Country Escapes
NSW’s country regions offer heritage villages, rolling farmland, mountain towns, cellar doors, and wide-open landscapes.
Your guide to the best country getaways
From food-focused hubs and historic main streets to national parks, lookouts, and quiet rural retreats, country NSW delivers a very different kind of escape. In each travel guide below you’ll find why we love the destination, who it suits, where to explore, our favourite restaurants and recommended accommodation.
Plus at the end you’ll find activity guides for places to explore and things to do on your next escape.
Next Escape is your guide to real places and real experiences, with practical, independent travel advice based on first-hand visits: the places we’ve explored, the restaurants we’ve eaten at and the walks we’ve done. This page may contain affiliate links; if you book or buy through them, Next Escape may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Bowral Weekend
Activity Guide
Our favourite ten things to do in and around Bowral in the Southern Highlands.
Kangaroo Valley
Travel Guide
Check out walks, waterfalls and wombats with our guide to Kangaroo Valley.
Country destinations
If you are looking to explore the Southern Highlands, check out the Next Escape Southern Highlands 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 country towns across New South Wales, jump in to one of our guides below.
Activity Guides
These guides cover activities, day trips and weekend ideas that fit a country escape.
