Shellharbour day trip from Kiama to the village and Bass Point

Know what Shellharbour means before you go

The name covers two places. Shellharbour Village is the old seaside suburb on the harbour, with Addison Street, the ocean pool and the beaches. The City of Shellharbour is the wider council area to the north of Kiama, which takes in Shell Cove, Warilla, Lake Illawarra and Albion Park, where Shellharbour Airport sits.

Shellharbour is outside the Kiama council area, so its beaches, parks and events are run by Shellharbour City Council and promoted by Visit Shellharbour. It makes an easy half day or full day out from Kiama, and you can be back for dinner in town.

Get to Shellharbour from Kiama

By car. Head north on the highway. Shellharbour Village is about 15 minutes from the apartments at 2 Surfleet Place, and Shell Cove, Bass Point and Killalea are all within about 20 minutes. Having the car makes it easy to string several stops together in one day.

By train. Kiama is on the South Coast Line, which also stops at Shellharbour Junction station on Piper Drive, Dunmore. Kiama station is about a 27-minute walk from the apartments. Check times on transportnsw.info before you go, because the station is a fair distance from the village and beaches.

By bus. Destination Kiama says Premier Illawarra runs services from Kiama and Kiama Downs through to Shellharbour and Wollongong. Phone (02) 4271 1322 or see premierillawarra.com.au for routes and timetables.

By air. Shellharbour Airport at Albion Park has flights from Brisbane and Melbourne, according to Visit NSW. It is about 20 minutes by car from the apartments, which makes it a handy arrival point for a Kiama stay.

Walk Shellharbour Village and the harbour

Addison Street is the heart of the village, and Visit NSW says the village is home to some of the city's oldest buildings. You can follow the Shellharbour Village Heritage Trail, or take a self-guided tour on the free Tread Shellharbour app.

The harbour itself is popular for fishing and boating, and there is a boat ramp. Little Park, on the foreshore, has a playground, a sandy foreshore, picnic shelters and a saltwater pool with a wading area for children. Expect oceanfront cafes, fish and chip shops and boutiques along the main street.

At the southern end of the village foreshore, the Beverley Whitfield Ocean Pool (19 Hockey Esplanade) is a 50-metre saltwater pool with a shaded children's pool, toilets, outdoor showers, barbecues and picnic tables. It opened in 1894 as the Ocean Baths and was renamed in 1994 for local Olympic swimmer Beverley Whitfield. Council lists lifeguards from 9am to 5pm in the school holidays, and cleaning at 1pm on Tuesdays. Check before you go, as times can change with weather and swell.

Swim at Shellharbour's patrolled beaches

Visit NSW counts six patrolled beaches in the Shellharbour area, plus the ocean pool. Three of them are:

• Shellharbour South Beach, off John Street (with a second car park on Boollwaroo Parade, Shell Cove). Council says it is sheltered from north-east winds and much of the summer swell, so it is often calmer. It has toilets and outdoor showers.
• Shellharbour North Beach, off Junction Road at Barrack Point. It has toilets, an outdoor shower and a beach wheelchair you can use when lifeguards are on patrol.
• Warilla Beach, further north on Osborne Parade, with toilets, showers, picnic tables and fitness equipment at Warilla North.

Visit Shellharbour reports that Shellharbour Beach ranked among the eight NSW coastal beaches with the highest water quality ratings in the 2026 State of the Beaches report, and Warilla Beach also rated "Very Good".

Patrols are seasonal. For Shellharbour South Beach, council lists 10am to 5pm daily from 12 December 2026, 9am to 5pm from 19 December 2026 to 31 January 2027, then 10am to 5pm until Anzac Day 2027. Swim between the red and yellow flags and check BeachSafe for conditions on the day.

Snorkel Bushrangers Bay at Bass Point

Bass Point Reserve, on Bass Point Tourist Road just south of the village, covers 72 hectares of protected coastline and rare littoral rainforest. Visit NSW describes it as one of the most important archaeological sites in New South Wales: Aboriginal people camped on the headland for more than 17,000 years. A self-guided Aboriginal cultural walk tells that story.

