Pinnacles Tours Reviews
What travellers said about the guided departures to the Pinnacles, in their own words. The ratings and review counts in the table below are each operator’s own figures, taken from that tour’s booking listing. Pinnacles Tours sets out what each departure costs and covers.
Travellers on their day in the desert
The operators publish more than two thousand reviews between them across these departures, and the critical ones below are kept exactly as they were written.
Peter had the day organised from the first pickup, and he talked us through Perth and the region on the way north rather than leaving the drive silent. The sandboarding came first, then the desert, then dinner. None of it felt rushed.
Craig T. · Solo traveller · August 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
The pickup was on time and the day ran to its plan. The weather held, so we got the sandboarding, the walk among the pillars and the stargazing rather than two out of three. The barbecue at sunset was more food than we could finish.
Theresa H. · Couple · July 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
There was a three-year-old and a seventy-three-year-old on our bus and Dave kept both of them interested all day. What he knows about the night sky over the desert is the part I would come back for.
Nettie O. · Group · July 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
They messaged before the trip and asked whether we could move our booking by a couple of days, because the forecast was poor for stargazing. We moved it and the night was clear. It is a long day, and it was worth it.
Brooke K. · Couple · May 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
We had already seen Lancelin and the Pinnacles two days earlier and the evening version was a different place. Sandboarding in our late sixties was not something we had expected to be doing.
TingChung P. · Couple · April 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
The stargazing is the part I will remember, and David's cooking out at the desert was better than it needed to be. He pointed out what to look at rather than just naming things.
Prudence K. · Solo traveller · August 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
I was at the bus stop five minutes before the pickup time and the coach left with somebody else. When I got through on the phone I was told the driver had taken the wrong passenger. If you are joining at a stop rather than a hotel, check first how they identify you.
Dilnoor K. · Solo traveller · May 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
Sudden rain cut the sandboarding short, which was a shame, but the sunset over the pillars and the dark sky afterwards made up for it. Peter and the team put the buffet together out in the desert.
Belinda K. · Couple · June 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
Cloud came in that night, so Neil made an extra stop on the way home once it cleared so we could look again. We learned as much about the country we drove through as about the stars.
Alaina M. · Couple · April 2025
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · sandboarding, sunset and a telescope
Jonathan was a good driver and guide. The stop at the wildlife park is short. The fish and chips were an enormous portion. There is enough time to explore the desert, but the visitor centre shuts at half past four, so go there first if you want to see it.
Paul G. · Solo traveller · December 2024
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
We hand-fed the kangaroos right as the park opened, so they were hungry and came straight over. Sandboarding at Lancelin and the Pinnacles were the other two high points of the day.
Wendy A. · Family · December 2024
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
The dunes were the high point and the sandboarding was worth the drive on its own. The heat at the Pinnacles cut our time there down to quick photo stops, which is the one thing I would change.
Nabeena K. · Family · January 2025
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
The coach was large and the stops felt tightly policed. The drive over the sand did not interest me and the lunch arrived cold.
Isabelle M. · Couple · January 2025
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
We were running behind, so we had thirty minutes at the Pinnacles. Everything else was good — the wildlife park, the sandboarding, the lunch — but the desert is the reason to come and thirty minutes is not enough of it.
Matteo M. · Solo traveller · March 2024
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
Feeding the kangaroos was the best part of the wildlife park and the sandboarding was better than I expected. The lobster stop was more product demonstration than anything about the animals.
Stefanie H. · Solo traveller · September 2024
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
Pickup near our hotel in the city centre was appreciated. Lunch at the lobster shack ran late so we had under an hour there. The flies at Lancelin and at the Pinnacles were the only real nuisance.
Jenny L. · Couple · April 2024
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
Getting up close to koalas and kangaroos at the wildlife park was a good start, and the desert is a phenomenal place — the first thing you ask is how the pillars got there. Sandboarding was the surprise of the day.
