Wollongong

Wollongong is a student town with great beaches. Travellers are not common here. Much more relaxed than Sydney. Locals are friendly but it can be a bit bogan. You will see this more in the nightlife. The Gong is a slice of real Australian beach life. Wollongong can be reached by train and is only a few hours from Central Station in Sydney. The best way to get around is by car and you can miss ..

Wollongong is a beach town and a lot of bronzed Aussie babes can be found at the city beaches. Girls in Wollongong are beautiful, down to earth and generally friendly. They can be cliquey. On the weekends people from Sydney and further afield come down to the gong. There is a big university here. Nightlife in Wollongong is surprisingly good. Wednesday nights and weekends are the be ... ... ...

Probably the busiest beach in the area.In front of Stuart Park and the Novotel. Parking is hard on the weekend. Surf is pretty good although the rip can be strong.

Right at the end of Crown St, by the stadium. Very popular. A nice beach only minutes walk from the city centre.

Beautiful, small beach. Parking can be hard when busy. There is a railway station within walking distance. Go early or late on a sunny day.

Pretty quiet beach with a nice ocean pool and both a right-hander & a left-hander. Lots of space and great facilities. A hidden gem.

Nice beach with an ocean pool and great rockpools at low tide.

Cool beaches and a nice area. Hipster vibe. Not too busy. Nice cafes and good surf. Plenty of parking.

Beautiful, calm and quiet beach. There is a campground here but it is always full.

Gorgeous area. The beach is popular with families and can get extremely busy on the weekends. Good surf.

Underrated beach. It is quiet. Plenty of parking and much nicer than it looks when approaching it. Take a look at Hill 60 Park at the southern end of the beach. There are some interesting tunnels built during WWII. Not a good place to hang around at night though.

Quiet beach on the road to Shellharbour. Good for fishing. You can get out to the Island here which is great for fishing and for the very brave has good surf.

‘North Gong’. A huge bar. This is an ideal place to meet girls. Try the beergarden or ‘lounge bar’ inside. Mostly students but it is popular with all ages. Good on Wednesdays.

Another big bar. This is the only bar that tends to stay open late most nights of the week. Wednesday night is great and retro Thursday is fun. Weekends are also good but there can be a queue. Security here is over the top.

Great bar with lots of little nooks and crannies. Good drink specials. Wednesdays and weekends is the time to go here. Lots of fights.

Take a look in if there is nothing else going on. Good on St Patrick's Day.

Can be good fun and features a couple of stripper poles, so obviously a classy venue. There are good drink specials and happy hour til late on weekends.

The only place that is open late. It closes at 6am on the weekend. That means it attracts all the dregs of a night out in Wollongong. It's a small club with cheap drinks and a good dancefloor. Tends to be a long line late at night.

Try it on Thursday.

Pretty quiet joint with some decent drink specials.

Good live music venue. You can see some great local bands here.

A quieter venue. Cool place and sometimes has live music.

Beautiful view from the southern edge of the Royal National Park. Good for whalewatching. You can try handgliding here.

An iconic spot near Coalcliff great for sunrise and for photos throughout the day. There is a track starting on the Southern side of the bridge from the carpark on the inland side. The track is short but steep and will take around 15 mins. Great road for driving along.

Really beautiful view. Go during whale migration season and this is one of the best places to see Humpbacks. The Byarong Creek Walk is highly recommended and you will find plenty of waterfalls and nice swimming holes here. Mount Keira is excellent for mountain biking.

Wollongong has great scuba diving. You can dive at the seal colony between June and October. Other great dive sites in the area are the Five Islands and the Bombo wreck dive.

There is a great bike path that runs all the way from North Beach to Thirroul.

There are a group of nice lookouts on the main Sydney to Wollongong road. Sublime Point is the most famous. Bulli Lookout has a nice cafe. A few more places to stop and have a BBQ.

Nice lookout here and some good short walks.

Open Tuesday to Sunday. Huge Buddhist Temple. Worth a visit. They also offer courses and accommodation.

Try to catch a Dragons game here or any big event. It can be a lot of fun.

On Thursday nights. Lot of good food and a great atmosphere.

Pretty standard Chinese and Cambodian food. Popular with students.

Big portions and reasonably priced. Good atmosphere.

Good specials. The Lunchtime Special meal and drink for $8.50, $3 Tacos Tuesdays and Wednesday wing nights with 10 wings for 6$.

Famous Burger Joint. Not cheap but definitely worth checking out.

Good pub food and cheap beer. Food is served quickly.

Good food and coffee. Sometimes has live music and open mic nights.

Pretty standard backpacker hostel with a good vibe and great location. In a beautiful old house. Not the cleanest place.

If you are staying in your car Towradgi beach has good toilet and rubbish facilities and is quiet enough. It might be hard to find shade here. Other beaches are good too but Port Kembla should be avoided.