Best Beach Day Trips from Canberra: Coast and Lake Escapes Within Easy Reach

Canberra is unique among Australia's capital cities in having no coastline of its own, but the ACT is positioned within 2-3 hours drive of some of NSW's finest beaches and several of the country's most beautiful coastal national parks. The Eurobodalla and Bega Valley coasts to the south-east and south, and the South Coast's national park beaches, reward Canberrans who make the drive over the Great Dividing Range.

Batemans Bay (2 hours) — Batemans Bay is Canberra's closest ocean beach destination and the default for a quick overnight or long weekend coastal escape. Corrigans Beach, Caseys Beach, and the beaches around the bay have calm estuary and ocean conditions, and Batemans Bay's fresh seafood (the oysters are excellent from the Clyde River estuary) makes the food component of the trip worthwhile. The drive via Braidwood is one of NSW's most beautiful high country to coast descents.

Jervis Bay (2.5 hours) — Jervis Bay (Hyams Beach is on the Guinness World Record for whitest sand) is widely regarded as NSW's most beautiful coastal area, with the Booderee National Park protecting the southern shores of the bay, the crystal clarity of the water, and the dolphin and whale watching that make it a destination in its own right. Hyams Beach's sand is genuinely remarkable in its whiteness.

Merimbula and Sapphire Coast (3 hours) — Merimbula and the Sapphire Coast (Pambula, Tathra, Bermagui) are less visited than the closer Eurobodalla beaches and provide a quieter beach experience for Canberrans willing to make the three-hour drive. The Sapphire Coast's oyster industry, the Eden whale watching heritage, and the Mimosa Rocks National Park beaches reward those who explore further south.

Lake Burley Griffin (in Canberra) — for those who can't make the coastal drive, Lake Burley Griffin's foreshore has swim beaches at Black Mountain Peninsula and East Basin that are supervised in summer, providing in-town swimming that is genuinely popular on hot Canberra days despite the freshwater lake not replicating the ocean experience.

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