A blue bay bigger than Sydney Harbour, home to about 100 wild dolphins, beside the largest moving coastal dunes in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sail out to the dolphins, slide down 30-metre dunes, then meet rescued koalas.
Where it startsNelson Bay, Anna Bay or Sydney, on every card
Real time on siteHours in Port Stephens, not hours on a coach
2026 pricesTours, the coach and the Koala Sanctuary
Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before, on every tour here
Port Stephens tours
Choose your Port Stephens tour
In the centre, the dolphin sail from Nelson Bay with a free return if the dolphins stay away.
On the left, sandboarding with no time limit; on the right, the day tour from Sydney that fits in all three. Every card opens a full page.
A 10-minute 4WD ride drops you on a private patch of the Stockton dunes, with sit-down and stand-up boards. Stay as long as your legs last, then ride back.
A 16-metre sailing catamaran goes looking for the bay's resident bottlenose dolphins and finds them on 99% of trips. No dolphins, and you sail again for free.
Prices shown in USD. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Compare
Which tour fits your day
Two questions sort most of it: where do you sleep, and how long do you want out there? Tours from Nelson Bay
and Anna Bay take 1 to 1.5 hours. Tours from Sydney take 10 to 12, and only part of that is in Port Stephens.
Every tour here cancels free up to 24 hours before. Quad bikes take riders aged 16 and over only.
Before you book
One bay, three landscapes.
Port Stephens is a drowned river valley on the New South Wales coast, about 134 square kilometres of sheltered blue water
that reaches 24 km inland. That is bigger than Sydney Harbour. Captain Cook sailed past on 11 May 1770 and named it after
Sir Philip Stephens of the Admiralty. The Worimi people had known it for thousands of years before that, and they still own
and co-manage the dune country to the south.
Inside the bay live about 100 bottlenose dolphins, which is why the cruises from Nelson Bay can promise them. On the
ocean side, the Stockton dunes run 32 km from Stockton to Anna Bay, more than 30 metres high in places and creeping north
about 4 metres a year. In the gum trees at One Mile, the Koala Sanctuary nurses rescued wild koalas back to health.
100
Bottlenose dolphins live in Port Stephens all year, so a 1.5-hour cruise
from Nelson Bay is enough to find them.
DolphinsDunesKoalasWhales, May to Nov
The bay entrance from above, the view the Tomaree Head walk climbs to.
01
No train
The nearest station is in Newcastle. Come by car (2.5 hours), the Sydney Express coach or a day tour.
02
Dolphins all year
Humpback whales only pass from May to November. Pick the cruise for the season.
03
Quads are 16+
Younger kids can sandboard instead: the sit-down boards suit most ages.
04
Beach permits
Driving on the dunes needs a Worimi beach vehicle permit. Tours hold their own.
A day in the bay
How a Port Stephens day runs
Staying a night or two? The three big things sit close together: the Koala Sanctuary is 10 minutes from Nelson Bay, so one day fits all of them.
01
Dolphins in the morning
Cruises leave d'Albora Marina in Nelson Bay. The bay is calm, so seasickness is rarely an issue inside it.
1 to 1.5 hours
02
Koalas at One Mile
Ten minutes from Nelson Bay. Walk the Storywalk, look into the koala hospital, then take the treetop SKYwalk.
1 to 2 hours
03
The dunes at Anna Bay
A 4WD runs you onto the sand for sandboarding, or ride a quad from Williamtown if you are 16 or over.
1 hour or more
04
Sunset from Tomaree
Climb 161 metres above the bay entrance on the summit walk at Shoal Bay, then swim off the beach below.
We had a fantastic trip in Nelson bay, we saw lots of dolphins very close up, including their babies. The boat was lovely and the crew were very informative, and great value for money too.
★★★★★
Had an absolute blast sandboarding! It was honestly a lot more fun than I expected, and we ended up staying for around two hours because we were having such a great time.
★★★★★
First of all, absolutely stunning landscape out there in the dunes - it's so much fun to ride around there. The team we met was fantastic! [...] one of the guides stayed with me at all times and made sure I was alright and having a good time.
★★★★★
The smaller boat (and group size) meant we got out to the sea quickly, were closer to a whale with her calf and were all able to see well. [...] it was so amazing to see the baby breach a number of times.
★★★★★
We spoke with the volunteers and they were helpful, informative and keen to share their knowledge and experiences with us. The koalas were truly beautiful.
★★★★★
Amazing and exciting tour with interesting history as a bonus. The dolphins were beautiful and the guide (Josh) was pleasant and funny. [...] Did a day trip from Sydney and certainly was worth the drive out.
The other bay
Torn between Port Stephens and Jervis Bay?
Both have resident dolphins. Jervis Bay, 3 hours south of Sydney, swaps the dunes and koalas for very white sand and wild kangaroos.
Jervis Bay is Port Stephens' rival, three hours south of Sydney. This day trip adds a 1.5-hour dolphin cruise, Hyams Beach and wild kangaroos in Booderee National Park, with park fees included. Pick it if white sand matters more than dunes and koalas.
A bay, a desert of sand and a koala forest, all on one peninsula. Here is how they fit together before you book.
The bay and the dolphins
The water inside the heads is sheltered from the open ocean, and it is home to the roughly 100 bottlenose
dolphins that live there. They are residents, not visitors, and that is the reason the Nelson Bay cruises can offer a guarantee:
Imagine's sailing catamaran promises a free return trip if none turn up, and the GetYourGuide listing puts its sighting rate at 99%.
Guests on the express boat have had the odd blank day too, and got a voucher.
