How to spend a week in Port Stephens with your family

Only an hour from Newcastle and 2.5 hours from Sydney, Port Stephens is an unspoilt gem and a great place for families to get away. I tend to get out there with my family a few times a year, usually day trips, and it’s always beautiful. There are some great places to stay for those that like to stop and relax, but for those that can’t sit still, there are activities on tap to keep you entertained nonstop. Here are a few to get you started.

Kayaking or stand up paddleboarding

On a good day, Port Stephens can be a great place to explore by paddle. There are bays galore than can protect you from the wind (if there is any) and no shortage of beaches and parks for you to pull up to when you need a rest. You may even come across a marina where you can refuel with a coffee, an ice cream or something more.

Waterskiing and Wakeboarding

This one might require your own boat (or hiring one) but if you have the chance it’s a great way to get out on the water. Even on the windiest of days, the Karuah River (at the west of the bay) remains calm, so as long as the sun is shining there’ll be somewhere for you to find decent water. On those windy days though, the only tricky part is getting to the river as this can get wild.

Boat trip up the Myall River

Again, if you have your own boat (or are happy to hire one for the day) this is a fantastic outing on a good day. With many 4 knot zones en route, it is slow going, but this trip is about the journey as much as the destination.

There’s plenty to look at but I also took a book to read and there was even the odd beach to stop at for when we needed some respite from that Australian sun. After lunch and a swim at Mungo Brush inside the Myall Lakes, we headed back up the river and home.

I’ve never hired a boat in the area, but I did see a company called Boab Boats launching boats for hire and they appear to have a national presence.

Have a Beach Day

Like any good Australian coastal area there are beaches aplenty in the Port Stephens area. Fingal Bay Beach is the closest to the ocean but still very protected as it is in a bay. Anna Bay also faces the ocean and has more waves and is patrolled. Bagnalls Beach was long, skinny, protected, and great for pulling the kids on boogie boards. Shoal Bay Beach is very popular, has a great jetty for jumping and is also right across the road from shops and cafes to keep you stocked all day.

Lastly, Little Beach is really, really popular but a great option for kids. When I visited in the high peak Christmas/New Year period, the grass behind the beach was lined with portable gazebos and BBQs where people appeared to have setup for the whole day (or more). Parking can be a nightmare though so prepare for a walk from your car.

Hire bikes

Cycling can be a great way to get around Port Stephens. The roads are wide and the terrain is quite flat. There is a bike hire shop at Shoal Bay and a Cycle shop at the Salamander Bay shopping centre. I actually rode to Port Stephens from my home in Newcastle which took about 4 hours. For someone that hasn’t ridden any distance for at least a year, this was some feat.

Dolphin watching cruise

Most days we were out on the boat we saw dolphins. We’d idle the boat and wait for them to reappear. The young kids loved it and I have a sneaking suspicion the adults got a kick out of it as well. We even saw a small pod halfway up the Myall River! So it is safe to say there are plenty of them around, which also means it should be fairly easy to book a tour.

You can pre-book a tour online, or there are sales desks around the marina in Nelson Bay, these are probably your easiest options.

Jetskiing the harbour

There’s nothing more exhilarating than zooming across the water at 100 km/h with nothing between you and the crisp water but a small fibreglass hull and a jet engine. Jetskiing is a lot of fun and also a great way to explore the harbour. This may be restricted to those with a jetski licence but that shouldn’t stop you from looking into it (or finding a friend at the pub that has one).

Snorkelling and diving

Surprisingly, there is stuff to look at in Port Stephens under the water. I haven’t seen it but I believe it is there. I went snorkelling at Fly Point (along with about 50 other people) but I didn’t see anything worth getting wet for. Maybe we were doing it wrong, maybe we weren’t, I’m not sure. But I will definitely keep trying in different spots and report back.

That said, my dad and bro did go on two diving tours that they pre-booked and they said they were worth doing. They said the dives tended to feature more fish and sunken man-made objects than coral but that’s just a function of where you are. You can choose from shore dives or boat trip dives so there should be something to suit all experience levels.

Stockton Sand dunes

Not far from the hub of Nelson Bay are the Stockton Sand Dunes. These dunes stretch all the way from Fern Bay in the south to Anna Bay in the north. Many people take their 4WDs onto the dunes, launching from Williamtown, but if you don’t have a 4WD with you there are still some really fun options.

We have previously gone sandboarding not far from Anna Bay, which is hard work (walking up the dunes) but a lot of fun. There are also tours that will take you quad biking. You will see a sign around Williamtown for Quad Bike King, but there are others as well.

Click here to see what tours can be booked online.

Hike up Mount Tomaree

Alright, stay with me here. I’m not suggesting an all-out hike that’ll take all day and require planning. Tomaree is a small mountain located to the east of Shoal Bay that takes around 15-20 minutes to walk up. Mind you, it is quite steep.

There’s a parking lot at the base, but you can easily combine with a walk from Shoal Bay Beach.

There is a large platform at the summit that gives sweeping views back toward Nelson Bay in the west, and out towards Fingal Bay in the east. You’ve worked for it, but it hasn’t taken all day, and you are still feel rewarded by the view. If you like getting active it is an absolute must.

You could spend a day in Port Stephens and you could spend a week here and have a wonderful trip. I’ve done it both ways (within the last month no less!) and we just keep coming back. It’s perfect as a standalone holiday destination but if you’re driving up the east coast, it would also be a fine place to stop.