Things to do in Coffs Harbour
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Coffs Harbour
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall window with warm seas, drier weather and fewer crowds outside Easter.
Best overall window with whale calves close inshore, spring weather and Curryfest in late September.
Hottest, most humid, wettest and busiest, with peak school holiday prices and queues in January.
Wet season risk with storms, flooding on Waterfall Way in heavy rain, leeches in rainforest and dive cancellations.
Mild dry winter with clear diving, bigger surf and peak whale season, but cooler water and reduced tour schedules.
Whale season runs roughly May to November, with the best southern migration encounters from August to October.
What's on
- Woolgoolga Curryfest 26 September
A major multicultural festival in Woolgoolga celebrating Punjabi heritage with food, music and dance.
- Sawtell Chilli Festival 4 July
Chilli food trucks and local restaurants take over Sawtells First Avenue for Chillifest.
- Coffs Harbour Agricultural Show 1-2 May
The annual regional show in Coffs Harbour in early May.
- Coffs Coast Ocean Swims 22 March
Annual ocean swim event on the Coffs Coast in March.
- Woolgoolga Blues & Berries 2 November
A music and berry festival in Woolgoolga in early November.
Best things to do in Coffs Harbour
Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve
A free breakwall walk and steep climb to the best lookout in town, with shearwater burrows and seasonal whales.
Forest Sky Pier
A cantilevered pier over rainforest canopy with the definitive clear day view of the whole Coffs coastline.
The Big Banana Fun Park
An Aussie road trip icon with a fun park behind it, worth a full family day only if you buy a combo pass.
Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary
A working marine rescue sanctuary with dolphins, seals and turtles, where entry money funds coastal rescue work.
Diggers Beach
The locals surf beach in a sheltered cove opposite Aanuka, good for intermediate surfers and sunrise walks.
Jetty Beach
The calm harbour beach for families and nervous swimmers, with the jetty, foreshore lawns and island backdrop.
Emerald Beach
A quiet village beach 20 minutes north, paired with a kangaroo headland walk at dawn and dusk.
Look At Me Now Headland
A flat paved headland loop where wild kangaroos graze above the sea, best at dawn or dusk.
Where to stay in Coffs Harbour
Jetty Precinct
first trip, walk to dinner
Most restaurants, Jetty Beach swimming, the marina and Muttonbird Island at dusk, all walkable.
Park Beach and Diggers Beach
surf and resort stays
The patrolled surf beach, the Hoey Moey beer garden, holiday parks and Aanuka resort grounds.
Northern Beaches
longer, quieter stays
Korora, Sapphire and Moonee are calmer small beaches closer to Sealy Lookout, but you drive to dinner.
Sawtell
village stay
First Avenue cafes and restaurants under fig trees, plus Boambee Creek and Sawtell Beach, 10 minutes south.
Bonville
golfers
Staying at Bonville Golf Resort solves visitor tee time limits and puts the best course outside your door.
Think twice about
- Coffs Harbour CBD
A daytime centre that empties early with little to walk to at night. Council SafeCoffs work followed reports of street crime and anti social behaviour around City Square, and rough sleeping is visible.
- Pacific Highway motel strip
Noisy, car only corridor of dated motels built for one night road stops, a poor base when beach motels cost similar money.
- Toormina
A suburban shopping centre district that is isolated and dead at night for visitors, with nothing walkable.
Best restaurants in Coffs Harbour
Latitude 30 Restaurant
The special occasion marina dinner in Coffs, built on fresh local oysters, seafood platters and polished service.
Flooded Gums Restaurant
A formerly hatted restaurant in the Bonville clubhouse, serving modern Australian food overlooking the course.
Stef&Co
Bakery, pizzeria, osteria and cocktail bar in one Harbour Drive spot, from breakfast through live music nights.
Aanuka Beach House
Beachfront dining over Diggers Beach from 7am to late, with seafood, share plates and wood fired pizza.
The Hilltop Store
A licensed Sawtell cafe run by chefs with top Sydney backgrounds, producing food a tier above cafe standard.
Three Blue Ducks Bellingen
Seasonal produce led sharing food in Bellingen, the lunch to build a Waterfall Way day trip around.
