The main danger that an overseas visitor to Perth faces is sunburn. Make sure you cover yourself with SPF 30+ sunscreen and a hat, and preferably a shirt, especially in the warmer months. Also be wary of dehydration in the hot weather. An insect repellent such as 'Aeroguard' will be useful on summer evenings if you are outdoors.
Otherwise, Perth is relatively safe, though its best not to walk alone at night. Some areas such as Northbridge are also known to be 'trouble spots' on weekend nights and tourist should be careful.
Police are generally friendly and approachable.
Trains are generally safe with transit guards travelling in pairs, patrolling most scheduled trains after peak hour. All train stations have a time to next train as well as an emergency button which can be used to call transit guards should the need arise. All stations have live monitored cameras and these can be activated by the simple push of the emergency button. In the train, there are "talk to driver" buttons in every carriage, but some older trains do not have them on every door. From 2011 the Armadale Train line especially in the areas of Burswood and Carlisle has had some high profile assaults from gangs travelling on the train system . The gangs usually comprise of disaffected Indigenous youth and although weapons are not usually involved attacks have become more vicious in there nature.
The bus network while generally safe, but after hours can be a little more dangerous than the train network, with extremely limited security patrols, and buses coming under increasing attacks by people throwing rocks and other anti social behaviour. Some bus stations (like Mirrabooka bus station and the associated buses) should be avoided where possible due to ethnic based gangs of youths and other anti-social behaviour. If you have to travel by bus at night, sit as close to the driver as possible and if a problem develops, tell the driver. Often incidents on buses continue for much longer than they should because no one asks the bus driver for assistance.
Exercise caution when crossing the road at zebra crossings, walking along the footpath at the entry/exit point of parking lots or when crossing the street at a T-intersection. Though pedestrians have the legal right of way, some motorists choose to ignore this rule. In the case of a zebra crossing, cars should slow down for you though caution is advisable. If you do not notice a car slowing down, do not begin to cross.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Perth
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Perth - updated Apr 2024
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Perth Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
