Fremantle Prison

Really interesting tour. Great location in the heart of Fremantle. The tour guide was very well informed and the prison is in great condition. Tours are every hour and parking very busy near site. Buying in advance is recommended to avoid wait times.

The Fremantle Prison Torchlight Tour is an absolutely fabulous experience! It’s the perfect mix of eerie fun and fascinating history, giving you a real sense of the prison’s dark past. The guides do an excellent job of bringing the stories to life, and exploring the prison by torchlight adds an extra layer of atmosphere that makes the tour unforgettable. That said, I personally feel this night tour is best suited for adults or older teens. Having young children on the tour can really detract from the immersive experience, as the spooky vibe and storytelling are part of what makes it special. Overall, I highly recommend this tour if you’re looking for something a little different, fun, historical, and just a touch creepy. Don’t forget to bring your camera, you might end up with some weird and wonderful photos!

We booked the Convict tour for 3 people over the phone a few days prior to our booking and it was very easy. Tickets were easy to collect. We had Deb as our guide, she was fantastic, entertaining and very insightful. As for the tour itself it was very interesting, time flies and once you know it it’s over. Great to learn more about the Fenian escape.

This was very cool. The lovely lady Leah at the front really looked after us with tickets for a big group. The tour guides make it. You can tell they love their jobs. Lots of jokes and extra stories along the way. We did the behind bars tour with Glen, very informative and lots of light humour along the way. The second tour was The True crime tour with Bronty. We all really loved this one. Bronty was very funny and quite passionate about his job. And loved telling a couple extra stories. Was a great day. Highly recomend the true crime tour.

Having never been there until now, not even as a kid on a school tour, I was absolutely amazed and in awe of the entire building. You can feel the history there deeply. It truly took my breath away, and I was there for a punk rock gig! Concert wise this place is fantastic. Even ignoring the immense setting in the main prisoners courtyard and the towering walls full of history, purely as a music venue it's perfect. Very well set up, great bar, food vans and amenities, the stage is plenty big enough and the sound was really good. One of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Did the Behind the Bars tour at Fremantle Prison and really enjoyed it. The stories were interesting and the tour felt very immersive, giving a real sense of how convicts lived back in those days. The guide’s explanations were very clear and interesting. Definitely a worthwhile and educational experience.

Ian (Convict Prison), James (Behind Bars), and Andy (True Crime) were our tour guides for each tour. Their personalities suited each of the tours so well. Each guide shared their own little anecdotes and character, so I believe return tours would be worthwhile. Each guide was quick on their toes, proving their comprehension of the history, and also related to/interacted with guests well. While I think our guides did a truly spectacular job to cram so much history and information into the tours, I felt like they were bursting at the seams to share more. Slightly longer tours would add so much in my opinion. The gift shop and other facilities were clean and well laid out. All staff were friendly, funny, and knowledgeable. I could not recommend the tours more to anyone visiting Perth.

We took the 4 PM guided tour at Fremantle Prison and found it genuinely interesting. The guide was knowledgeable and engaging, and the historical insights were well presented. It’s definitely worth visiting if you’re curious about Western Australia’s convict past and prison architecture. However, we were quite disappointed by the lack of clear information beforehand. We had called in advance and were told that the site was only accessible via guided tours, and that there was no walk-through museum. Based on that, we scheduled our visit around the tour. Unfortunately, after the tour ended, we discovered that there is in fact a museum area at the front of the prison. No one mentioned this to us on the phone or when we arrived, which was frustrating. By the time we finished the tour, those areas had already been closed off, so we missed them entirely. It’s a real shame, because we would have planned our visit differently had we known. Clearer communication would have made a big difference.

Very fascinating historic tour of a very old prison. If you like to be spooked do the torch light tour which is after dark. They give you a little flashlight keepsake which is helpful for following the guide in the dark. Booking online is very simple and $26 per adult is a real "Steal" yuk yuk. You just pick up your tickets in the gift shop. Speaking of, make sure you stop at the gift shop because it has some amazing prison and Australian history books, and cute socks. Our tour guide was really into the history and liked to scare some of us on the tour. He had a real dry sense of humor and threw in some yuks here and there. I was really fascinated with the history, loved the signage on each of the tiny cells with the years. The movie from the 90s near the middle of the tour was pretty interesting as well. I won't reveal any more because I don't want to spoil any surprises for anyone. It is a very cool place, it has not been a functioning prison since the 90s but it is open for tours daily. I know it sounds funny to do a tour of an old prison, but if you are into history and convicts you will really enjoy this one. No pics as it was too dark to take a good photo. I hear that Halloween is super fun, people wear costumes on the torch light tour!

