New South Wales

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

New Zealand

$28.99

Shop Book

Kayakers watch for whales as the sun sets

Getty Images/Moment Open

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in New South Wales

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

Australia's most populous state is home to its largest city: glitzy, vibrant, intoxicating Sydney, an unforgettable metropolis in a privileged natural setting. Bondi Beach and the harbour are justly famous, but in reality the whole NSW coast is simply magnificent: a mesmerising sequence of beach after quality beach backed by a series of excellent national parks and interesting coastal towns.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Sydney

A spectacular mix of sandstone, Australian bushland and tranquil water vistas, this 14,928-hectare park forms Sydney’s northern boundary. It’s located 20…

Bondi Beach

Sydney

Definitively Sydney, Bondi is one of the world’s great beaches. It’s the closest ocean beach to the city centre (8km away), has consistently good (though…

500px Photo ID: 45657584 - hornby lighthouse@watson bay

Watsons Bay

Sydney

Lovely Watsons Bay, east of the city centre and north of Bondi, was once a small fishing village, as evidenced by the heritage cottages that pepper the…

Taronga Zoo Sydney

Sydney

A 12-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay, this forested harbour hillside is full of kangaroos, koalas and similarly hirsute Australians, plus numerous…

Jenolan Caves

Blue Mountains

Far from other Blue Mountains attractions, the limestone Jenolan Caves is one of the most extensive, accessible and complex systems in the world – a vast…

West Head

Sydney

This central section of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a spectacular wilderness, with awe-inspiring vistas over Pittwater and Broken Bay, hidden beach…

Cockatoo Island

Sydney

Studded with photogenic industrial relics, convict architecture and art installations, fascinating Cockatoo Island (Wareamah) opened to the public in 2007…