14 places to visit in Kiama in 2027, with walk and drive times

Compare the 14 places to visit in Kiama at a glance

Kiama is small, but its sights are spread along about 20 km of coast and up into the green hills behind town. This list sticks to places: headlands, beaches, lookouts, a rainforest and three villages. For activities, food and events, our Explore Kiama hub has the full set of guides.

Walk and drive times below are from Kiama Ridge Waters at 2 Surfleet Place, Kiama. Traffic, parking and summer crowds add time, so treat them as a guide.

Hours, fees and track conditions change, so check before you go. To see where everything sits, open our Kiama map.

Start at the Kiama Blowhole on Blowhole Point

The Blowhole is the reason most people first come to Kiama. Waves push into a sea cave under the basalt headland and force water up through a 2.5-metre opening, with plumes recorded at over 30 metres. It works hardest in a south-east wind with a south-east swell, so a wild, wavy day beats a calm sunny one.

It is free and open 24 hours, with several accessible viewing platforms, a car park, coach parking and public toilets that are always open. The point is floodlit after dark. Allow 30 minutes to an hour, longer if you add the Lighthouse and the ocean pool next door.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 35-minute walk (2.9 km) or a 5-minute drive. The car park fills at busy times, so come early or walk in. Read our full Kiama Blowhole guide for swell tips and history.

Walk up to Kiama Lighthouse beside the Blowhole

The short white lighthouse on the high point of Blowhole Point was first lit on 1 January 1887 and still guides boats into Kiama Harbour. The grounds are free to walk around, but the tower itself is closed to the public and there are no tours.

Go for the view. The Blowhole sits on the rocks below, the harbour is on the other side, and the coast runs north to Bombo. At dusk the light comes on above the Norfolk Island pines, which makes it a good last stop of the day. The Pilot's Cottage Museum next door is run by the Kiama Historical Society and opens on weekends. Check its hours before you go.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 35-minute walk (2.8 km) or a 5-minute drive, using the Blowhole Point car park. Allow 30 minutes. More in our Kiama Lighthouse guide.

Watch the fishing boats come into Kiama Harbour

Kiama Harbour is the town's small working harbour, a stone-walled basin called Robertson Basin that opened in 1876 in the shelter of Blowhole Point. Fishing and charter boats tie up here, there is a boat ramp, and the Kiama Fisheries seafood market sells the catch on the waterfront.

It is free to visit, with a car park and a public toilet, and Destination Kiama lists it as welcoming people with access needs. Black Beach, the dark-sand beach at the edge of the harbour, is a short walk away. Allow an hour, and combine it with the Blowhole and Lighthouse, which are only a few minutes' walk across the point.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 30 to 35-minute walk or a 5-minute drive to Terralong Street. See our Kiama Harbour guide for the boats, seafood and history.

Catch the Little Blowhole on a north-east swell

The Little Blowhole sits on the rock platform below Marsden Head, off Tingira Crescent, about 2 km south of the town centre. It is smaller than the main Blowhole, but it sprays on north-east swells and Destination Kiama says it is often more dramatic when the swell is small. When Blowhole Point is quiet, come here.

It is free and open 24 hours, with a car park, lookouts and a picnic area. The official listing says it does not cater for people with access needs, and people also watch from the rocky foreshore, so keep well back from the edge.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 20-minute walk (1.6 km) or a 4-minute drive. It is the closest headland to the apartments, so it makes an easy before-breakfast walk. Read our Little Blowhole guide.

Swim at sheltered Easts Beach, 15 minutes on foot

Easts Beach is the southernmost of Kiama's town beaches: about 350 m of east-facing sand between two headlands, sheltered from much of the wind and swell. BeachSafe rates it 4 out of 10 for hazard, lower than the open surf beaches, and Kiama Council lifeguards patrol it over the Christmas school holidays. Munna Munnora Creek at the southern end is a favourite with small children.

Because it faces east, the sun comes up over the water, which makes it an easy sunrise spot. Access is by steps at each end, so it does not suit people with access needs.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 15-minute walk (1.3 km), the closest beach to the apartments. Check BeachSafe for conditions and patrol times before you swim. See our Easts Beach guide.

Link the sights on the Kiama Coast Walk

The Kiama Coast Walk ties many places on this list together. It runs about 20 km from the Minnamurra River to Werri Beach at Gerringong, in three sections, and takes 6 to 7 hours end to end. Most people pick one section.

