The best day trips from Canberra

Canberra’s a bit of a hidden gem in the Australian wine world, boasting more than 40 boutique vineyards serving up cool-climate drops with paddock-to-plate goodness. If you’re keen to discover a new favourite drop, the Murrumbateman Wine Region is your go-to – and you won’t even need a deso driver. Thanks to the brand-new Wine Hopper tour, you can sip, swirl and stroll through nine of the best cellar doors, including Murrumbateman Winery, Shaw Estate, Four Winds Vineyard, Clonakilla and The Vintner’s Daughter. The hop-on, hop-off bus runs on Saturdays and Sundays, making for the perfect weekend adventure.

How far? 39 kilometres

How to get there? 40-minute drive or 1-hour and 10-minute bus ride

Best things to do in Murrumbateman: Wine Hopper Tour, Murrumbateman Winery, Clonakilla, Four Winds Vineyard, Dionysus Winery

Canberrans have easy access to the wonders of NSW’s South Coast, which boasts emerald hills, sapphire seas, uncrowded beach coves, epic national parks and several little seaside towns. To get there, drive east along the Princes Highway from Queanbeyan and don’t stop driving until you reach Batemans Bay. This sleepy coastal town is the easiest of the bunch to conquer in a day, where you can while away the hours relaxing at McKenzies Beach, kayaking down Cullendulla Creek, strolling along the Sculpture Walk and slurping fresh oysters from the Oyster Shed on Wray. If you’ve got more than a day, head further south to discover the unspoilt charms of Narooma and Bermagui, or north to gems like Mollymook and Jervis Bay.

How far? 150 kilometres

How to get there? 2-hour drive or 2-hour and 40-minute bus ride

Best things to do in Batemans Bay: Myrtle Beach walking track, Holmes Lookout, McKenzies Beach, kayaking on Cullendulla Creek, Batemans Bay Sculpture Walk, Oyster Shed on Wray

Ready for some outdoor fun? Canberra is perfectly placed beside many of Australia’s best ski resorts, including Thredbo, Perisher, the more family-friendly Mount Selwyn and Australia’s highest ski resort Charlotte Pass. In winter, these regions of the Snowy Mountains come alive with alpine wilderness, rushing rivers and glacial lakes. But in the warmer months, wildflowers bloom, horse riding treks beckon, and you can tackle Australia’s tallest peak, Mount Kosciuszko. The 22km Main Range Track is the best way to experience it, beginning and ending at Charlotte Pass and taking you across the Snowy River towards the summit of Kosciuszko itself. 

How far? 210 kilometres

How to get there? 2.5-hour drive or 3.5-hour shuttle ride

Best things to do in the Snowy Mountains: Thredbo, Perisher, Mount Selwyn, Charlotte Pass

Australia’s first inland city has long been a popular pit stop on the drive from Canberra to Sydney, but we think it’s worth a trip in itself. The charming country town is famous for its enormous concrete sheep, affectionately known as Rambo. After snapping a photo out the front, you can head inside (yep, it’s hollow) to pick up a woolly souvenir. Then into the wild you go – take yourself on a self-guided heritage walk to see Goulburn’s historic architecture, including St Saviour’s Cathedral and the 19th-century courthouse, then chug over to Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre, stroll through Belmore Park and grab a classic meat pie from Trappers Bakery.

How far? 90 kilometres

How to get there? 1-hour drive, 1.5-hour train trip or 1-hour and 10-minute bus ride

Best things to do in Goulburn: The Big Merino, Belmore Park, Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre, Rocky Hill War Memorial, Bungonia National Park, Trappers Bakery

The inland areas on the outskirts of the ACT are known as the Southern Tablelands. It’s here that you’ll find a patch of charming country towns (all with excellent country bakeries) that make you long to become a tree changer, ditching the big smoke for fresh, farm-to-table produce, award-winning wineries and enough outdoor experiences to make you say “Blue Mountains, who?” Bungendore is one such town, where you can browse antique stores and galleries, including the famous Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, then pop into a historic pub, like the Lake George Inn, for a pint. It’s even got a lovely family-run winery, Lark Hill, where you can enjoy wine tastings or a long lunch from Friday to Sunday. 