Coffs Harbour Fishermen's Co-operative
Prawns, chips and the morning catch eaten by the water at the marina, the best value seafood feed in town.
Dark Arts Cafe & Bar
A moody laneway cafe with locally roasted coffee and inventive breakfasts, the one CBD pick.
Outdoor things to do in Coffs Harbour
Bonville Golf Resort
A championship course where every fairway is screened by flooded gums, 10 minutes south of Coffs Harbour.
Coffs Harbour Golf Club
A 27 hole championship course in town at about a third of Bonvilles visitor price, welcoming social players daily.
Jetty Dive Centre
Dive and snorkel the Solitary Islands Marine Park, where tropical and temperate species overlap around the islands.
Mega Wild
A fast boat whale watch that often finds humpbacks minutes from the harbour, best from August to October.
Treetops Adventure Coffs Harbour
90 plus aerial challenges and 14 ziplines in the forest beside Sealy Lookout, graded for ages 8 and up.
Solitary Islands Surf School
Year round surf lessons on forgiving Coffs beach breaks, run at Diggers, Park Beach or Sawtell by conditions.
C-Change Adventures
Eco certified kayak and paddleboard tours on the calm creeks at Sawtell, past mangroves and oyster leases.
Skydive Coffs Harbour
A tandem jump from up to 15,000 feet with a beach landing, and the whole coast and ranges laid out below.
Best hotels in Coffs Harbour
Bonville Golf Resort
Stay on the first fairway at the regions best course, which also solves the visitor tee time restriction.
BreakFree Aanuka Beach Resort
Tropical resort grounds with direct Diggers Beach access, multiple pools and spa bures at the top tier.
Pacific Bay Resort
A large resort with three pools and a par 3 course, good grounds but rooms that recent reviews call dated.
The Observatory Self Contained Apartments
Spacious apartments a short walk from the jetty and marina restaurants, with ocean views and secure parking.
Opal Cove Resort
Absolute beachfront resort at Korora Bay with balconies, four pools and a 9 hole course at moderate rates.
Pacific Marina Apartments
Self contained marina apartments with two pools, walkable to Latitude 30 and the Jetty restaurant strip.
ibis Budget Coffs Harbour
The reliable budget chain option with clean modern rooms and the basics done right, near the Jetty area.
BIG4 Park Beach Holiday Park
Cabins and sites opposite the patrolled beach with a water park and pool, the classic cheap family base.
Is Coffs Harbour expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$140 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$260 a person |
| Splurge | A$520 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- The Big Banana Fun Park: a few days ahead
- Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary: a few days ahead
- Bonville Golf Resort: weeks ahead
- Coffs Harbour Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Jetty Dive Centre: weeks ahead
- Mega Wild: a few days ahead
- Treetops Adventure Coffs Harbour: a few days ahead
- Solitary Islands Surf School: a few days ahead
- Book Jetty Dive boats, whale swims, sanctuary encounters, Bonville visitor tee times and Treetops holiday sessions weeks ahead in season.
- Book Latitude 30 weekend tables and school holiday accommodation early.
- At the Big Banana, buy passes online to skip the ticket queue.
Is Coffs Harbour safe?
- Swim between the flags at patrolled beaches and respect rips, especially south of Look At Me Now Headland.
- Carry water on Muttonbird Island and headland walks, as there is no shade or water at the top.
- Use insect repellent in Dorrigo after rain because leeches are common, and call 000 in an emergency.
Coffs Harbour travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Paying per ride at the Big Banana instead of buying a combo or Ultimate Pass.
- CBD and highway motels sold as central, when the Jetty and beaches are the real bases.
- Luxury priced Coffs listings with dated rooms, so check recent reviews for your exact room type.
- Swimming unpatrolled beaches when a patrolled option is minutes away.
Getting around Coffs Harbour: public transport and more
- You need a car, as sights spread over 25 km of coast and inland to Dorrigo with no practical public transport.
- Coffs Harbour Airport has direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, while the Sydney train takes about 9 hours.
- Walk within the Jetty precinct and Sawtell village, and drive everywhere else.
Who Coffs Harbour suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Coffs Harbour your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store