3 Days – Things TO DO in Port Stephens, AUSTRALIA | Tour Holiday Parks, Sand dunes, beaches, Lighthouse many Activities
Long weekend in Port Stephens, AUSTRALIA
Located 2 and a half hours north of Sydney, on a piece of the planet known as “the incredible coast”, the Port Stephens region is a blessed place. With 26 beaches (all with unrivaled beauty), a bay twice the size of Sydney Harbor, the largest sand dunes in the southern hemisphere (just amazing!), A 98,000-hectare Marine Park and a National Park, which has 42,000 hectares of conserved Worimi land – no wonder that many nature lovers from around the world are attracted to this region ( source ).
3 Days – Things TO DO in Port Stephens, AUSTRALIA | Tour Holiday Parks, Sand dunes, beaches, Lighthouse many Activities
- 1 day: Lookouts, Lighthouse and Sunset
- 2 day: Tomaree Head, Shoal Bay and Anna Bay;
- 3 day: Dutchmans Bay and Zenith Beach
3 Days – Things TO DO in Port Stephens, AUSTRALIA
# 1 day: Lookouts, Lighthouse and Sunset
The journey for the long weekend in the Port Stephens region started very early.
We left Sydney and went to pick up the rental car. We started our journey, which would take approximately 2.5 hours, at 8:30 am. At 11 am we were already arriving at the scheduled destination.
Determined to explore the city ( Nelson Bay ) and have lunch, we drove to downtown , and located ourselves. We stop for a quick lunch / snack in one of the snack bars, and after restoring our energy, we continue the walk.
After the technical pit stop, we stopped at the visitor information center, took some maps and tips, and then headed towards the bay area. There we find a beautiful Saturday day, music, a great photo setting and an initial walk.
Once satisfied, it was time to check in at the hotel so that we were free to start the itineraries in the region.
Hotel review: Dutchies Motel Nelson Bay (5 stars)
Very central location. Close to the bay and beaches. Very spacious room for couples with kitchen, living room and bathroom. Wonderful view to Dutchmans Bay.
Value: $ 268 (Australian) dollars for 2 nights without breakfast. Great cost benefit and dependencies.
Check in done, we proceed to know the lookouts and views of the Port Stephens region.
Our itinerary for that first day consisted of:
- Gan Gan Lookout
- Little beach
- The Inner Lighthouse (where we found a super cool cafe and stopped for an afternoon snack)
- Fingal Bay
- Barry Park Lookout
- Salamander Bay
- Soldiers Point
When we reached the last point, the sun was already setting and we enjoyed that moment right there. However, still not satisfied, we went to our last stop and to see a little more of the sunset.
We parked the car and took lots of pictures at Bagnalls Beach . The view from the top of the street to the golden sea at the end of the day was something fantastic!
After this little marathon of views, we returned to the hotel and recovered. In the evening we still enjoy a little more the attractions of Nelson Bay for a dinner. After that moment we closed the day.
3 Days – Things TO DO in Port Stephens, AUSTRALIA
# 2 day: Tomaree Head, Shoal Bay and Anna Bay
On this second day in the region we reserve our efforts for a light walk and the beaches.
We woke up early, went to the center for a quick coffee and soon we were already heading to Tomaree Head Lookout , one of the destinations of the day.
We started the trail at 10am and in less than 2 hours we were already at the base again.
The trail is very light and has 1 km to the top. The path is paved and very peaceful to walk. Some stairs here and others there, but nothing that makes the visitor breathless with great intensity. The view from the top is really worth it and we even saw whales there.
After our first morning exercise, we went to Showl Bay and stayed there for almost 1 hour enjoying the morning and a little bit of the shy sun that appeared on the horizon.
From the top of the Tomaree Lookout we could see the following beaches and points:
- Zenith Beach
- Wreck Beach
- Box Beach
- Fingal Spit
- Tomaree National Park
- Shark Island
After being satisfied with photos and more photos in Shoal Bay, we proceed to our next attraction of the day: Anna Bay . We drove to Birubi Beach , and after some traffic, due to the volume of holiday people in the region, we managed to park the car.
In this bay we find a unique scenario, almost desert. There are many tour companies and the most famous dunes in New South Wales (the state where Sydney is located).
This part of Port Stephens is famous for the dunes, its camels, the ski butt, the quads, 4 × 4 rides, horses, jeeps and etc.
In addition to Birubi, there is also Stockton Beach, the continuation of the first beach I mentioned. And many, many kilometers of dunes and beach in this part of Port Stephens.
We stayed there practically at the end of the morning and almost all afternoon. We walked the dunes on foot to the part where tourists go skiing and after many photos we went back to the beach.
Around 3:00 pm we left this place and drove to Murrays Brewery . Our lunch was at this location. Some beers here and others there, we ate, we enjoyed the day’s rock show and around 5 pm we returned to Nelson Bay. We closed our second day just after sunset at Dutchmans Bay.
3 Days – Things TO DO in Port Stephens, AUSTRALIA
# 3 day: Dutchmans Bay and Zenith Beach
For our third and final day, we reserve the efforts to rest and enjoy the leisure of a beautiful beach. We chose the calmest beach and with few waves that we had known in those days, the beach next to our hotel. Dutchmans Bay was the place we spent that day.
We checked out of the hotel at 9:30 am and went for a quick coffee in the center of Nelson Bay. After we were fed we went back to the same point where we left, our hotel.
We parked in the bay parking lot, and there we stayed practically all day enjoying the sea, the sun and doing stand up paddle. After 3 o’clock in the afternoon we went to a point that we had already visited but now with a new ceário.
We went to Tomaree Head to watch the sunset. As we were with some friends, some went to the top of the mountain again and saw from there, and we decided to stay at the base and visit a new beach that is right there: Zenith Beach .
At the base of the climb to Tomaree Head there is another trail that leads to some beaches: Box Beach and Wreck Beach. And right next to the beginning of this other trail is the entrance to the beach that I mentioned we visited.
We went to Zenith Beach, there we saw the end of the sunset and took some pictures. We return to the bay where Tomaree is located and, there, we are still enjoying the sun until it completely sets. Day ended. We returned to Sydney after 6pm.
In this way we closed our long weekend in the Port Stephens region.
Links Importantes
- Sand Dune Adventures – Quadriciclos nas dunas
- Dolphin Swim – Swim with dolphins
- Rock Climbing Mt. Tomaree Tours
- Sail Time Port Stephens
- Moonshadow-TQC Cruises
- Blue Water Sailing
- Nelson Bay Boat Hire
- Port Stephens Beach Fishing Safaris
- Boab Boats – boat hire, boat share e boat licensing
- Calypso Fishing Adventures
- Nude Kayaks
- Port Stephens Surf School
- Lazy Paddles Guided Tours – Kayak hire e Sup hire
- Shark & Ray Encounters
- Scuba diving & snorkelling
- Scuba, Snorkel & Freedive
- Sand Dune Safari
- Oakvale Wildlife Park
- Australian Reptile Park
- Kayak & Standup Paddle Board
- Imagine Cruises
- Sandboarding
- Quad Bike King
- 4WD tag-along & passenger tours
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