We really enjoyed the tour of the Fremantle Prison and our guide Sarah was not only very informative but also really conveyed the emotion of this place. It was interesting to see the cells set up from the various time periods and really cool to see the cell with the artwork done by a prisoner. We really wanted to do the torchlight tour but it did not work out with our schedule. I would be interested in the tunnels tour as well. Highly recommend it if you visit Perth/Freo. March 2014

First timing at Fremantle Prison and please note: this has to be a place you visit while in Fremantle. This location is now listed as World Heritage Sight, and is done out how the working prison would have looked and functioned. We came indecisive of whether to do the Doing Time tour or the Great Escapes tour. Seeing our obvious cluelessness, we were advised as it was our first visit to do the Doing Time tour. Then in buying the tickets, we found out we could add on the Great Escapes tour for additional $8. They just don't have that option advertised. The Doing Time tour was great, it took you through the main parts of this convict built prison, and goes through how a typical day would go. You get to see the prison yard, the kitchen area, death row, where hangings took place, the chapel (where you could book to get married) and cell blocks. James was our tour guide, and he was very informative with a hint of humor thrown in there. Definitely a good tour, max 32 people. Back to back was the Great Escapes. This was much different, and was a group of five of us led by our guide, Sarah. It was all about stories into the lives of convicts here, some of them that managed to escape, and the unlucky but creatively failed attempts. Sarah was wonderful bringing to life these stories, even with a raspy voice (she was getting over a cold poor thing).This tour was great, you don't walk through the main parts of the prison facility as you do in the Doing Time tour, it was more backstage and there was more freedom, especially being a smaller group. I was so glad that we got to do both tours. Sarah helped reiterate what we previously learned from James. There are so many tours to go on, just gotta make my way back to Perth for it. The Tunnels tour was really highly recommended and the Torchlight tours sound spooky and fun.

It isn't often that you get to do a tour of a modernish prison. At first I thought that this was simply one of those places that had been abandoned since the convict era, but it turns out that this is not actually the case. The prison had been in use right up until the 90s. As such this isn't a tour of a prison from the convict era but actually a tour of a modern prison. In fact there a multiple tours available which means you could spend the entire day here just doing tours. We did just one, but it certainly has revisit value.

We honestly had the best time touring the prison. Amazingly interesting history about the colonies and convicts. You'll leave the tour feeling very fortunate to be alive now compared to then. This is a must-see if you're in WA

Hi - instead of going for dinner we decided to do the torch light tour on a Friday night at 7.45. Cost $ 26 per person and easy to book. Parked outside the prison for $2.50 am hour. Collected our tickets from the gift shop - too Easy. There were approx 30 on our tour. Probably a perfect number. Don't want to say too much about the tour and spoil the surprises. The tour guide was very knowledgable and had a dry sense of humour which was great. Only one negative point to note, there were so many tours going on you could hear the other groups at times... Which kinda spoiled a some of the surprises but enough to mark it down as a four star. It's just a note. We didn't see any ghost Great evening out

There are several tours available, and if I find myself in WA again, I'd definitely go back and check out the other tours. I took the torchlight tour (bonus - you get to keep the torch as a souvenir =) and while there was a big of history, this tour was focused on the 'spookier' side of the prison. It wasn't like a ghost hunting tour or anything, the tour just told some stories of the prisoners. A couple fun actors made appearances during the tour. It was just a well-guided, worth-the-time-to-check-out tour. We had a big group, but the guide was able to keep the attention of everyone and told great stories.

Great place to visit if you enjoy a little history and just happen to be backpacking through Western Australia! I took the Doing Time Tour which is a general overview of the grounds including the chapel, recreation yard, cells and solitary confinement. I also took the Great Escapes Tour which dives into the individual stories of the prisoners, their art and prison breaks. Many of the tour guides were former prison guards which made the tours much more enjoyable as the could share from their own experiences. Both tours were very enjoyable. Tips: - Book ahead if you want to take either the Tunnel Tour or Torchlight Tour. - Book tours together to save a bit of money. - Stop by the Fremantle Market on your way for a bit of breaky before the tours. - Don't miss the gift shop, they have some great books on Australian history and the prison that would be hard to find elsewhere.

Last week I went and did the Fremantle Prison Tunnel Tour with my family. I have been to the prison before a few times and always enjoy it. This time though it was even better, like a little adventure. From the very start of the tour I knew I was in for a good day. The tour guide, started talking about the history of the prison, and showed us a few drains that we would soon be underneath. We watched a short video about the history of the under ground water ways. Then it was time to change into our body suit and harness, after laughing about how silly we looked. We where harnessed up and time to go down the ladders and into the tunnels. We spoke about the poor prisoners that had to climb down here in the sweltering heat and with heavy shackles on. Once down there we walked to little boats and paddled through the water ways. It was amazing to see what these men did, it was pretty fantastic. Hard work.

