Yass to Newcastle road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time

The best stops on a Yass to Newcastle road trip include Bowral and Sydney. By car along sealed roads, the distance from Yass to Newcastle is 431km, with a driving time of around 4h31m.

A Yass to Newcastle road trip connects a winery-surrounded Hume Highway town to the second largest city in New South Wales.

To book your Yass accommodation, pick out the best deals here.

Newcastle offers plenty of activities, including adventure boat cruises along the coastline, architecture and street art walking tours and whale watching cruises. For a big menu of Newcastle tours and experiences, explore here. To fix up one Newcastle’s best accommodation options, book here.

This guide should help you plan your perfect Yass to Newcastle road trip itinerary.

Click through on the individual places and attractions for more detailed, specific information.

If you need to hire a car, find the best rental deals. And don’t forget to do all your pre-road trip shopping.

Yass to Newcastle distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Yass to Newcastle is 431km. That makes for a driving time of around four hours and 31 minutes.

Good stops to add to a Yass to Newcastle road trip itinerary include Bowral and Sydney.

Yass is near several Canberra region wineries. Canberra Winery Tours offers pick-ups in Yass.

For Yass accommodation, try the handily downtown Yass Central Bed and Breakfast and the well-reviewed Colonial Lodge Motor Inn.

Yass to Newcastle road trip: Yass to Sutton Forest

It’s another 86km to Goulburn. The Pye Cottage Museum in Gunning on the way takes you back in time to the 1860s.

Goulburn doesn’t have any truly gripping attractions, but the Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre and Goulburn Historic Waterworks are moderately interesting.

For Goulburn accommodation options, take a look at the fabulously well-reviewed Mercure Goulburn near the highway or the facility-heavy Quest apartments.

The best place to stop on the Yass to Sydney leg of the road trip, however, is the Southern Highlands. Almost everyone stops at the Sutton Forest East Service Centre on the way, although Sutton Forest Estate Wines is a more amiable spot for a journey break.

Yass to Newcastle drive: Sutton Forest to Campbelltown

Once in the Southern Highlands, the highway skirts the edge of Mittagong and Berrima, but the best base is Bowral.

In Bowral, you’ll find character-packed accommodation such as the Berida Hotel and Milton Park, plus innovative wineries such as Centennial Vineyards. Cricket fans will lap up the Bradman Museum, while Fitzroy Falls or Belmore Falls in the nearby Morton National Park cater to nature-lovers.

From Bowral, it’s not much of a drive until you reach the south-western fringes of Sydney’s suburbia.

Before joining the M7 motorway, you’ll go past the Nepean Dam, the Australian Wildlife Sanctuary at Bargo and Sydney Skydivers in Wilton.

There’s also the Campbelltown Steam and Machinery Museum in Campbelltown, the Sambar Brown Lookout and the Australian Botanic Garden.

Yass to Newcastle road trip: Campbelltown to Brooklyn

The quickest route from Yass to Newcastle doesn’t go through central Sydney – it cuts along motorways to the west and north.

However, Sydney is the obvious place to break the journey for a few days. Australia Travel Questions has a big Sydney guide if you’re planning to go into the centre. Recommended activities include kayaking tours around the lesser-seen crags of Middle Harbour, tall ship cruises and behind the scenes tours of Sydney Opera House.

There are some attractions nearer the route, however, particularly in the Western Sydney Parklands. These include the Lizard Log Playground and Calmsley Hill City Farm in Abbotsbury, plus Sydney Zoo, Bungarribee Park and the Chinese Gardens in the Nurragingy Reserve.

Other good green spaces further north include the Bidjigal Reserve near Castle Hill and Cumberland State Forest in West Pennant Hills.

Other short detours worth taking before reaching the Hawkesbury River are the architecturally-dazzling Rose Siedler House in Wahroonga, the Bobbin Head picnic ground in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park and Galston Gorge in Berowra Waters National Park.

Click through to the next section: Hawkesbury River and the Central Coast.

Where to stop between Yass and Newcastle: Hawkesbury River and the Central Coast

Before crossing the Hawkesbury River in Brooklyn, you might wish to join the Riverboat Postman cruise. This postal boat brings tourists along as it delivers mail to small river communities like Dangar Island.

The Central Coast is on the other side of the Hawkesbury Bridge, although beach towns such as Terrigal or The Entrance require a substantial detour.

Stay near the Pacific Motorway, though, and the Broken Bay Pearl Farm in Mooney Mooney shows how pearls are cultivated on its pearl farm tour.

Nearer Gosford, you’ll find the Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary, Australian Reptile Park and Girrakool Loop walking track.

Glenworth Valley near Popran National Park, meanwhile, runs activities such as abseiling, horse-riding and quad biking.

Pleasant photo stops before hitting Newcastle include Somersby Falls, Strickland Falls and the Jilliby Lookout. Treetops Adventure Central Coast and Amazement Farm and Fun Park will eat a bit more of your time.

Why visit Newcastle?

The Yass to Newcastle drive continues between Morriset and Cooranbong, veering west of Lake Macquarie and near the southern end of Watagans National Park.

Once in Newcastle, pay a visit to the magnificent ocean baths, such as Merewether Baths.

The best way to enjoy Newcastle’s beaches is the 6km Bathers Way walk from Nobbys Beach to the Merewether Ocean Baths. This goes past Newcastle Beach and Bar Beach along the way, and you can tackle the short but visually impressive Newcastle Memorial Walk too.

Other things to do in Newcastle include watching wildlife at Blackbutt Reserve, whale-watching tours and visiting several good quality museums.

Newcastle also offers coastal boat tours, street art walks and evening true crime tours.

Newcastle accommodation stars include the lavish Crystalbrook Kingsley, the peppy QT Newcastle and the heritage-drenched Grand Hotel.

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