6 Days: Sydney and Beyond
Six days stretches the 5-day spine, Sydney, Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, Royal National Park and the Grand Pacific Drive, into a long Port Stephens day. It’s a genuinely long day, and the honest fix is our 7-day version , which turns it into an overnight instead. Shorter trip? Step back to 5 days .
Book these before you go:
- Sydney base for all six nights: check rates on Booking.com
- Hunter Valley wine tour, weekends sell out ahead in vintage season: book on GetYourGuide
- Port Stephens dolphin cruise, book the early slot to leave time for the drive back: search tours on Viator
- Rental car for days 3, 5 and 6, one multi-day hire beats three separate one-day rentals
| Day | Focus | Distance / travel time from Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Settle in, Sydney city orientation | in Sydney |
| 2 | Blue Mountains: Echo Point and Scenic World | ~2 hrs by train each way |
| 3 | Hunter Valley wine country | ~2-2.5 hrs by car |
| 4 | Royal National Park | ~1.5 hrs by train and ferry |
| 5 | Grand Pacific Drive and Wollongong | ~1.5 hrs by car |
| 6 | Port Stephens, dolphins and dunes | ~2.5-3 hrs by car each way |
Day 1: Land and settle into Sydney
Check in and get oriented; save the deep city sightseeing for a dedicated visit and our Sydney 6 day itinerary .
Day 2: Blue Mountains
Central to Katoomba direct, about two hours by NSW TrainLink, roughly 9-10 AUD one-way. Echo Point and the Three Sisters, inside the Blue Mountains National Park , are free; the Scenic World pass, about 55 AUD adult, adds the Railway, Skyway and Cableway.
Day 3: Hunter Valley wine country
Two to two and a half hours by car, or a guided wine tour . Public transport runs three to four and a half hours, impractical for one day.
Day 4: Royal National Park
Train to Cronulla plus a roughly 30-minute ferry to Bundeena, about an hour and a half door to door, or an hour by car. Free on foot; a 12 AUD vehicle entry fee applies if you drive in. Check the ferry timetable both ways on transportnsw.info before you leave.
Day 5: Grand Pacific Drive and Wollongong
The drive starts about 45 minutes south at the Royal National Park entrance, crosses the 665-metre Sea Cliff Bridge, and reaches Wollongong roughly 90 minutes out. No public transport covers the actual drive, a rental car or a tour is the only way to do it.
Day 6: Port Stephens, the long way
Budget two and a half to three hours by car each way to Port Stephens , branded “Dolphin Capital of Australia” for good reason: 140 to 200-plus resident bottlenose dolphins. A cruise runs about ninety minutes, and sandboarding on the dunes fills the rest of the afternoon. Drive back the same evening and this is a ten to twelve hour day, mostly in the car.
Is a single Port Stephens day worth five to six hours of driving? It’s marginal. If this is genuinely your only shot at it, yes, book the earliest cruise slot so you’re driving back before dark. If your schedule has any flexibility at all, our 7-day version turns this exact day into a relaxed overnight instead.
Should Port Stephens go last in the itinerary? Yes, keep it as day six. It’s the longest single travel day here, and putting it last means a delay doesn’t put any other day trip at risk.
Fill the tank before you leave Sydney and book the earliest dolphin cruise slot; the later cruises push your return drive into evening traffic on the way back into the city.