Day trip
Season: Year-roundBlue Mountains day tour
- The Three Sisters from Echo Point
- Bush walks, lookouts and mountain villages
One of the best things about staying in South West Sydney is how close you are to the rest of New South Wales. The motorways head south to the Southern Highlands and Canberra, the coast is under an hour away over the escarpment, and the Blue Mountains are an easy drive north-west.
The Southern Highlands
About an hour south of Campbelltown on the Hume Motorway.
Cool-climate country towns, gardens, cellar doors and waterfalls. Wander the shops and cafés of Bowral, visit the old village of Berrima with its sandstone buildings, and see Fitzroy Falls in Morton National Park plunge over the sandstone cliffs. In spring, the tulip festival fills Bowral’s Corbett Gardens with colour.
The Illawarra coast and the Royal National Park
About 45 minutes from Campbelltown to the coast.
Drive over the escarpment to the sea and follow the Grand Pacific Drive north over the Sea Cliff Bridge, which curves out over the ocean below the cliffs. Continue into the Royal National Park, Australia’s oldest national park, for clifftop walks, lookouts and beaches such as Garie. Wollongong has more beaches, cafés and restaurants.
The Blue Mountains
About 1 hour 20 minutes from Liverpool to Katoomba.
Take the M7 and the M4 west to the mountains. See the Three Sisters from Echo Point in Katoomba, walk a section of the clifftop tracks, ride the railway and cableways at Scenic World, and have lunch in Leura. Many guided tours from Sydney include wildlife parks on the way.
Sydney Harbour and the city
About an hour by train from Liverpool or Campbelltown.
Leave the car behind and take the train into the city. Walk from Circular Quay to the Opera House, take a harbour cruise or the ferry to Manly, climb the Harbour Bridge, and explore the old lanes of The Rocks.
Canberra
About 2.5–3 hours from Campbelltown.
A long day, but possible: the national capital has Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial and the National Gallery. Better as an overnight trip.
Tips
- Beat the traffic: leave early, and avoid coming back into Sydney on Sunday afternoons.
- Prefer a guide? Most day tours start in central Sydney, so take the train in the night before or catch an early service.
- Check fire and weather warnings before walking in national parks in summer.