The cruises leave from d'Albora Marina in Nelson Bay, the main town on the southern shore. The sail takes 1.5 hours and lets you
ride the boom net at the stern if you bring swimwear; the power cat does it in an hour. From May to November the same marina sends
boats out past the heads for humpback whales, which travel about 10,000 km on their migration and pass within about 3 km of the coast.
The dolphins are bay residents, so the cruises stay inside the heads.
Worimi Country and the dunes
South of Anna Bay the land turns to sand. Stockton Beach runs 32 km down to Newcastle, up to a kilometre wide, backed by dunes
that top 30 metres and move a few metres north every year. Most of it lies in the Worimi Conservation Lands, which the Worimi
Aboriginal community owns and runs together with NSW National Parks. Annual national park passes do not work here; driving on the
beach needs its own permit, and every tour on this page has one.
You have three ways onto the sand. Sandboarding is the cheapest and the one most families
pick: a 4WD drops you on a slope and you stay as long as you like. The Birubi Beach tour
adds a drive along the surf and digging for pipis. Quad bikes are the fast option, an hour of
riding for anyone 16 or over.
Staying the night? Put the dolphins in the morning and the dunes in the afternoon. The sandboarding has no
time limit, so it suits the open end of the day, and you rinse the sand off once.
Tours drive out along the beach to the dunes.
Koalas and the walks
The Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary at One Mile is a rescue and rehabilitation centre, not a zoo. You will not hold a koala; New
South Wales does not allow it with wild animals. You do get the Storywalk, a window into the koala hospital and the SKYwalk through
the treetops. An adult ticket costs A$28 and now counts for three days. For a walk instead, take the Tomaree Head Summit
walk at Shoal Bay: 2.2 km return, steep, and at the top a view over the bay entrance and the islands where Gould's petrels nest.
Which tour
If you sleep in Port Stephens, build your own day: the dolphin sail, then
sandboarding, then koalas if there is time. If you have one day and no car,
the Sydney day tour is the one that includes all three; about 5 hours of its day
are spent in Port Stephens. And if you just want the coast and the cheapest seat, the budget
day trip gives you the most free time, with sandboarding as an extra.
Straight answers to what people ask most about visiting Port Stephens.
Can you get a train from Sydney to Port Stephens?
No. No passenger train reaches Port Stephens; the nearest rail link is Newcastle, about 60 km from Nelson Bay. Without a car, take the Port Stephens Coaches Sydney Express from Central Station (A$45 one way, A$65 return in 2026) or a day tour from Sydney. All the options are in how to get to Port Stephens.
How long is the drive from Sydney to Port Stephens?
About 2.5 hours. Nelson Bay, the main town, is 207 km north-north-east of Sydney and 60 km by road from Newcastle.
Is it possible to take a day trip to Port Stephens from Sydney?
Yes, and plenty of people do. Tour days run 10 to 12 hours on paper, and about 6 to 7 of them are on the road, so you get roughly 5 to 6 hours in Port Stephens. The all-inclusive day tour packs in a dolphin cruise, koalas and sandboarding; the budget day trip gives you more free time but charges extra for sandboarding. Read the day trip guide before you pick.
Can you fly into Port Stephens?
Yes. Newcastle Airport sits at Williamtown, inside the Port Stephens area, with Jetstar, Virgin Australia and QantasLink flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and other cities. The Koala Sanctuary is about 30 minutes' drive from the terminal.
What is Port Stephens famous for?
Dolphins, dunes and koalas. About 100 bottlenose dolphins live in the bay all year, the Stockton dunes are the largest moving coastal dunes in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary cares for rescued wild koalas. From May to November humpback whales pass the headlands too. Start with things to do in Port Stephens.
When is the best time to visit Port Stephens?
Any month for dolphins, which live in the bay year-round. Come between May and November for whales. October is the driest month on record at Nelson Head, with an average high of 23.2 C; January is the warmest, at 27.3 C. Dolphin and whale seasons explains which cruise runs when.
Is Port Stephens bigger than Sydney Harbour?
Yes. The bay covers about 134 square kilometres, larger than Sydney Harbour, and reaches about 24 km inland from the Tasman Sea. At its widest, between Tanilba Bay and Tahlee, it is 6.5 km across.
Why is it called Port Stephens?
Captain James Cook named it on 11 May 1770 after Sir Philip Stephens, Secretary to the Admiralty, a friend who had recommended him for the voyage. The Worimi people are the traditional owners of the land around the bay.
Which is better, Port Stephens or Jervis Bay?
Port Stephens is 2.5 hours north of Sydney and has the dunes, the koalas and the whale route. Jervis Bay is about 3 hours south, with whiter sand and wild kangaroos. Both have resident bottlenose dolphins. Port Stephens vs Jervis Bay compares them side by side.
What can you do in Port Stephens without a tour?
Climb the Tomaree Head Summit walk (2.2 km return, 161 m up) for the view over the bay entrance, swim at Shoal Bay or Fingal Bay, and snorkel off the shore at Fly Point. Beach driving on the dunes needs a Worimi beach vehicle permit, which tours sort out for you.
Can you hold a koala in Port Stephens?
No. Holding wild koalas is not permitted in New South Wales. At the Koala Sanctuary you see rescued koalas from the Storywalk, the hospital window and the SKYwalk. Adult entry is A$28, and the ticket now covers three days.
How many people live in Port Stephens?
75,276 people lived in the Port Stephens Council area at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 47. The Nelson Bay urban area had 28,418.
Ready to book
Pick your day, pack your swimmers.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every tour.
Starts Anna Bay
★ 4.8As long as you likeFree cancellation
