Short weekend getaways from Sydney
Escape from Sydney to one of NSW (or the ACT's) relaxing retreats. From fantastic local food and wine to shopping, great art, spas or adventure, you'll return to Sydney a new human.
Best driving breaks from Sydney
Bowral
Katoomba
Head to the chief city in the Blue Mountains for heritage-listed restaurants, spa resorts, steep cable car rides and late lunches in Leura.
Shoalhaven
This region is seemingly comprised entirely of national parks, white sand beaches, biodynamic farmland and little seaside towns.
Central Coast
From wild national parks and epic beaches to slices of suburbia, the Central Coast is Sydney's sprawling, sometimes strange and sometimes charming northern cousin.
Pokolbin, Hunter Valley
Plan a long weekend in the Hunter Valley with our guide to where to eat, drink, stay and play in Pokolbin.
Canberra
Canberra used to be the punchline of jokes: known only for porn, politicians and legal fireworks. Now there are far more stimulating things happening outside the adult shops than on their shelves. Canberra in the twenty-teens boasts hipper hotels than Sydney, excellent cafés, some of the best galleries and museums in the country.
Thredbo
Winter is here whether you like it or not – so rather than complain about it – embrace it with awesome scenery and snowy fun.
Orange
Head west to the fertile plains, where wine is plentiful, people are friendly and winter frosts mean fresh black truffles on menus everywhere.
Port Macquarie
Things have changed in the Port since your parents dragged you there on a family holiday: a combination of seachange-type entrepreneurs and the realisation that having a location equidistant from Sydney and Brisbane may provide certain advantages.
Bathurst
Short flights from Sydney
Tasmania
From pristine wilderness sites to one of the most avant-garde galleries in the world (that'd be “submersive adult Disneyland” Mona, which owner David Walsh reportedly built from his gambling profits), there's a great deal to recommend Tasmania.
Byron Bay
From sleepy hippy towns, to music festival paradise, to Sydney's favourite beachside haunt, the Byron Bay region has much to recommend it.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Escape the hustle and bustle of Sydney and journey to the country's red centre, where the skies are clear, the stars are out and the landscapes are spectacular.
Short getaways from Melbourne
Use Sydney's sister down south as a launch pad for a weekend of koala spotting or fine dining in the countryside.
Or stick around...
A guide to the Royal National Park
It's less than an hour's drive from the CBD, yet so many Sydneysiders haven't stepped foot in the pristine 15,091 hectares of bushland that lines the coast south of Sydney. Whether you want to swim, trek, picnic, swim, bike ride, swim or just GTFO of Sydney for the day, the Royal National Park will provide an outdoors, adventure-filled day out.
