Port Stephens/Nelson Bay suggestions

[lovedecruise]

Hi, our cruise line is offering a 6 hour day trip to Port Stephens when we dock in Newcastle for the day. It advertises it as an hour long guided drive to Nelson Bay and there we have free time to explore on our own. Is there much to do at Nelson Bay? Is the area walkable or is there public transport available to move around the district? We are not really into hiking large distances, (due to a knee injury), 4WD activities or the sand dunes. Is there a village/shopping community we could explore, or a nice beach close by? Any suggestions greatly appreciated. We have had a day in Newcastle before and explored the beaches, town, etc If we didn't go to Nelson Bay we were thinking of visiting the Cathedral and Fort Scratchley.

[SinbadThePorter]

Hi, our cruise line is offering a 6 hour day trip to Port Stephens when we dock in Newcastle for the day. It advertises it as an hour long guided drive to Nelson Bay and there we have free time to explore on our own. Is there much to do at Nelson Bay? Is the area walkable or is there public transport available to move around the district? We are not really into hiking large distances, (due to a knee injury), 4WD activities or the sand dunes. Is there a village/shopping community we could explore, or a nice beach close by? Any suggestions greatly appreciated. We have had a day in Newcastle before and explored the beaches, town, etc If we didn't go to Nelson Bay we were thinking of visiting the Cathedral and Fort Scratchley.

 

Nelson Bay is pretty much a standard coastal tourist resort town. There are plenty of shops, but not much that you can't see elsewhere.

 

The big attraction is Port Stephens, a very attractive waterway worth a view from any of the lookouts.

 

The best local beach is at Fingal Bay. It has a part-time island that you can walk to at low tide. You could have lunch at the Fingal Bay sports club, or pick up a picnic at the shops in Nelsons Bay.

[Brisbane41]

Its not worth doing from a cruise ship. Waste of time and money and nothing interesting to see that is worth going all that way for. It is an interesting area for locals of Newcastle who will go up there for weekend breaks to enjoy the beaches. There are no tourist shops worth visiting at all. It is all a retirement/resort type of place where people go to escape. The restaurants and cafes and shops are all geared towards locals and not international tourists. Whale watching cruises are the only major draw card the place has as well as dirt bikes onto the Stockton sand dunes. It is a sheltered area with its beaches and does not get a surf and there are no coral reefs either. It is basically a place where Australian locals close to Newcastle go to for their break.

[GUT2407]

I live in the area, and I wouldn’t do a ship tour to the bay. Maybe if it’s whale season do a whale watch cruise.

 

There are beaches and a small shopping village.

[Hunter69]

Yeah as Gut said; Just whale & dolphin watching. Great fishing & surfing. but you normally don't get those things on Australian port excursions...

[SinbadThePorter]

Just as an aside which has nothing to do with cruising, Broughton Island which is accessed from Nelson Bay is, I think, the only offshore island in NSW where it is possible to visit and even camp.

[GUT2407]

Just as an aside which has nothing to do with cruising, Broughton Island which is accessed from Nelson Bay is, I think, the only offshore island in NSW where it is possible to visit and even camp.

Yeah a great spot, but really for a cruise excursion

[lovedecruise]

Thanks so much for all your input. Can anyone tell me if a trip to Stockton on the ferry is worth it? Is there much to see there? The beaches look quite nice from the photos I have seen.

[GUT2407]

Thanks so much for all your input. Can anyone tell me if a trip to Stockton on the ferry is worth it? Is there much to see there? The beaches look quite nice from the photos I have seen.

Nice beaches not much else.

 

But if your after beaches why not jus NEWCASTLE or Nobby’s

[maxx]

Thanks so much for all your input. Can anyone tell me if a trip to Stockton on the ferry is worth it? Is there much to see there? The beaches look quite nice from the photos I have seen.

I live near Stockton, not much to see or do. Ferry takes about 5 minutes, Newcastle is a working port for coal export. Newcastle is a lovely place, Fort Scratchly is worth considering, great views and can often see whales and dolphins depending on the time of year. Beaches are nice as is Anzac Walk. A lot is accessible by public transport often within free fare zone. Hope this helps.

[lovedecruise]

Thanks for those tips. How accessible is the Memorial Walk from where the cruise ship buses drop us off in town at Queens Wharf Tower. We wondered about walking to the Cathedral and then walking on over to the Memorial Walk. We probably wouldn't do the whole walk as I have knee troubles.

[GUT2407]

Thanks for those tips. How accessible is the Memorial Walk from where the cruise ship buses drop us off in town at Queens Wharf Tower. We wondered about walking to the Cathedral and then walking on over to the Memorial Walk. We probably wouldn't do the whole walk as I have knee troubles.

 

 

I doubt you could walk to the memorial walk even Christ Church could be a problem with a bad knee, (hills) but there is usually a shuttle going to those places. Or the old tram.

 

When are you here, as there is a lot of road work going on at the moment for the light rail and that may impact.

