Things to do in Dubbo
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Dubbo
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Autumn is a best window, warm days and cool nights, with the Dubbo Show in late May into early June.
Winter brings frosty nights and clear crowd free days, the best stargazing and midday zoo viewing of the year.
Spring is the festival season, with the Dubbo Stampede in September and the DREAM Festival in October.
Summer is honestly hard, regular 38 to 42 degree days and extreme UV. January and February are the worst months.
What's on
- Dubbo Show late May to early June
The region great agricultural show, livestock, produce, rides and show food, and the most local weekend of the year.
- Dubbo Eisteddfod June
A month of music, speech and dance performance that fills the theatre calendar in winter.
- Dubbo MotorFest late August
A major motor festival weekend that lifts motel demand across the city.
- Dubbo Stampede early September
A running festival whose marathon and half marathon loop through the zoo, with river races for shorter distances.
- DREAM Festival October
Dubbo Regional Entertainment Arts and Music, weeks of theatre, dance, art, music and outdoor events.
Best things to do in Dubbo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo
An open range safari zoo on 300 hectares that you drive, ride or cycle through, with a ticket valid for two days.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo Giraffe Encounter
The giraffe feeding, Savannah Safari bus and keeper led encounters are the zoo premium tier, small groups and closer animals.
Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Experience
A dense, moving exhibition on aeromedical care for remote Australia, with a real aircraft and volunteer guides.
Old Dubbo Gaol
A complete 19th century gaol preserved on the main street, best on a performance day or the after dark Twilight Tour.
Dubbo Observatory
Guided telescope nights minutes from town, planets and galaxies under dark inland skies, with a premium photo session.
Western Plains Cultural Centre
Free regional gallery and museum in a heritage school building, the best hot afternoon and wet weather sight in town.
Dundullimal Homestead
An 1840s slab homestead with stables, church and forge, a peaceful hour of station history south of the centre.
Shoyoen Japanese Garden
A formal Japanese garden with a koi pond and waterfall inside the botanic garden, free and genuinely tranquil.
Where to stay in Dubbo
Obley Road zoo precinct
zoo focused trips and splurge nights
Early and late animal time at the zoo itself, with dinner and town a drive away.
CBD
best all round base
Walkable to the gaol, cultural centre, theatre and the cafe and restaurant cluster.
Whylandra Street strip
car based families and groups
Larger motor inns with pools and restaurants, five minutes to both the zoo and the centre.
Cobra Street strip
value motel stays
The densest rated motel row in town at competitive prices, with highway noise the trade.
Central East Dubbo
caravanners, campers and dog owners
Holiday park cabins and sites with a pool and campfire, a short drive from everything.
Think twice about
- Highway front rooms on Cobra Street and Whylandra Street
Overnight truck traffic on the Newell and Mitchell Highways makes front rooms noisy. Ask for a rear or courtyard room.
- Wellington, Narromine or outer West Dubbo as a zoo base
The saving is lost to daily driving on kangaroo active roads at dawn and dusk. Base in Dubbo for a zoo trip.
- Unreviewed roadside motels far out on the highways
Dubbo accommodation quality varies widely and rated strips offer similar prices. Let the review record be the filter.
Best restaurants in Dubbo
Old Bank Restaurant & Bar
Dubbo grandest room, a heritage bank gastropub and bar for a full night out, priced at the top of the local range.
Press
Dubbo benchmark cafe, serious coffee and creative brunch in a plant filled room that surprises city visitors.
Dahab Cafe Dubbo
A Mediterranean inspired cafe famous for its big Dahab Breakfast, Moroccan lamb salad, coffee and warm service.
CSC Restaurant and Bar
An unhurried Church Street cafe and bar with seasonal menus and the widest vegetarian and gluten free choice in the centre.
Royal India Restobar
Dubbo leading Indian kitchen, deep menu and a proper bar, the default group and vegetarian dinner in town.
Rose Garden Thai
Dubbo favourite Thai table for a decade of rankings, the dinner to pair with a theatre night or a cabin evening.
Short Street Store
A neighbourhood corner store cafe with a dog friendly courtyard, house made sausage rolls and top tier coffee.
