under the stars with deck chairs and cushions on the grass, and the town’s WWII history is woven into its story, because Broome was bombed by Japanese aircraft in March 1942. Adult tickets run about AU$22, and the evening sessions are a genuinely local experience, complete with the occasional gecko crossing the screen. Check the weekly program, since it screens a mix of new releases and classics. See the where to stay in Broome guide for hotels in each area.
Japanese Cemetery and pearl luggers
The Japanese Cemetery on Port Drive holds around 900 headstones for the Japanese pearl divers who died in the industry between the 1880s and the 1960s, many from decompression sickness, known then as the bends. It’s a sobering and free stop that explains how pearling shaped the town. To put faces and boats to the story, the Pearl Luggers tour on Dampier Terrace runs twice daily and lets you step onto a restored pearling lugger and watch a live pearl harvest. Tickets are about AU$30 for adults and AU$15 for children. See the Broome travel tips page for practicalities.
Broome Historical Museum
The Broome Historical Museum, near Town Beach, covers the town’s pearling era, the Japanese air raid of 1942, and the stories of the Aboriginal communities of the Dampier Peninsula. Entry is about AU$12 for adults, and the pearl diving display includes a working replica of the heavy canvas suits and copper helmets divers wore. It’s a good wet-season fallback when the heat drives you indoors, and it takes an hour to see properly. See our full Broome travel guide for the overview.
Things to Do in Broome: Day Trips and Tours
Willie Creek Pearl Farm
Willie Creek Pearl Farm, about 38km north of town on the way to Cape Leveque, runs a half-day tour that includes a boat trip on Willie Creek, a live harvest of an Australian South Sea pearl oyster, and a chance to handle a real pearl. The standard tour costs around AU$75 to AU$95 per adult and runs daily in the dry season. Book a morning slot if you can, because the afternoon heat on the water is intense. Transport is usually included from Broome hotels.
Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park
The Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park on Cable Beach Road, about 16km from town, runs daily feeding shows where large saltwater crocodiles launch themselves out of the water for food. Adult entry is about AU$40 and children about AU$20, and the shows are the main event, so time your visit to catch a feeding. It’s a good stop to combine with a drive out to Cable Beach’s northern end, and it keeps the kids occupied for a couple of hours.
Horizontal Falls seaplane flight
The Horizontal Falls, in the Buccaneer Archipelago about 250km northeast of Broome, are formed when massive tides push water through two narrow coastal gorges, creating a sideways waterfall. Getting there means a scenic seaplane flight, and full-day tours from Broome cost roughly AU$900 to AU$1,200 per person, which makes it the single most expensive excursion in the region. It’s a wet-season-safe option because it runs year-round, though the falls are most dramatic on spring tides. Book well ahead in the dry season, and pair the trip with a free sunset at Cable Beach or a walk along the Gantheaume Point clifftop.