Andrew S. · Couple · June 2026
Pinnacles day tour · wildlife park and the Lancelin dunes
Peter knows the area and will adjust the day to suit you. You can spend as long or as short at each stop as you want, which is the whole point of having a vehicle to yourselves.
Cathy D. · Couple · February 2023
Private Pinnacles tour · your own vehicle, your own hours
The dunes and the Pinnacles both worked for us with two teenagers along, and Peter answered every question either of them asked.
Samantha C. · Family · August 2022
Private Pinnacles tour · your own vehicle, your own hours
The landscape is the reason to come and it does not photograph the way it looks. Peter's knowledge and the way he tells it made the drive part of the day rather than a transfer. Lunch at the lobster shack was good too.
Michel H. · Couple · September 2025
Private Pinnacles tour · your own vehicle, your own hours
He did his best to enliven what could have been a tedious drive north, with frequent stops at the coastal towns. The Pinnacles lived up to expectations when we got there.
Nicholas G. · Couple · March 2023
Private Pinnacles tour · your own vehicle, your own hours
The golden-hour light at the pillars is the thing. The structure gives you about an hour to explore on your own before the sun goes, plus a couple of coastal stops on the two-and-a-half-hour drive up. The picnic dinner is basic — cold meat, salad, bread rolls.
Karen S. · Solo traveller · January 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · telescope and dinner in the park
A long day, and worth it. Walking among the pillars at sundown is not like anything else, and the driver knew the history of the area.
Sue R. · Couple · March 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · telescope and dinner in the park
You learn how the plants here deal with fire, you see the Indian Ocean, you wander through the pillars and make up your own mind about them, and the stargazing was beautiful even through passing cloud.
Teri V. · Solo traveller · March 2026
Pinnacles desert stargazing tour · telescope and dinner in the park
The pillars at sunset were the reason to come and we had a clear night for the stars. The stop at Nilgen did not have much to see, though that may have been the time of year. The evening buffet was simple and good.
Julie N. · Couple · May 2026
Pinnacles stargazing tour · dinner under the stars, small group
The weather meant we saw neither the sunset nor the stars. The food looked good but people were handling it rather than using the tongs the guide had put out.
Carmel C. · Solo traveller · May 2026
Pinnacles stargazing tour · dinner under the stars, small group
We were shown how to find our way into the desert and then given time to explore it on our own, so we picked our own spot for the sunset. Ellie was good on the history of the coast on the way up.
JiaWen F. · Couple · March 2026
Pinnacles stargazing tour · dinner under the stars, small group
The desert is stark and worth seeing, the guides were friendly, and the meal at the Cervantes pub was good. It was a cloudy night so the stargazing was minimal. I would have liked longer at the Pinnacles.
Ron K. · Couple · February 2025
Pinnacles stargazing tour · the desert twice, before and after dark
Chris and Grant were good company. Watch the forecast for the Milky Way — if it is cloudy you will not see the stars, though the guides still explained what we would have been looking at. The koala at the national park was a bonus.
Chelsea S. · Couple · March 2026
Pinnacles stargazing tour · the desert twice, before and after dark
Because the vehicle is a minivan rather than a coach, we could take a four-kilometre track through the pillars that the big buses cannot. We stopped wherever there was a photograph. Cara knows the whole area we drove through.
Suzanne V. · Couple · February 2026
Pinnacles day tour · four-wheel drive, five travellers
A good day out of Perth in a small group: loo stops, coffee and snacks, the desert, a lake, a proper lunch and sandboarding at Lancelin.
Paul C. · Solo traveller · June 2026
Pinnacles day tour · four-wheel drive, five travellers
A good way to see a lot of the coast in one week, and Doug was a perfect guide. We would go again.
Christine E. · Couple · December 2025
Pinnacles Desert tours from Perth · day one of a seven-day coast run
The driver knew the country and drove it well. The accommodation varied — we paid extra for our own room and some of it still was not good. The food was fine, though the driver was also the cook and the shopper.
Stephen P. · Couple · November 2022
Pinnacles Desert tours from Perth · day one of a seven-day coast run
Alister flew us up and Kass met us at the desert and walked us through the park. A terrific day out.