[lovedecruise]

I doubt you could walk to the memorial walk even Christ Church could be a problem with a bad knee, (hills) but there is usually a shuttle going to those places. Or the old tram.

 

When are you here, as there is a lot of road work going on at the moment for the light rail and that may impact.

 

We are in Newcastle early Jan 2019 on Sat 5th

[GUT2407]

We are in Newcastle early Jan 2019 on Sat 5th

Surely the light rail will be finished, or close to, by then, it was scheduled to be finished this year, but think it’s running a bit behind schedule.

[maxx]

Have a look at Newcastle Coastal Explorer they have a service for cruise passengers that may suit.

[Brisbane41]

I grew up in Newcastle. Fort Scratchley is probably your best option or the Hunter Valley Vineyards. Newcastle is a nice place but it is not geared for the type of international tourism that the city is trying to promote to cruise ship visitors. They try and get everyone to Queens Wharf Brewery and Darby Street which are rather mediocre in my opinion. They are just local hang-outs and nothing more. Fort Scratchley is at least interesting as it relates to our colonial history, fired on a Japanese submarine in WWII and has some great tunnels and maritime exhibits. Nearby a walk along the breakwall by Nobby's beach could be of interest as it was built entirely by the hands of convicts, has shipwrecks along the wall and has fortifications close to the lighthouse (Nobby's) which reputedly was double its current height and the rocks from the top the convicts in colonial times used to build the port entrance breakwall. Apart from other suggestions a short side trip to Morpeth might be of better interest or perhaps find a private operator to take you around.

 

Newcastle is nice, it is not large but it is not huge on tourism so these lengthy tours will essentially turn people off in my opinion.

[lovedecruise]

Thank you for all that helpful advice. Is there public transport to Morpeth on a Saturday? I have googled it and it looks like it is an interesting little town to visit. Maybe we could do a quick trip there either morning or afternoon and then visit Fort Scratchley as well with the remaining time.

[Brisbane41]

I think private taxi could get you there and it is worth looking into. I am not sure what transport options Newcastle will have available when you come. They are building light rail and a new rail interchange. Theoretically you could get a train to Maitland I think and a bus to Morpeth - https://www.cdcbus.com.au/images/files/timetables/hunter-valley/184-185-187-192_Timetable.pdf - This company is very reliable and is a private operator that has State Government contracts. They are not the new company that is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

[lyndarra]

Some time we did a pleasant return river cruise from Newcastle to Morpeth return. At the time I think it was called a "Butcher Boat" tour where, in the day, cattle/sheep farmers would get their meat to Newcastle in boats rowing all the way there and back!!!

Check this company; https://www.visitnewcastle.com.au/nova-cruises

[GUT2407]

Some time we did a pleasant return river cruise from Newcastle to Morpeth return. At the time I think it was called a "Butcher Boat" tour where, in the day, cattle/sheep farmers would get their meat to Newcastle in boats rowing all the way there and back!!!

Check this company; https://www.visitnewcastle.com.au/nova-cruises

That is actually a good suggestion, didn’t think they still offered it, but Morpeth is an interesting little village.

[lovedecruise]

Thank you so much all for those suggestions. I really liked the idea of the cruise up the river but unfortunately that tour won't be operating on Jan 5th. I've also checked out the bus and train timetables but I think it could be a bit tight for our time frame. Maybe we will just have to come back and spend more time in the area. It looks like we will be staying close to Newcastle but to us that is fine as there is much we haven't seen yet.

[Brisbane41]

Thank you so much all for those suggestions. I really liked the idea of the cruise up the river but unfortunately that tour won't be operating on Jan 5th. I've also checked out the bus and train timetables but I think it could be a bit tight for our time frame. Maybe we will just have to come back and spend more time in the area. It looks like we will be staying close to Newcastle but to us that is fine as there is much we haven't seen yet.

 

Did you try omitting the train and matching taxi with bus timetable?

 

I had heard of the cruise but believe it needs to be booked in advance. The only other option is to hire a driver/taxi for the day and go off their rates.

[GUT2407]

Thank you so much all for those suggestions. I really liked the idea of the cruise up the river but unfortunately that tour won't be operating on Jan 5th. I've also checked out the bus and train timetables but I think it could be a bit tight for our time frame. Maybe we will just have to come back and spend more time in the area. It looks like we will be staying close to Newcastle but to us that is fine as there is much we haven't seen yet.

Train to East Maitland then taxi out to Morpeth would work and pretty low budget.

[Hunter69]

Would cost $70 to $80 for taxi from Cruise terminal to Morpeth one-way at least. Train would be $4 & $10 taxi ride.. So one would be $150, the other $28 to go to Morpeth. I run a business in Maitland which Morpeth is a suburb of... It's nice...

[GUT2407]

Would cost $70 to $80 for taxi from Cruise terminal to Morpeth one-way at least. Train would be $4 & $10 taxi ride.. So one would be $150, the other $28 to go to Morpeth. I run a business in Maitland which Morpeth is a suburb of... It's nice...

What business? I’m in East Maitland