We have been lucky enough to visit Rottnest Island twice in recent years, once on a day trip and more recently for a two-night sleepover. Our advice: treat yourself to a sleepover.

Rottnest Island is located 30 minutes off the coast of Perth and famous for being home to the world’s largest quokka population. Quokkas are cute little creatures whose appeal is enhanced by the way they appear to smile when visitors take selfies with them.

By day, Rottnest Island is crammed with tourists taking endless quokka selfies. However, while you will encounter a few bold quokkas at the local bakery and cafes, most are sleeping during daylight hours.

After combing the island during our initial day trip to Rottnest, but only spotting the occasional quokka, we hit the motherload just before our ferry was due to depart. We walked into a clearing filled with the gorgeous, furry little creatures. I hadn’t realised the bubs snuggle in their mums’ pouches like kangaroos and I was entranced to see little heads popping out to stare at us.

However, that original sighting was nothing compared to the encounters we enjoyed on our second visit to Rottnest. There are around 10,000-12,000 quokkas living on the island and we lost count of how many we spotted during our two-night stay.

Rottnest Island is an unusual place in terms of accommodation. There are lots of older-style apartments and little houses that look like school camp accommodation from my childhood, then there’s an expensive glamping place and also a stylish hotel called Samphire Rottnest.

All accommodation on the island is in hot demand, so we chose to secure a room at Samphire many months in advance. The resort did not disappoint, providing a European-style beachside escape that felt luxurious and .

We toasted our stay with Pineapple Margaritas at the resort’s  Bayside Bar, sipping our drinks barefoot in the sand.

At dusk we wandered over to picturesque The Basin and Pinky’s Beach, which is overlooked by one of the island’s two lighthouses.

At dusk we wandered over to picturesque The Basin and Pinky’s Beach, overlooked by one of the island’s two lighthouses. Pinky’s Beach has a reputation for being the best place on the island to watch the sun dip over the ocean. We dived into the crystal clear water to cool off, then settled into the beachside bar at Pinky’s Beach Club to sip Aperol Spritzes as quokkas milled around us.

We even encountered a few quokkas on the beach as we wandered back to our hotel after sunset.

On day two we caught the hop-on-hop-off bus around the island, scoping out our favourite spots. We chose Little Salmon Beach for a swim, with its stunningly white sand and turquoise water.

My sister had recommended we try the Cray Dog from The Lane cafe for lunch and she was spot on – it was heaven, filled with grilled crayfish marinated in garlic and olive oil topped off with jalapeno mayo.

We also returned to the shopping area later in the afternoon so I could try a scoop of honeycomb Simmos Ice Cream. The local WA ice creamery was recently voted one of The Top 15 Ice Creameries in the World by USA Today.

Equally luscious!

Our last night on Rottnest Island was spent walking on the beach and swimming, followed by pizza at the pub with a glass of Croser.

The culinary highlight of the trip came on our final day, when we enjoyed a farewell lunch at Isola Bar e Cibo. Designed to be a fresh take on a classic Italian beachside bar, Isola ticks all the boxes for both its gorgeous location and sublime menu.

We kicked off with wood-grilled whole Exmouth prawns with crayfish butter, capers and lemon, followed by taglierini pasta with Shark Bay crab, tomato, chilli, garlic, basil and cream. Make sure to order a serve of the house-made focaccia to mop up all the delicious juices,.

Both dishes were sensational and we devoured them while enjoying a fantastic view of the waterfront. We can also highly recommend ordering a refreshing Limoncello Spritz during your visit.

Lunch at Isola was the perfect way to end our stay. You will find the restaurant on the corner of Bedford Ave and Colebatch Ave, near the ferry wharf. It’s just a few footsteps from Samphire Rottnest and the Rottnest Hotel.

All too soon it was time to board our ferry to the mainland, but the happy memories of our time on Rottnest Island will linger with us for many years to come.