Bushrangers Bay Aquatic Reserve, inside Bass Point, is a sheltered four-hectare bay that is popular with snorkellers and scuba divers. There is an inner and an outer bay, rock pools full of small creatures, and an underwater cliff in about 10 metres of water. Visit Shellharbour mentions leafy sea dragons here. Fishing by any method is not allowed, and you cannot take shells, so look and leave everything where it is. Please do not touch the soft corals, which break easily.

The reserve also has a memorial to four Australian soldiers who died in May 1943 rescuing the crew of the American ship Cities Service Boston. Bass Point closes on total fire ban days.

Surf or picnic at Killalea Regional Park

Killalea Regional Park sits on the coast between Shellharbour and Kiama. Visit NSW says Killalea is a designated National Surfing Reserve, with two famous surf breaks:

• Killalea Beach, known as "The Farm".
• Minnamurra Beach, known to locals as "Mystics".

Away from the surf, NSW National Parks lists beach walks, a bushwalk through coastal rainforest, birdwatching, fishing, picnic tables at the Frasers picnic area, a kiosk and the Killalea campground. Visit NSW notes remnant rainforest with massive Moreton Bay figs. Check current alerts on the NSW National Parks page before you go, along with any park fees.

The park runs down to the Minnamurra River, so this trip pairs well with our guide to Minnamurra on the Kiama side.

Spend the afternoon at Shell Cove marina

The Waterfront Shell Cove is built around a new in-shore harbour with a 270-berth marina, developed by Shellharbour City Council and Australand, part of Frasers Property. Visit NSW lists cafes, an ice creamery, a Japanese restaurant and fish and chips, and Visit Shellharbour adds the PromenART outdoor photography installations and live music on the lawn on selected dates.

From May to November, Shellharbour Wild runs 1.5-hour whale watching cruises from the public wharf at the marina, with a two-hour Aboriginal cultural whale cruise on limited dates. For more whale options closer to the apartments, see whale watching in Kiama.

See the Boeing 747 at the HARS Aviation Museum

The HARS Aviation Museum is at Shellharbour Airport, 54 Airport Road, Albion Park Rail. It is run by volunteers and every visit is guided, because the hangars are working maintenance spaces. HARS lists opening hours of 9:30am to 3:30pm daily, with the last tour at 2pm, closed on Christmas Day and airshow days.

The collection includes the Boeing 747-438 VH-OJA, a Catalina flying boat, a CAC Sabre and a replica of the Southern Cross. On its tours page, a museum-only visit is listed at $35 for adults, $15 for children aged 5 to 14 and $80 for a family, and under-5s are free. There are also 747 cockpit tours and a wing walk along the top of the 747's wing at extra cost. Prices change, so check before you go, and book online if you can. Groups of 10 or more must book ahead.

It is a solid choice for a wet day. For more indoor ideas, see rainy day things to do in Kiama.

Eat in Shellharbour Village

Addison Street has the village's cafes and fish and chip shops, and the pub sits right at the top of the beach. If you'd rather eat back in Kiama, see where to eat in Kiama or grab dinner from a Kiama fish and chip shop.

Plan a Shellharbour day trip from Kiama

Here is one way to fit the highlights into a single day by car, with short drives between each stop.

1. Morning: drive about 19 minutes to Bass Point and snorkel Bushrangers Bay while the water is calm, or walk the headland.
2. Late morning: swim laps at the Beverley Whitfield Ocean Pool, then walk Addison Street and the harbour.
3. Lunch: eat in the village, or move on to the Shell Cove marina.
4. Afternoon: surf or picnic at Killalea, or tour the HARS museum if the weather turns.
5. Evening: drive about 20 minutes back to Kiama for sunset. Our sunrise and sunset guide has the spots.

With children, Little Park's playground and wading pool and the shaded kids' pool at Beverley Whitfield are good stops. Our guide to Kiama with kids has more. For other short trips, see day trips from Kiama.

Stay in Kiama and visit Shellharbour

Kiama Ridge Waters makes Shellharbour an easy day out, with the village about 15 minutes away by car. Its three-bedroom holiday apartments at 2 Surfleet Place, run by MadeComfy, each sleep a family or a group of friends. Easts Beach is a 15-minute walk from your door, and the Kiama Blowhole is about a 35-minute walk.

Pets are welcome on request in most of our apartments, with a $200 cleaning fee. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out is by 10am. See the apartments, pet-friendly stays or book several apartments for a group, then check availability.