This is really only of the tourist highlights in the Fremantle - Perth area and a must-see if you are here. We took the evenng torch tour which is great, although maybe a bit scary for very young kids. By the light of the little torch that you can keep at the end of the tour you get a well- guided tour through the prison for 1.30 hours. I will not give you any further information as it would waste all the fun, but be ready for some very cool surprises. The tours are only on wednesday and friday nights and make sure you book well in advance as they are extremely popular. The costs were 25 $ for an adult and a child $ 10. There are also family passes. Seriously, this is top fun and your chance to learn something about the history of WA !

If you want to feel how the prisoners were treated in the past, this it the place you should be visiting as soon as possible. One thing interested me the most is that the drawings on the walls. When you visit some of the prisoner rooms, they all covered with paintings that prisoners used to draw. I thought it was amazing!

Fremantle Prison is one of the most fascinating places to visit in Western Australia, especially if you have never "done time". It is hard to believe that prisoners lived in such squalid conditions, including not having toilets in their cells, and instead having to use buckets. The guides are very knowledgeable, and are able to provide so much information about the history of the prison and its inmates. As you walk through the prison, you try to imagine what it would feel like to stay in a building which housed people who had some really bad reputations. You can even visit the gallows - there is a strange feeling in the air. The Doing Time and Great Escape tours take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes , whilst the Torchlight tour is slightly longer (and scarier) and the Tunnels tour is over two hours long.

The torchlight tour has the full effect if your looking to get scared. I would definitely recommend this tour.

A blast through time and a good tour to go for if you want to know more about Prison life in the past. The guide brought us to see a Martha Rendall ghost reflected in the chapel window which can be seen on the outside, but the glass looks fine on the inside. Real or not, let the pictures convince u! Or take a trip down to see for yourself. There are three tours - doing time, great escape or tunnel tour. I figured the doing time tour would give me a great first-hand experience of how prison life was like. Walking through the empty hallways of sector 1/2/3 and visiting the various cell blocks, kitchen, office, shower room and even the gallows was an eye-opening trip. Our guide was awesome as well and I totally dig his dry humor told with a deadpan face. The gift shop sold various memorabilia and I snagged a Prison Handbook (one where prisoners where supposed to read/memorize on their first day) and a Prison Overview Book detailing almost everything of what the guide told us. Highly recommended tour if ever you're in Fremantle.

I visited here yesterday to do their famous tunnel tours, which was as fun as I had been led to believe...We got there a few minutes early, however, and grabbed a coffee, chai latte, and brownie at the cafe beforehand. The brownie was AMAZING. My date said it might have been the best brownie he'd had in his life, and he's had a lot of brownies. It was definitely up there for me as well. Not to be missed if you're there! The drinks were nothing special but perfectly acceptable. So we will absolutely be back to the cafe, even if we're not doing a prison tour at the time! Other folks on here have posted far more exhaustive reviews on the tours themselves, so I'll keep it brief. Tunnel tours are not for those who are afraid of heights, enclosed spaces, or the dark. Otherwise, you'll have a great time traipsing around below the prison! Just don't forget to bring your own socks...

Once upon a time, Fremantle Prison was a place where no-one would want to be incarcerated. Built in the 1850s, it is remarkable that it was still a working prison until 1991. During its time as a prison, the place oversaw WA's last execution in 1964, was host to several escape stories and is now WA's only heritage-listed building. There are several tours available, but for maximum effect, the torchlight tour is recommended. The full glory of Fremantle Prison comes out to play at night, and the darkness adds a certain discomfort to the area. It is easy to imagine why people did not want to be held at the prison, with its claustrophobic cells and narrow walkways. Fremantle Prison is highly recommended for at least one visit.

I'm a historian, it's not like I can give it less than 5 stars. Fremantle Prison is the kind of place that nobody can afford to miss. Regardless of whether you are a tourist or a local, interested in history or interested in scary stories, you gotta go. From escape stories, to ghost stories, from execution stories to cells where serial killers were held. From appealing conditions prisoners had to suffer to riots that happened in response to those conditions. If you are not familiar with the convict history of Western Australia I suggest you do some light research before the visit so that you may fully appreciate the impact of what is said. Probably the saddest story you will encounter is that of John Button, who was wrongfully convicted of manslaughter and spent 5 years in Fremantle Prison among the most hardened killers and convicts Western Australia had to offer. When in fact, his girlfriend was murdered by Eric Edgar Cooke, one of WAs most famous serial killers. Definitely recommended.

