The Margaret River caves are the one thing in the region that almost every visitor wants to see and almost nobody plans properly. There are more than 100 caves under the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, four of them are open as show caves, and they are spread across 100 km of coast. Pick the wrong one for your group, or try to see two that are 75 minutes apart, and you lose half a day to Caves Road.
We run the Coastal Explorer tour, which puts a cave, the lighthouse and two wineries into one seven-hour day, so we get asked “which cave should we do?” constantly. Here is the straight answer, cave by cave, followed by how to fit one into a day that also includes the coast and a proper lunch.
The four show caves at a glance
| Cave | Where | Tour type | Adult price (approx.) | Stairs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ngilgi Cave | Yallingup, near Dunsborough | Self-guided, plus adventure tours | $32 | Yes, a staircase down | Anyone staying north, families, first-timers |
| Mammoth Cave | 21 km south of Margaret River town | Self-guided with audio guide | $25 | Boardwalk to first chamber, then stairs | Families with young kids, mobility concerns |
| Lake Cave | Near Margaret River town | Guided only, about 1 hour | Guided pricing | Hundreds of steep steps in and out | Photographers, the “sunken forest” and permanent lake |
| Jewel Cave | Near Augusta, far south | Guided only, about 1 hour | $24 | Yes, throughout | Scale and crystal formations, WA’s largest show cave |
Local tip: Ngilgi and Jewel are the two outliers, 75 minutes apart at opposite ends of the ridge. Pick the cave closest to where you are staying and build the day around it, not the other way round. Ngilgi is not suitable for anyone claustrophobic, and Lake Cave has around 200 steps.
Prices are the published adult rates at the time of writing and they do change, so check before you go. Children (4 to 16) are roughly half the adult rate at each cave and under-fours are free. All four are open daily except Christmas Day, and none allow food or drink inside beyond water.
Ngilgi Cave: the one we take our guests to
Ngilgi (pronounced “nilgi”) sits just outside Yallingup, about 15 minutes from Dunsborough, and it is the only one of the four at the northern end of the ridge. It was the first show cave in Western Australia and in the early 1900s it was a honeymoon destination for couples from Perth staying at the nearby Caves House Hotel.
The visit starts above ground on the Ancient Lands Experience, an elevated boardwalk through native bush with installations on the Wadandi people’s connection to Country and how the ridge formed, then descends into the cave’s main amphitheatre. Inside it is self-guided at your own pace, with the first chamber open and spacious and a second chamber reached by a narrower ten-minute passage that people with claustrophobia may prefer to skip.
It is also the cave that makes geographic sense if you are doing anything else in the north. Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse is 20 minutes away, Sugarloaf Rock is between the two, and the Wilyabrup cellar doors are 25 minutes south. That is exactly why it anchors our Coastal Explorer day. Entry is included in the tour price, so there is nothing to book separately.
Mammoth Cave: the easy one for families
Mammoth is the most accessible of the four. It is self-guided with an audio guide in five languages, there is a boardwalk into the first chamber that takes a wheelchair, and you can turn up whenever suits rather than joining a timed tour. That last point matters with small children: no tour group to keep quiet for, no fixed start time to hit.
The trade-off is that going deeper means stairs, and the walk out is a climb. The fossils are the draw here, with remains of extinct megafauna over 50,000 years old visible along the route. If you are based in Margaret River town or heading south for the day, this is the family cave. If you are based north, Ngilgi does the same job without the drive. Visiting Mammoth Cave with us runs through a customised tour, so fill out the Customised Tour form and we will build the day around it.
Lake Cave and Jewel Cave: guided, dramatic, further away
Lake Cave is the only cave on the ridge with a permanent underground lake, and the reflection of the formations in the still water is the most photographed image of any Margaret River cave. It is guided only, about an hour, and it involves hundreds of steep steps down and back up. Not one for anyone with knee trouble or a toddler on the hip.
Jewel Cave is the largest show cave in Western Australia, close to Augusta at the far southern end of the region. It is also guided only, about an hour through three chambers, with formations preserved for over 3,000 years and the remains of Tasmanian tigers that fell in. It is worth the trip if you are going to Cape Leeuwin anyway. As a stand-alone it is a long way south: about 75 minutes of driving from Ngilgi Cave.
Key point: Guided caves (Lake and Jewel) run timed tours with capped numbers. From December to April, book online before you drive there or you may be waiting an hour for the next slot.