Jeffrey W. · Couple · January 2025
Pinnacles tour by air · Jandakot to the desert and Rottnest
We enjoyed the day. Terry was accommodating and let us add a couple of side trips of our own.
Ela E. · Couple · December 2025
Private Pinnacles tour · priced for the vehicle, not the head
Lauren had the itinerary planned, arrived on time and knew the area. Attention to detail the whole way through.
William A. · Couple · August 2026
Private Pinnacles tour · Mercedes V-Class from your hotel
The operators’ own ratings
These are the figures each tour publishes on its own booking page. They are the operators’ numbers rather than ours, and they move.
| Tour | Rating | Reviews | Duration | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacles Desert Sunset Dinner and Stargazing Tour | 4.8 | 1,121 | 9 hours 30 minutes | Lumineer Adventure Tours |
| Pinnacles Sunset Stargazing Dinner Experience Small Group Tour | 4.6 | 448 | 9 hours | Autopia Tours |
| 7-Day Exmouth Explorer via Pinnacles Monkey Mia Ningaloo Reef returning to Perth | 4.9 | 328 | 7 days | Autopia Tours |
| Pinnacles Desert, Koalas and Sandboarding 4WD Day Tour from Perth | 4.5 | 276 | 11 hours 30 minutes | Australian Pinnacle Tours |
| Pinnacle Desert Sunset and Night-time Stargazing Tour from Perth | 4.4 | 130 | 8 hours | Australian Pinnacle Tours |
| Pinnacles Desert Sunset Stargazing Adventure Tour from Perth | 4.7 | 62 | 9 hours | Wildlife Tours Australia |
| Pinnacles Desert Private Day Tour | 5.0 | 31 | 8 to 10 hours | Perths Tiny Tours |
| Private Pinnacles Premium Day Experience | 5.0 | 24 | 8 to 12 hours | Perth Private Tours |
| 4x4 Pinnacles Desert & Turquoise Coast Small Group Experience | 5.0 | 11 | 10 hours | Take You There Tours |
| Private Pinnacle Day-Tour; Pinnacles,lobster shack & Lancelin | 5.0 | 9 | 10 hours | Perth Short Stay Tours |
| Pinnacles & Rottnest Island Scenic Air & Ground Tour | 5.0 | 2 | 9 hours | Kookaburra Air |
What comes up again and again
Four things recur. The first is the guide, by name: Peter, Cara, Sam, Neil, Ellie, Erin, Caspar, David and Beck all appear in more than one review, and in most of the positive ones the guide is the reason the day worked. The second is cloud, which is the single biggest variable on an evening trip — reviewers who got a clear night say so, and reviewers who did not say that too.
The third is the length of the day. “A long day but worth it” appears in near-identical words on two different operators’ listings, and it is the honest summary of a 400-kilometre round trip. The fourth is the sandboarding at Lancelin, which turns up repeatedly as the surprise of the day from people who booked for the desert.
Where the criticism lands
It clusters in three places. Weather is the first: a two-star review describes paying a full fare and seeing neither the sunset nor the stars. Time at the pillars is the second — a three-star review on a summer day tour describes the heat cutting the stop to quick photographs, and another describes thirty minutes there because the day was running late. Pickup logistics are the third, and one reviewer was left at a bus stop after the coach took the wrong passenger.
Each has a practical answer. Cloud is what the twenty-four-hour refund window is for, and one operator messaged a traveller in advance to move the date when the forecast turned. Heat is a reason to take an evening departure in summer rather than a day one. And if you are joining at a kerbside point rather than a hotel, confirm at booking how the driver identifies you. The evening departures and the day departures set out the hours involved before you commit to either.
If the weather is what you are weighing, the month-by-month page sets out when the sky is dark early enough to be worth staying for, and visiting the Pinnacles has the hours and the entry fee.
Read the full listings
Every review paraphrased here sits on that tour’s own booking page along with hundreds more. Open the departure you like and read them there before you book.