From calm family-friendly bays to rugged surf beaches and coastal walks, NSW has stunning beaches for almost every type of coastal escape. Here, we’ve listed some of our favourites on the NSW Central Coast, South Coast and North Coast, plus at the end you’ll find full itineraries for road trips to explore several destinations on your next escape.
NSW Central Coast
The NSW Central Coast sits just 90 minutes north of Sydney and offers gorgeous beaches, excellent cafes and restaurants, coastal walks and plenty to do in a compact location.
If you are choosing between Central Coast locations, check out the Next Escape Central Coast Weekend Escape Guide – this gives you a rundown of our favourite towns in the area, what we love about each one, plus our picks of the accommodation, restaurants and activities. To explore particular beach towns in the region, jump in to one of our guides below.
NSW South Coast
The NSW South Coast stretches from Wollongong to Victoria, over hundreds of kilometres of stunning coastline. If you don’t want to travel too far from Sydney, take a look at the Next Escape South Coast Weekend Escape Guide. This guide explores nearby South Coast destinations (Kiama, Gerringong, Berry) and gives you a complete rundown to help select the perfect destination to suit you. If you are happy to travel a little further, take a look at the guides to Mollymook, Huskisson and Narooma for inspiration.
NSW North Coast
The NSW North Coast runs from Newcastle to the Queensland border and covers some of the most varied coastline in the state. Port Stephens, with its calm harbour beaches, sand dunes and dolphin-filled bay, sits around 2.5 hours north of Sydney and is a good starting point for exploring the region.
Coastal Road Trips
The best way to find your perfect destination is to explore a few towns and find your favourite. Our road trip guides give you day-by-day itineraries with balanced daily distances to drive, variety in destinations, plus suggested accommodation, restaurants and activities.