Both are excellent. Both need to be booked ahead in peak season because tours are timed and capped. And both are hard to combine with anything in the north on the same day, which is the mistake we see most often. Visiting Lake Cave or Jewel Cave with us runs through a customised tour, so fill out the Customised Tour form and we will build the day around it.
Which cave is right for you
Staying in Dunsborough, Yallingup or Busselton: Ngilgi. It is 15 minutes away and pairs with the lighthouse and the northern wineries.
Staying in Margaret River town: Mammoth for families, Lake Cave for the photograph.
Travelling to Augusta or Cape Leeuwin: Jewel, and give it the full morning.
Kids under six: Ngilgi or Mammoth, both self-guided, both let you leave when the attention span does.
Limited mobility: Mammoth’s first chamber is the only boardwalk-accessible option. Every other cave involves a staircase.
Wet weather: any of them. Caves are the region’s best rainy-day plan and one of the reasons winter is underrated here.
How to see a cave, the coast and cellar doors in one day
This is the day most people are actually trying to build when they search for things to do in Margaret River, and it only works in the north because that is where a cave, the coast and the wineries sit within 25 minutes of each other.
Our Coastal Explorer runs it like this. Pick-up from your accommodation around 9am. Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse first, with entry and the guided lighthouse tour included, when the light is best and before the wind picks up. Sugarloaf Rock for the photo stop, with coffee and a homemade snack from the van. Ngilgi Cave, entry included, at your own pace. Then south to Wilyabrup for a winery wine tasting and lunch, followed by a second winery tasting, and back at your accommodation by around 4pm. Seven hours, private vehicle, driver and guide exclusive to your group, photography included with a private gallery sent within 48 hours.
The price is $275 AUD per person with a minimum of three guests and a maximum of 11. Drinks with lunch are the only thing on top.
If you would rather swap the second winery for a brewery, or drop the lighthouse and spend longer at the cave, that is what the customise your trip form is for. We quote within 24 hours.
Doing the caves with kids
The caves are the one Margaret River attraction where families and wine drinkers want the same thing, which is why the Coastal Explorer works as a family day as well as a couples day. A few things we tell parents:
Local tip: Cave temperatures barely change across the year, so they feel cool on a summer day and mild on a winter one. Either way, pack one layer more than you think and wear closed shoes.
Ngilgi and Mammoth are the two to consider. Both are self-guided, so a five-year-old who has had enough after 20 minutes is not a problem for anyone else. Lake and Jewel are guided, timed and full of steps, and they are a long hour with a bored child.
Closed shoes, always. Every cave has damp, uneven sections.
Our vehicles take child seats, and the tours page FAQ covers seat and age details. Tell us the ages on the customise form and we plan the pacing around them.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single answer. Ngilgi is the best all-rounder and the easiest to combine with the coast and wineries. Lake Cave is the best photograph. Jewel is the biggest. Mammoth is the most accessible. Pick by where you are staying and who is in your group.
Published adult rates at the time of writing are roughly $24 to $32 depending on the cave, with children about half that and under-fours free. Guided caves (Lake and Jewel) are timed tours and should be booked ahead in summer. On our Coastal Explorer, Ngilgi Cave entry is included.
Ngilgi and Mammoth are, because they are self-guided and you set the pace. Lake and Jewel are guided hour-long tours with a lot of stairs, better for older kids.
Allow 45 minutes to an hour at a self-guided cave, and a full hour plus waiting time for a guided tour at Lake or Jewel.
Mammoth and Lake are close enough to pair if you are based in Margaret River town. Ngilgi and Jewel are 75 minutes apart and do not belong in the same day.
Guided tours at Lake and Jewel, yes, especially from December to April and on long weekends. Self-guided entry at Ngilgi and Mammoth can usually be bought on arrival, but online booking is available for all four.
Plan the day
The simplest version: book the Coastal Explorer and the lighthouse, Sugarloaf, Ngilgi Cave, lunch and two wineries are handled, with pick-up at your door. If you want a different mix, customise your trip and we will build it, or book a free 20-minute call and we will talk it through.
If wine is the main event and the cave is the side trip, start with our complete guide to Margaret River wine tours, which covers cellar doors, lunch and how to choose between a private and a bus tour.
Easy Ride South West runs private coastal, wine and craft tours across the Margaret River region for three to 11 guests, in English and Spanish, with door-to-door pick-up and every venue booked before you arrive. Read more about us or get in touch with any questions.