Times are one way, from Destination Kiama. The walk is free. Dogs are welcome on a leash for most of it, but not on some beach sections. The Mid section passes Easts Beach, about 15 minutes' walk from Kiama Ridge Waters, so you can join it without the car. Our Kiama Coast Walk guide covers each section, and walks in Kiama has shorter options.

Explore the basalt columns of Bombo Headland Quarry

On the headland at the north end of Bombo Beach, tall grey-black basalt columns rise from a flat quarry floor beside the sea. They were exposed by blue metal quarrying in the 1880s and 1900s, according to Destination Kiama, and the sea has weathered them ever since. The site is on the NSW State Heritage Register as the Bombo Headland Quarry Geological Site.

Destination Kiama compares it to a lunar landscape and says it often turns up in television commercials and photo shoots. Sunrise is the time photographers favour. The ground is rough and loose, and the listing says it does not cater for people with access needs, so wear sturdy shoes and stay back from the water when waves break over the platform. Allow an hour.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about an 8-minute drive (7 km) to Bombo station, then a short walk onto the headland, or about 1 hour 7 minutes on foot (5.4 km). Read our Bombo Beach and Headland guide.

See the sea stacks at Cathedral Rocks

Cathedral Rocks are jagged basalt sea stacks at the southern end of Jones Beach, Kiama Downs, about 3 km north of town. Destination Kiama describes them as towering formations shaped as hard volcanic rock eroded over millions of years. The main stack stands in the surf, so you look at it rather than climb it, but there are rock platforms, a small sea cave and rockpools close to the sand.

Walk south along Jones Beach from the car park off Cliff Drive. Go near low tide in a small swell, ideally at sunrise, when the light comes from behind the stacks. Entry is free and the listing says it does not cater for people with access needs. Allow about an hour.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 9-minute drive (7.6 km). Pair it with Bombo Headland, which is just to the south. See our Cathedral Rocks guide for tides and where to park.

Drive up Saddleback Mountain for the view

Saddleback Mountain rises more than 600 metres above sea level behind Kiama. The lookout is on Jack Cleary Memorial Drive, off Saddleback Mountain Road, about 6 km south-west of town. From two viewing platforms you can see the coast from Cronulla to Milton on a clear day, with Kiama and the farmland below.

The road climbs through dairy country past historic dry stone walls, so drive slowly and stop only where it is safe. You park at the top, and no entry fee or opening hours are published for the lookout. Allow 30 minutes to an hour. Clear mornings and late afternoons give the sharpest views.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 9-minute drive (6.8 km). Read our Saddleback Mountain guide, or see more high points in Kiama lookouts.

Spend half a day in Gerringong and on Werri Beach

Gerringong is a hilltop village in the Municipality of Kiama, looking down over the long curve of Werri Beach. Werri Beach runs about 1.7 km from Werri Lagoon south to the Ourie Ocean Pool. Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club patrols the southern end on weekends from late September to late April, and BeachSafe rates the beach 7 out of 10 for hazard, so swim between the flags.

Fern Street has the shops and cafes. On the headland at the south end of the beach you will find the rock pools, Boat Harbour and a free whale-watching platform. Gerringong is also the finish of the Kiama Coast Walk, and the station is on the South Coast Line, one stop past Kiama.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about an 8 to 9-minute drive (8 km). See our Gerringong guide and Werri Beach guide.

Walk the long sand of Seven Mile Beach from Gerroa

Seven Mile Beach runs just over 12 km from Gerroa to Shoalhaven Heads, almost all of it inside Seven Mile Beach National Park. It is a long, flat surf beach backed by dunes and forest, with free picnic areas and two sand track walks. The Gerroa end, where Crooked River meets the sea, has gentler waves and is where surf schools teach beginners.

Start at the Kingsford Smith Memorial Lookout in Gerroa, which looks over the whole sweep of sand to Mount Coolangatta. NPWS says the park can close in poor weather or high fire danger, so check its alerts page on the day. Allow half a day, or combine it with Gerringong or Berry.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 12-minute drive (10.9 km) to the Gerroa lookout. Read our Seven Mile Beach guide and Gerroa guide.

