Day trips from Kiama to Berry, Kangaroo Valley and Jervis Bay

Pick a day trip by drive time

Kiama sits in the middle of the coast between the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven, with the escarpment and the Southern Highlands right behind it. That makes it an easy base: most of the places below are under an hour away, and you can be back for a swim or dinner in town.

These drive times are from Kiama Ridge Waters at 2 Surfleet Place. They assume clear roads, so add time on weekends and in school holidays. Destination Kiama's own planning figures are a little more generous: Wollongong and the Southern Highlands 40 minutes, Jervis Bay 1 hour 15, and Batemans Bay, Canberra and the Blue Mountains 2 hours 30.

Closer to home, Gerringong, Jamberoo, Minnamurra and Shellharbour make good half days. See our guides to Gerringong, Jamberoo, Minnamurra Rainforest and Shellharbour.

Walk above the rainforest at Illawarra Fly

Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures sits on top of the escarpment at Knights Hill, reached from Kiama by the winding Jamberoo Mountain Road. The drive takes about 32 minutes.

The Treetop Walk is a 1.5 km loop with 500 metres of elevated steel walkway through the canopy, about 20 to 30 metres above the forest floor. Climb the spiral Knights Tower, about 45 metres high, for views over the rainforest canopy, the coastal towns and the Pacific Ocean. For more of a thrill, the Zipline Tour links tree platforms with cable spans and suspension bridges about 35 metres up, for ages four and over. There is also an Enchanted Forest area, archery, a visitor centre and a cafe.

Illawarra Fly opens daily from 10am to 4.30pm, from 9.30am in holiday periods, with last entry at 3.30pm. It is closed on Christmas Day. Tickets start from $20 for the Treetop Walk and $100 for the zipline. Book online and check before you go, as hours and prices change.

Loop through the Southern Highlands to Fitzroy Falls

Once you are up at Illawarra Fly, you are already on the Southern Highlands plateau, so it is worth making a loop of it.

Carrington Falls in Budderoo National Park has a picnic area, a walking track and a campground, about 40 minutes from the apartments. Budderoo closes at times for bad weather and fire danger, so check the alerts on NSW National Parks before you set out.

Fitzroy Falls in Morton National Park drops nearly 100 metres over sandstone cliffs into the gorge. A step-free boardwalk runs about 150 metres from the visitor centre to the lookout, so it suits prams and wheelchairs. The moderate West Rim walking track adds more waterfall views. The visitor centre opens 9am to 4pm daily, except Christmas Day, and parking costs $4 per vehicle per day, paid by cash or card. Belmore Falls is another walk in the same park.

Bowral is the shopping hub of the Southern Highlands, about an hour from Kiama. Corbett Gardens fill with more than 75,000 tulips during Tulip Time each September and October, and the Bradman Museum sits next to Bradman Oval in the town where Sir Don Bradman grew up. It opens 9am to 4pm daily, except Good Friday and Christmas Day. For a view, climb Mount Gibraltar Heritage Reserve on the northern edge of town.

For a full loop, take Jamberoo Mountain Road up to Illawarra Fly, carry on to Fitzroy Falls, then drop down into Kangaroo Valley and come home through Berry.

Paddle the river in Kangaroo Valley

Kangaroo Valley is a village of green paddocks and forested ridges about 36 minutes from the apartments, through Berry and over the range. Its main street dates from 1870, and the Hampden Bridge, with its big sandstone turrets, carries the road over the Kangaroo River.

The river is the main draw. You can hire a canoe or kayak, or join a guided trip, from local operators including Kangaroo Valley Safaris and Kangaroo Valley Kayaks. On dry land there are trail rides, bushwalks to waterfalls, picnics at Tallowa Dam and the Pioneer Village Museum.

For lunch, the heritage-listed Friendly Inn pub is on the main street, and Kangaroo Valley Bakehouse is known for pies and sausage rolls. Fitzroy Falls is less than 20 km up the road if you want to link the two.

Spend a slow day in Berry

Berry is the closest country town, about 15 minutes south of the apartments. Queen Street is lined with old trees, nineteenth-century buildings, bakeries, pubs and homeware shops. The Berry Markets run at the showground on the first Sunday of every month except February, and cellar doors such as Silos Estate and Coolangatta Estate are a short drive away.

Our full Berry day trip guide covers where to eat, market days and a sample itinerary. For more cellar doors, see wineries near Kiama.

Swim at Hyams Beach and cruise Jervis Bay

Jervis Bay is the longest of the easy day trips from Kiama, and the one most worth an early start. Huskisson is about 49 minutes away and Hyams Beach about 57 minutes, but Destination Kiama allows 1 hour 15, which is closer to what you will see on a summer weekend.

Hyams Beach is known for its white sand, and the White Sands Walk is another highlight nearby. Booderee National Park at the southern end of the bay has Murrays Beach for swimming and snorkelling, the ruins of the Cape St George Lighthouse, a good lookout for migrating whales, and the Aboriginal-owned Booderee Botanic Gardens.

Huskisson is the base for boat trips. Jervis Bay Marine Park is home to bottlenose dolphins, fur seals and little penguins, and whales migrate through between May and November. Dolphin Watch Cruises has been running trips from Huskisson for more than 30 years, with dolphin, whale and seal colony cruises.

Drive north to Wollongong and the Sea Cliff Bridge

Heading north, Wollongong is about 35 minutes away by car, or a train ride from Kiama station. Keep going and the coast road becomes the Grand Pacific Drive.

The Sea Cliff Bridge curves out over the ocean between Coalcliff and Clifton, about 53 minutes from the apartments. It opened in December 2005 to replace a stretch of Lawrence Hargrave Drive closed by rock falls, and a 2.5-metre footpath runs beside the two traffic lanes, so you can park and walk across.

Symbio Wildlife Park at Helensburgh is about 48 minutes from Kiama on the motorway. It has more than 500 animals, including koalas, red pandas, cheetahs and meerkats, walk-through kangaroo enclosures and a splash park for kids. It opens daily from 9.30am to 5pm.

Take the motorway north to Symbio in the morning, then come home slowly down the coast over the Sea Cliff Bridge, stopping in the beach villages on the way.

Take the train instead of driving

Kiama station is about 27 minutes' walk from the apartments. Electric trains from Sydney finish at Kiama, so heading north to Wollongong and the northern beach villages is easy without a car. Heading south, the line is not electrified, and a diesel shuttle runs from Kiama through Gerringong to Berry and Bomaderry (Nowra). Check times on Transport NSW first.

Local buses also run: Kiama Coachlines covers Kiama, Jamberoo, Gerringong and Gerroa on weekdays, and Premier Illawarra links Kiama, Kiama Downs, Shellharbour and Wollongong.

For days closer to home, see our guides to the Kiama Coast Walk, Seven Mile Beach and Jamberoo Action Park.

Base your day trips at Kiama Ridge Waters

Make Kiama Ridge Waters your base and stay in one of our three-bedroom holiday apartments at 2 Surfleet Place, run by MadeComfy. Gerringong is about 10 minutes away by car, Shellharbour Airport about 20 and Wollongong about 35, so you can see somewhere new each day and come home to the same beds each night. Easts Beach is a 15-minute walk for an end-of-day swim.

Most of our apartments welcome pets for a $200 cleaning fee, so the dog can come along to Berry or the beaches. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out by 10am. See the apartments, pet-friendly stays or book the whole building for a group, then check dates.