File:Coffs_Harbour_IMG_4379_-_panoramio.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Coffs Harbour
Also known as Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, Coffs
city in New South Wales, Australia
Weather now
cached 18h ago19°broken clouds
77% 4.5 m/s OpenWeatherMap
7-day forecast
via Open-Meteo
Place details
- Locality
- Coffs Harbour
- Region
- New South Wales
- Country
- Australia
- Population
- 78,759
Travel guide
Understand
Coffs is one of the original family holiday destinations on the Australian east coast. Today the city attracts parents and grandparents bringing their children to the same destination they visited as a child, as well as many travellers between Sydney and Brisbane, including backpackers staying for a week or so. Less trendy than Byron Bay or Noosa, the town still has great beaches, a huge variety of accommodation, and a well developed tourist industry that has been one of the mainstays of the community since the 1950s.
See
The Big Banana Complex adjacent to the fruit, offers fun rides, ice skating, and a real snow slope (indoor). Take a tour of the real bananas as well. There is a Creek-side Boardwalk through mangroves near the jetty area and a quite extensive Botanical Garden nearby. Shearwater nesting on Muttonbird Island. Muttonbird Island is a peninsula extending out from the marina area. It is completely treeless, but is a nesting site for the migratory birds call wedge-tailed shearwaters, or muttonbirds. Birds complete their courtship in November and the eggs hatch towards the end of summer. On the eastern side of Muttonbird Island, there is a great view out to sea and whales can also be seen at some parts of the year. Walking over Muttonbird Island is a short walk (10-20 minutes), but it's also steep and there is no shade. Wear a hat, cover your shoulders, and take a bottle of water with you.
Do
Swim at Coffs' beaches. Park Beach is the main beach in Coffs, and is just to the north of the mouth of Coffs Creek. It is a surf beach and the swimming can be a little rough. Just inside the mouth of Coffs Creek is a small sheltered beach. Families with small children swim here and there are lots of fishermen. There is another calm beach between the jetty and the wharf area that is popular with families. Go on a dolphin or whale watching cruise. Whale season is June to November each year, and dolphins are seen in the area year round. Spirit Cruises takes a large day boat of whale or dolphin watchers out daily at 9:30AM. On weekends and holidays there is also a luncheon cruise at 1pm. The boat has a bar and, for the more active participants, there is a waterslide and pool set up in the ocean. Cruises are popular so book in advance, phone bookings are preferred. Helicopter scenic flights over the stunning beaches and rainforest with Precision Helicopters, 77 Aviation Drive, Coffs Harbour. +61 2 6652 9988. Flights start at $80. Half-hour learn-to-fly lessons over the coast - spectacular! Rally Australia is the Australasian leg of the World Rally Championship, held (from 2016) in late November. Moving between the stages isn't overly easy but if you are a petrol-head it is definitely a trip worth taking.
~22 min read
Article
Panoramic view of the Coffs Harbour marina, NSW Australia, from Muttonbird Island
Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, 529 km (329 mi) north of Sydney, and 390 km (240 mi) south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census.