How far? 40 kilometres

How to get there? 40-minute drive or 40-minute train ride

Best things to do in Bungendore: Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, Lark Hill Winery, The Malbon, Lake George Hotel, Gunna Doo Bakery 

For a charming trip back in time, charter your horse and carriage to Braidwood. An extra 35-minute drive from Bungendore, this historic town was the first in NSW to be heritage-listed in its entirety. Braidwood’s grand stone buildings and colonial-era charm are still proudly on display, and you can wander the main street to explore quaint antique stores, old-school bakeries and boutiques that practically beg you to buy something adorable. Just outside Braidwood, Monga National Park offers a lush rainforest retreat with walking tracks and tranquil riverside picnic spots.

How far? 89 kilometres

How to get there? 1 hour and 10-minute drive or 1.5-hour bus ride

Best things to do in Braidwood: Wallace Street, Ryrie Park, Braidwood Farmers Market, Much To Do About Chocolate, truffle hunting 

With a population of just 376, Collector is the kind of place you visit when you wanna get away from it all – even if it’s just for the day. A few hours here is all it takes to reset, and we suggest coming hungry, because dining and wining is pretty much the whole agenda. Start with brunch at the locally-run Some Café, which serves Single O coffee, alongside freshly baked cakes, pastries, toasties and weekly soup specials. Pop next door to shop their house-made jams, sauces and honey (straight from their five beehives), plus a range of other cute local knick-knacks. Then drive over to Lerida Estate for a glass of their pinot noir rosé that has sweet wild strawberries on the nose and moreish savoury finish. 

How far? 59 kilometres

How to get there? 45-minute drive from Canberra CBD or 40-minute bus ride

Best things to do in Collector: Some Café, Lake George Winery, Lerida Estate, Bushranger Hotel

Whether you're a fan of antiquing, slogging through kilometres of scribbly bushland or tearing into flaky croissants, it's never a bad idea to head to the Highlands. This charming region, under a two-hour drive from Canberra, is a foodies paradise full of old-school pubs, little laneway cafés and upmarket restaurants. But it’s the bakeries that are worth travelling for. With locations in Bowral, Berrima and Mittagong, the award-winning Gumnut Patisserie should definitely be top of the list. You won't regret lining up for their warm sausage rolls, golden croissants and finger lime meringue tartlets, which have drawn locals and visitors to the bakery for almost 30 years. Top tip: the queues are always quieter at Gumnut’s Berrima bakery, and you can walk right across the road to Baked in Berrima for fresh focaccia sandwiches and sugary apple turnovers. It’s also worth dropping into Robertson for a rich pepper steak pie at Southern Rise Bakery, followed by a bright yellow custard tart at the famous Robertson Pie Shop. 

How far? Around 150 kilometres

How to get there? Around a 1-hour and 45-minute drive

Best things to do in Southern Highlands: Bendooley Estate, Bradman Museum, Corbett Gardens, Dirty Janes, Artemis Wines, Fitzroy Falls

Have you ever encountered a wild emu? If the answer’s no, your state of deprivation can be quickly rectified with a visit to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, an expansive, protected area on the fringe of the Namadgi National Park, at the northern end of the Australian Alps. Around a 40-minute drive southwest of Canberra, Tidbinbilla is home to a huge variety of birdlife, as well as kangaroos, wallabies, platypi and some very accessible koalas. There are 24 signposted trails to explore in the park, including an Aboriginal Heritage Walk. These range in difficulty from very easy – the wheelchair-accessible Koala Path – to long and challenging uphill hikes, including one that leads to the rocky outcrop of Gibraltar Peak, which, when you make it to the top, has remarkable views out across the valley below. Venture further into Namadgi National Park to learn more about the local Ngunnawal people, who have lived on this land for at least 21,000 years. Popular walks for day visitors include hikes up to the granite boulders at Square Rock, the Yankee Hat rock art site in Gudgenby Valley and Mount Franklin (yes, of bottled water fame).

How far? 50 kilometres

How to get there? 55-minute drive

Best things to do in Namadgi National Park: Aboriginal Heritage Walk, Koala Path, Gibraltar Peak