Grapevine Cafe
A relaxed patio cafe for a long unhurried breakfast and an international leaning lunch at gentle prices.
Outdoor things to do in Dubbo
Dubbo Golf Club
A 27 hole championship parkland course with grass greens and kangaroos, opposite the zoo at country green fees.
Tracker Riley Cycleway
A flat sealed river loop linking the centre, the zoo and Dundullimal Homestead for walkers, runners and riders.
Wellington Caves
Guided limestone caves with a 15 metre stalagmite, delicate cave corals and a historic phosphate mine full of fossils.
Warrumbungle National Park
Volcanic spires and the Breadknife walk in the first Dark Sky Park in Australia, a hard and spectacular full day hike.
Lake Burrendong
The region big inland lake for boating, kayaking, fishing and swimming, the summer day trip that answers the heat.
Western Plains Riding Centre
Lessons and trail rides in open Central West country, the landscape seen at the pace it was farmed for a century.
Best hotels in Dubbo
Zoofari Lodge
Safari lodges overlooking the savannah, all inclusive with dinner, breakfast, dawn and dusk tours and zoo entry.
Savannah Cabins
Self contained two bedroom cabins closest to the zoo gates, with grassland views and zoo entry packages.
Billabong Camp
The zoo budget camping tier, animal sounds at night and first entry in the morning without lodge pricing.
Quest Dubbo
Modern serviced apartments in the centre, walkable to the gaol, the cultural centre and the cafe cluster.
Orana Motel
The motel strip standard bearer, renovated king rooms, a locked compound and a Thai restaurant guests love.
Quality Inn Dubbo International
A full service motor inn with bar and restaurant between the centre and the zoo, built for groups and road trips.
Dubbo Rhino Lodge
Rustic glamping and lodge stays in bushland past the zoo, hosted and social, with food and events on site.
NRMA Dubbo Holiday Park
Cabins, glamping tents and caravan sites with a pool and campfire, including pet friendly and fenced options.
Is Dubbo expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$120 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$230 a person |
| Splurge | A$600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Taronga Western Plains Zoo: weeks ahead
- Taronga Western Plains Zoo Giraffe Encounter: weeks ahead
- Old Dubbo Gaol: a few days ahead
- Dubbo Observatory: a few days ahead
- Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre: weeks ahead
- Dubbo Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Wellington Caves: a few days ahead
- Western Plains Riding Centre: a few days ahead
- Book Zoofari Lodge months ahead in school holidays, then zoo carts, bikes and paid encounters.
- Book the Dubbo Observatory for your first night, not your last, so cloud leaves a second chance.
- Confirm Dundullimal Homestead opening days and Wellington Caves tour times before driving out.
- Reserve Old Bank and Royal India tables on Friday and Saturday nights.
Is Dubbo safe?
- Slow down at dawn and dusk on regional roads. Kangaroos are active exactly when zoo and observatory trips travel.
- Never drive through floodwater. Causeways around Wellington and the Macquarie flood quickly in wet weeks.
- Above 38 degrees, switch to the summer program of caves, cultural centre, lake and pool, and carry water everywhere.
- Lock the car and keep valuables out of sight. Use locked motel compounds where offered. Emergency number is 000.
Dubbo travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Arriving at the zoo at noon in January to walk the circuit while the animals sleep in the shade.
- Visiting the gaol without a performance or twilight tour, or the Flying Doctor centre without a guide walk.
- Mistaking the Cobra Street takeaway row for Dubbo dining when the rated cafes are five minutes away.
- Driving back from the Warrumbungles or Mudgee tired and after dark on kangaroo active roads.
Getting around Dubbo: public transport and more
- You need a car. The zoo is 5 km from the centre, the Flying Doctor base is at the airport, and Wellington Caves are 45 minutes away.
- Parking is free almost everywhere, including at the zoo, and there are no parking meters in town.
- Sydney to Dubbo is about five hours driving or a one hour flight to Dubbo airport, 5 km from the CBD.
- Ride or walk the Tracker Riley Cycleway between the centre, the zoo and Dundullimal Homestead.
Who Dubbo suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Dubbo your trip
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