Wollongong is surrounded by beautiful landscape from all directions.
The area around Wollongong is known as Illawarra with the hilly Illawarra Escarpment making a perfect backdrop to the city and the Illawarra Lake to the south.
There are plenty of walking tracks around Wollongong in the Illawarra Escarpment with various lookout points.
You can get great views of the city and surrounding area from Mt Kembla and Mt Keira as well as from the Bulli Scenic Lookout which is situated just off of the Princess Highway to the north of Wollongong.
A tourist train operates during the weekend heading into the Illawarra Escarpment along a spectacular scenic route. To the south the beautiful scenery of the Morton National Park is worth visiting, as well as Lake Illawarra which offers various water sports. You then, of course, have some great surfing beaches on the coast.
The main street in Wollongong is Crown Street where you will find plenty of shops. There is also a mall between Kembla and Keira Streets. Around this area there are two Internet cafes, one on Kembla Street and the other inside the mall.
Wollongong also has numerous museums as well as an art gallery to keep you occupied. These include the City Gallery, The Illawarra Museum (telling the history of the area), the Illawarra Motoring Museum and the beautiful Nan Tien Buddhist Temple.
The harbour is in the centre of Wollongong with a large fishing area to the south of the harbour at Belmore Basin. Either side of this are two beaches, North Beach and South Wollongong City Beach. Although both are pleasant if you are looking at going surfing then head for the North Beach as generally surf is better here. Further north again other good surfing beaches include Austinmer, Headlands, Sandon Point and Sharkies.
There are various accommodation places based around the city, all at varying costs. These include both hostels and hotels. Campsites can be found about 10km out of the city, although the beautiful views that they offer make up for the distance. There are also a wide range of cafes and restaurants in and around the city, with a selection along the waterfront. Wollongong also offers a number of live bands in a range of its clubs and pubs.
There are plenty of buses that take you around the city as well as further north and south. Crown Street is where the main bus stop is so you should be able to get to most places from this point. The main bus station is on the corner Keira and Campbell Streets. From here you can catch the Premier Motor Services or Greyhound Pioneer to Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. There are also frequent trains which take you to all of the nearby beaches. Trains also run daily to and from Sydney, also heading further south to Nowra.
Featured Wollongong Activities
TOUR NAME
LOCATION
RATES (AUD) from
Half Day Motorcycle Tour to Cambewarra Lookout(EX2264) (Motorcycle) A motorcycle tour is vastly superior to anything else in thrill value and visual experience.
Feel the roar of the engine as this tour takes you through towns local to Illawarra as you head for lun...
Kurnell Motorcycle Tour(EX2274) (Motorcycle) Feel the roar of the engine as this tour takes you to Kurnell considered as the birthplace of modern Australia. Home to the site where Captain Cook landed over a century ago....
La Perouse and Eastern Sydney Beaches Motorcycle Tour(EX2275) (Motorcycle) Beginning your journey through the Royal National Park you will then pass over over Tom Ugly's Bridge, past Sydney airport to La Perouse. Take time to visit this historic site, where Captain Cook cam...
Purchase this DVD that captures the sweeping contrasts of New South Wales. Includes footage of the Great Dividing Range to Bathurst, Goulburn and Albury, through the rich grazing lands.
Marvel at Dubbo's Western Plain Zoo and discover the rare opal at Lightning Ridge. Explore the Ghost Towns and outback city of Broken Hill and admire the splendour of the Menindee Lakes in the Kinchega National Park.
Investigate the Minnamurra Rainforest and enjoy the waterfalls of the Illawarra Plateau. Explore the snowfields of the Snowy Mountains, Mt Kosciusko and traverse the Murray River from the Alpine headwaters to Lake Hume. Moving on to the Southern Coast of New South Wales and the panoramic vistas's of Jervis Bay, the famous Blow Hole at Kiama and north to Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay.
PLEASE NOTE: The New South Wales travel destinations outlined above are only a small selection from the tens of thousands of Australian travel information pages available on Australian Explorer. A comprehensive list of destinations for New South Wales Holidays can be found on the main New South Wales Holidays location guide.
