Best Beach in Newcastle

"South of the city centre, this magnificent, wide stretch of sand has excellent surfing conditions and is the home strand of the legendary Aussie surfer Mark Richards. At the southern end is a huge sea pool."

"A popular surf beach, Merewether is popular with surfers and strong swimmers. Most families with young kids head to the most southern edge of the beach as it’s more protected by the Merewether Ocean Baths."

"Transformed from a dump and abandoned sporting fields into a magnificent conservation sanctuary, this swampy centre is home to over 200 species of bird, including magpie geese, freckled ducks and egrets, and a..."

"For more nature, visit the Hunter Wetlands Centre in Shortland. It’s a great nature outing with kids with a playground and plenty of picnic spots. Just don’t forget the Aerogard!"

"Designed with children in mind, The Hunter Valley Gardens is a fun two or three hours for the whole family. The garden’s do some great school holiday exhibits including their Spring Holiday display, Mega Creatures, running until October 14. Soon the Christmas lights display will be live."

"The Gardens are a place for the appreciation of nature and peaceful reflection…but they are also a place for families and fun. Our unique events like Snow Time and our Christmas Lights Spectacular bring generations together for a fun day out and feature our beautiful custom-built rides."

"The Hunter Valley Gardens is a vast landscaped park with 10 feature gardens spread out over 25 acres. Take a soccer ball for a kick around, or simply let the kids run free. In school holidays the Gardens have extended opening hours."

"Pickled & Pressed believe in natural, local, sustainable and nourishing food. Wanting to create a wellness hub for happy, healthy people, Pickled & Pressed offer a range of wellness education programs and events which empower people to live fun, healthy and amazing lives in harmony with the planet. Those programs cover topics such as sustainability, ethical investing, energy efficiency, permaculture, raw food preparation, fermentation classes and cooking classes on delectable desserts."

"At Sephardim, they believe that it takes more than excellent food to have an outstanding meal. While their Spanish, Moorish, Turkish and Middle Eastern inspired cuisine is exquisite, they also focus on attentive customer service and an intimate atmosphere. Be prepared to enjoy your meal at a slow pace with banquets lasting up to 2-3 hours."

"Sephardim is a small and intimate Mediterranean meze bar on the shores of Lake Macquarie. They not only have a whole menu dedicated to serving vegan food (which you can view here), they also offer a vegan banquet option for groups."

"Estabars has for as long as we can remember supplied some of the best gelato in town, but with Bec wanting to serve only really seasonal and local gelato the challenge was put to the team. Sourcing their flavor inspiration from the seasonal fruits Bec explains, “The chocolate and vanilla are made using cream and milk from the Little Big Dairy Co., and they're the basics and will always be on the menu. The other two flavours are what we have fun with.”More Info: click here"

"If you want to get a taste for Newcastles' local and seasonal produce, go to estabar. For 15 years estabar has been working with local farmers and producers to celebrate local and seasonal food. Their fresh menu, ocean views, seriously good coffee and house made gelato has seen estabar become a firm favourite in Newcastle."

"The punchy single-origin coffee, refreshing frappés and delicious gelato are great at this hugely welcoming spot, and the location right opposite Newcastle Beach is unbeatable. The owner makes an effort to source... Australian in Newcastle"