Which WA skydive suits you? Rottnest, Jurien Bay or Darkan

The three options side by side

The heights differ, so the prices aren't like for like. The entry prices are for 8,000ft at Darkan but 10,000ft at Jurien Bay and on Rottnest. At 10,000ft, Jurien Bay is $419 and Rottnest from $499; at 14,000ft, Darkan is $489 and Jurien Bay $519 ($469 Monday to Thursday); Rottnest's higher option is 15,000ft from $599. Photos and video cost extra at all three: from $159 at Jurien Bay [7], from $179 at Darkan, and as optional packages on Rottnest [2]. Rottnest also needs a ferry fare; skydive-and-ferry packages started at $561 when we checked [6].

Who each one suits

Rottnest Island (Skydive Geronimo) suits visitors and anyone who'd rather not drive. It's the closest to Perth, with island and ocean views, a landing on a Rottnest beach (usually Bickley Bay, Thomson Bay or Salmon Bay) and ferry packages from Fremantle, Hillarys and Perth city that turn it into a day trip [3][6]. Its 15,000ft jump gives about 66 seconds of freefall [1]. It's tandem only, with a standard 95 kg limit [3].

Jurien Bay (Skydive Jurien Bay) suits people after a beach landing and coastal scenery on a road trip or weekend away. It jumps seven days a week, has a cheaper Monday-to-Thursday price, runs sunset jumps from April to September ($729 with photos and video) and takes tandem passengers up to 115 kg with no surcharge above 90 kg [7][8]. In summer it only books mornings, because of afternoon sea breezes [8].

Darkan (The Skydive School) suits people who want more than a ride: a day at a real skydiving club, a lower-cost 8,000ft option for first-timers, and the only place in WA where you can go on to learn to skydive at any time of year. That's the part the other two can't offer, so here's what it actually looks like.

What a day at a working dropzone is like

Hillman Farm isn't a tandem counter with a plane behind it. It's a skydiving club that has been jumping since 1975, and on a jump day everything happens around you. Here's a typical Saturday.

1. You arrive at a country airfield. Hangar, clubhouse, bunkhouse, a Cessna Caravan on the strip and paddocks in every direction. Bring the family: there's room to sit, watch and wander, and no ferry timetable to catch.
2. You see the sport, not just the ride. On most jump days a learn-to-skydive course is running, so you'll watch students in ground school practising their exits, then see them come back down grinning after a stage. Licensed club members are jumping too: formation groups, wingsuit pilots, people training for their next licence.
3. Your briefing is unhurried. Courses here take four students at most, and tandems get the same attention. Your instructor walks you through the harness, the exit, freefall and the landing, and answers whatever you want to ask.
4. You fly to 8,000 or 14,000ft in the same plane as the skydivers you've been watching. Freefall over the Wheatbelt, then a parachute ride with the whole South West laid out below you.
5. You land on the airfield, right in front of your people. No bus back from a beach: your family films the landing from a few metres away, then you're standing beside the plane together.
6. You stay as long as you like. Loads keep going up all afternoon. Plenty of first-timers hang around to watch, talk to the students, and ask the question most people leave with: "Could I do that?"

Allow the whole day. Skydiving runs on the weather and on loads, and the waiting is part of the experience: it's when you get to see how a dropzone really works.

WA dropzones that have closed

Search results, booking sites and old blog posts still list skydiving operations in WA that no longer run. As of November 2026, to the best of our knowledge, these have closed: Skydive Australia Rockingham and Perth City (Langley Park), Skydive York, Skydive Geronimo Busselton (Geronimo now flies from Rottnest only), WA Skydiving Academy (Pinjarra and Tompkins Park), Southern Skydivers (Busselton) and West Oz Skydiving (Myalup). If you find a listing for any of them, the three operators above are the ones actually taking bookings. If you know of a WA dropzone we've missed, tell us and we'll add it.

Learning to skydive in WA

Solo skydiving is taught through Accelerated Freefall (AFF), with instructors jumping alongside you until you're ready to go on your own.

One thing to know before you compare: you don't have to do a tandem first. Some courses start with a tandem jump. At Hillman Farm, if you want to fly solo, that's what we teach from day one: ground school on the Wednesday morning, then your first freefall with two instructors flying beside you. A tandem is there if you want one, but it's never a condition of learning.

• The Skydive School, Darkan: AFF Starter (first 3 stages) $2,190, or the full 10-stage course $3,635 including on-site accommodation. Maximum four students; courses start Wednesdays at 9am, all year except the Christmas break. We're the only WA dropzone running AFF all year. Solo weight limit 95 kg.
• Skydive Jurien Bay: $3,490 for a training tandem and nine solo jumps with an instructor, including gear, seven nights' accommodation and APF membership ($700 non-refundable deposit). Courses run March to October only, because of summer winds; the last 2026 start was 12 October and the next is 2 March 2027. Weight limit 100 kg [9].
• Skydive Geronimo, Rottnest: tandem only [3].

The courses are packaged differently, so check what each price includes and what further jumps to your licence will cost. One thing no school can promise: the APF A-Licence is performance-based, set by the Australian Parachute Federation, not by the dropzone. You get it when you meet the standard, not after a fixed number of jumps. That's why we don't sell a "licence package": we sell the course and the jumps, and most of our students reach the licence within 20 to 25 jumps. If a tandem is your way of finding out whether you'd like the sport, Darkan is the one place where you can watch the next step happening while you wait for your load.

Sources

1. Skydive Geronimo home page (heights, prices, freefall times, ferries and flights, 19 km offshore): skydivegeronimo.com.au
2. Skydive Geronimo booking pages (starting prices, high season September to May, low season June to August, optional photo and video): 10,000ft and 15,000ft
3. Skydive Geronimo FAQs (days open, landing beaches, spectators, weight and age limits, tandem only): skydivegeronimo.com.au/faqs
4. Rottnest Express ferry information (Fremantle and Perth crossing times): rottnestexpress.com.au
5. Rottnest Fast Ferries (Hillarys crossing time): rottnestfastferries.com.au
6. Skydive Geronimo skydive and ferry packages: skydive and ferry packages
7. Skydive Jurien Bay prices (heights, prices, freefall times, beach landing, photo and video, sunset jumps, no surcharge above 90 kg): skydivejurienbay.com/skydive/prices
8. Skydive Jurien Bay FAQ (days open, drive time, summer mornings, weight and age limits, spectators): skydivejurienbay.com/skydive/faq
9. Skydive Jurien Bay learn to skydive (AFF price, inclusions, March to October season, 2026 and 2027 start dates, weight limit): skydivejurienbay.com/skydive/learn-to-skydive

The Skydive School's details are from our own current prices and course timetable.