I came on the scariest night of the year, Halloween, and had the greatest time! The prison is right near the town, so completely accessible if you need to catch the train in, and there is a massive car park at the prison so no stress about getting a space. The prison is made in the same stone as the rest of the original buildings in town, so actually looks quite nice, until you walk through to the cell block and suddenly the impact of the history and horror of the place hits you. Going at night time was great, they give you torches and you walk around in a group following your tour guide. They have a lot to teach you and you learn a lot not just about the prison but the history of WA. On Halloween's torchlight tour there were actors, sorry ghosts and dead bodies, constantly jumping out at you, and I'm ashamed to say I did scream quite often and flee my group to save myself! I'd definitely recommend coming here for a visit, at any age it is fascinating and although it's a horrible history, it is quite a fun trip!

Freo gaol gives up the ghost. I visited this gaol when I was 12 and I was putting on a pretty brave face, as I recall. It was a family trip with my mum and my two sisters and we laughed at the idea of a ghost tour, (a nervous laugh but a laugh none the less.) The tour is arranged in a way that you wind your way through the building, with every turn narrated by the stories the walls contains- the torture, the anguish- the evil. All of the eerie suspense builds to a climax, released only with terrified screams (mainly my sisters) at the gallows. Stories told of the superstition associated with the number "6" explaining why that number was negated from the stalls. It is a tragic concept, but a well executed operation that holds a wealth of Western Australias' history. I can't help but wonder how much of the "haunting legend" is based on fictitious paranoia and how much is playful poltergeists... One dark and stormy night I might take on the gaol again and see how the stories have evolved.

I came here with a couple of friends and did the Torchlight Tour. There was heaps of information, the tour guide was pretty funny and the whole tour was really entertaining and scary !! I'd love to do the Tunnels Tour where you go underneath the prison and in little boats but i just don't think I'm brave enough.

Reader beware, you're in for a scare! 90s pop culture references aside, I've always thought it was odd that the Fremantle Prison is so close to the Fremantle CBD and residential areas. I was imagined all gaols to be located far out of civilisation, like with Alcatraz or Azkaban. Nevertheless, its proximity to the Canning Highway makes day trips to the heritage-listed building much easier and far less scarier. When I visited the prison, I did the day tour because I am a chicken. And that was scary enough, let me tell you. You're actually led pretty much throughout the whole place, winding your way through the individual prison cells, the gallows, the kitchen, the courtyard and even death row. Personally, I found the gallows the most frightening. It's a seriously dingy and depressing bunker, which was made even more uncomfortable when the tour guide informed us the prison was still being used (floggings and all!) up until 1991. Aye Karumba! Visiting the gaol is a lot like a trip back to high school for a history lesson. I wouldn't say the experience was "fun" per se, but it certainly was interesting and I'm currently trying to work the guts up to go on the Torchlight Tour!

My fiancé and I visited the Fremantle prison a month ago, we went on the general tour of the prison which was very good, plenty of information, great tour guides and a very nice history. We didn't visit the cafe so cannot comment there, however I would recommend using public transport and not driving as parking is paid and a premium.

Walking around old Freemantle is a great experience. Be sure to stop and see the Freemantle Prison. It's Western Australia's only World Heritage Site. This is where the really bad prisoners were sent, on the other side of Australia. Perth developed as the stop one day's travel up the Swan River from Freemantle to the valley where they grew their food. It's a dramatic setting and a neat stop. But so is all of Freemantle and its setting.

If there was only one place I could take my overseas visitors to, it would be Freo Prison. The tours are fantastic, I have been to the day tour, the evening tour and the underground tour. The day tour is educating but don't let that fool you into thinking it is boring. The guide we had was extremely funny and entertaining, this is what made the tour great. In fact I would go as far to say I enjoyed the Freo tour better than our Alcatraz visit in San Francisco. The evening tour is also fun and spooky especially if you have had a few wines with dinner before you come. The best tour off all was the underground tour, they fit you out in all the safety gear and you go up and down ladders and paddle in boats through the underground canals, this was very cool indeed even my Mother in Law loved it, and- well that in itself is pretty bloody amazing.

We are Fremantle locals but I gave my boyfriend tickets to the Tunnels Tour for Christmas and we were excited to hear some more about Fremantle's history. The Tunnels Tour was well organised, and it seemed tour groups were kept small so everyone would get an opportunity to hear and ask questions. The only downside about the Tour was that when we asked questions some times the Tour Guide said he couldn't answer them because it was a question related to one of the other two tours. I can understand they want people to do the other tours - but really! Still, great for tourists and locals alike.

Such an interesting but also slightly depressing tour of what was a fully functional prison until November 1991. I've been on two tours of this prison and I must say it depends on who your guide is which decides whether it's an informative and interesting tour or one where you're looking at your watch the whole time! When I went in April my tour guide was funny and interesting and told us so much about the history of the prison. But when I went there earlier this week, with some friends who had never been before, our tour guide was different and seemed more keen on making jokes than telling us the interesting facts and history of the prison. No matter who your tour guide is, I still recommend going because this is history that people need to know about - how it was built, who built it, how long it took and the fact they had no running toilets in the cells!