Hey ian! Not too familiar w joondalup but you can take the train or bus down to perth pretty easily, so no worries there..while your here, check the fremantle market, kings park for the views, sorrento beach, east perth canal, south perth esplande and the bell tower..good luck!
as far as accomodation goes i dont think there are to many cheap hotels/motels etc in that areas but i can look for ya.
The train line does run from joondalup direct to perth so no probs with transport there...
As for whats to see...depends what ya into.
A few card shops here,,,,casino,zoo,kings park,etc etc
Well as for accomodation most of what i am aware of in that area are pricey, the Joondalup Resort is nice, but pricey.
Closer to the city there are cheaper places about.
Public transport is good both to and from Joondalup, and cheap compared to the east coast i have been informed.
As for places to avoid, pending on whether you like AFL or not, but Subiaco Oval is apparently not the hot bed it used to be, so tickets maybe easy to acquire these days, otherwise plenty of decent things to see as earlier mentioned Kings Park, South Perth Foreshore, Scarborough Beach etc...
I'm not sure about the area your going to but i spent some time in East Fremantle / Perth and it has one of the best transport systems in OZ and it's very clean.
Just saw this and wondering why Joondalup is the area you want to stay? Don't get me wrong, its a nice place but places to stay are pricey and some of the pubs that way can get pretty violent. I'd personally stay in the city where the prices are competitive for accomodation. Depending on what you want to do I would cruise between Perth city and Freo. Murray st is a good place to go out in the city unless you want to head across the train line to Northbridge, people say its pretty scary, I don't go much but when I do I never feel threatened.
With the accomodation side, i think its better asking no Perth bodys as people like me havnt had to stay in a hotel in perth!
i live in perths northern suburbs mate. (kingsley) and i can tell you it is one of the nicer parts of perth. ALthough just south, you have goverment housing suburbs like Balga, Girrawheen and Koondoola. Stay away from there.
If you like your clubs northbridge is the place. Although its a bit rough. During the day, even if your alone you have NOTHING to worry about though. People mak it sound worse than it is.
Transport is easy. Train service running on the freeway up past Joondalup down past mandurah. Would talke half hour from Joondalup station to city. Cheap as well
And if you can, one good thing is take a walk through the city and see its sights. As well as go to kings park. Great view of the river and city from there.
Dont forget to check out Al's Card Shop Corner Wellington and Queen St.
Just Cards. Wanneroo markets. On Prindiville Dr