Head inland to the village of Jamberoo

Jamberoo is a small farming village in the green valley under the Illawarra escarpment, a short drive inland from the ocean. Allowrie Street is the main street, with the Jamberoo Pub, built in 1857, a club, a cafe and Reid Park, where the village markets set up on the last Sunday of the month.

Many of the original 19th-century buildings now hold cafes and boutiques. Jamberoo is also the road to Minnamurra Rainforest and Jamberoo Lookout, so it works well as a lunch stop on a hills day. Allow half a day with the rainforest, or an hour or two for the village alone.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 14-minute drive (11 km). See our Jamberoo guide. To stay nearby, read accommodation near Jamberoo.

Walk through Minnamurra Rainforest in Budderoo National Park

Minnamurra Rainforest is a rare remnant of subtropical and warm temperate rainforest along the upper Minnamurra River, past Jamberoo. Elevated walkways and suspension bridges carry you through it. The Lyrebird Loop is 1.6 km, and the Minnamurra Falls walk is 4.2 km return to platforms over the falls.

NSW National Parks lists the park gates as open 9am to 5pm and the Rainforest Centre as open 9am to 4pm daily, closed Christmas Day. Last access is 3pm for the falls walk and 4pm for the Lyrebird Loop. Entry is $12 per vehicle per day. Dogs are not allowed, except certified assistance animals. The car park can fill, and the centre is sometimes affected by closures, so check the NPWS alerts before you go. Allow 2 to 3 hours.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 25-minute drive (18 km). Read our Minnamurra Rainforest guide, or see waterfalls near Kiama.

Finish with a day in Berry

Berry is a heritage country town in the Shoalhaven, just south of the Kiama area, and an easy add-on to any Kiama stay. Queen Street is lined with bakeries, shops and old pubs, and the town has a first-Sunday market and a Thursday farmers' market. Cellar doors sit on the roads around it.

Queen Street gets busy on weekends and market days, so try the side streets if the main strip is full. Berry station is on the South Coast Line, served by a diesel shuttle from Kiama, but it runs less often than the Sydney trains, so check times on Transport NSW. Allow half a day, or a full day with Seven Mile Beach on the way home.

From Kiama Ridge Waters: about a 15-minute drive (20.5 km). Read our Berry day trip guide and day trips from Kiama.

Plan your 2027 visit around the show, the festival and the whales

A few dates make 2027 a good year to time your trip. All of them are confirmed by the organisers, and details can change, so check before you book.

Kiama Show day tickets go on sale online from 1 January 2027. The 2027 show hours have not been published yet. Read our Kiama Show 2027 guide and Kiama Jazz and Blues Festival 2027 guide for updates.

For whales, September to November is the pick, when mothers and new calves often swim closer to shore, and several of the headlands on this list double as free lookouts. See whale watching in Kiama, plus Kiama events and the Kiama weather guide for the rest of the year.

Group the places into three easy days

The sights fall into three clusters, so you can see most of this list in a long weekend without doubling back.

• Day 1, town and headlands: walk from the apartments to Easts Beach and the Little Blowhole, then on along the Mid section of the Coast Walk to Kendalls Beach, Surf Beach, the Blowhole, the Lighthouse and the Harbour. Walk back the same way, or leave a car in town.
• Day 2, north coast and hills: sunrise at Cathedral Rocks, then Bombo Headland Quarry, Saddleback Mountain mid-morning and Jamberoo for lunch. Finish at Minnamurra Rainforest before last access.
• Day 3, south: Gerringong and Werri Beach in the morning, the Gerroa lookout and Seven Mile Beach, then Berry for the afternoon.

With children, see things to do in Kiama with kids. On a budget, nearly all of these places are covered in free things to do in Kiama. For parking near each spot, read the Kiama parking guide.

Stay between the town sights and the south coast

Kiama Ridge Waters puts you a 15-minute walk from Easts Beach, 20 minutes from the Little Blowhole and about 35 minutes on foot from the Blowhole. Gerringong, Saddleback Mountain and Cathedral Rocks are all under 10 minutes by car. Each of the three-bedroom apartments at 2 Surfleet Place sleeps six, with two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a laundry and garage parking for two cars.

Most of our apartments take pets on request ($200 cleaning fee). Check-in is from 3pm and check-out by 10am. Groups can book several apartments on the same site. See our three-bedroom apartments in Kiama, weekend stays in Kiama and group accommodation, or check availability.