Southeastern New South Wales

Understand

Southeastern New South Wales is known for its impressive landscapes; from the long, unspoiled beaches of the Eurobodalla and the Sapphire Coasts, to the scenic photogenic mountains of the Snowy Mountains, or Snowies as it's locally known. The three regions are very diverse yet so similar. The region is cold: it is the coldest part of New South Wales. Temperatures are more comparable to northeastern United States, some towns, especially in the Snowy Mountains may not see temperatures above the freezing point. Contrary to other regions in the state, this isn't a common name that's used in conversation – you're more likely to hear the names of individual regions, though what the two coastal regions vary – those who like to break the South Coast down into specific regions call it by their respective region names, while those who like to generalise regions will just call both regions "South Coast". However, major broadcast tend to group the region, such as the ABC South East NSW, but the naming is not consistent. For simplicity, Wikivoyage has chosen to go with Southeastern New South Wales.

Getting there

By car

There are four major highways that can be used to enter southeastern New South Wales, though it largely differs by region.

A1 Princes Highway is just one of the many routes that make up Australia's Highway 1, mostly used by travellers from the Greater Sydney region south to get to Eurobodalla and sometimes the Sapphire Coast or travellers coming from Victorian to the west. B23 Monaro Highway is the prime way to get into the Snowy Mountains from Greater Sydney, passing through Canberra. South of the Snowies and you'll head towards Cann River in the East Gippsland region of Victoria B72 Snowy Mountains Highway from the Riverina or anywhere to the west of Canberra. It may be a feasible route if you're coming from Victoria, but it usually takes an hour longer than using the B23. B400 Murray Valley Highway, which becomes the unnumbered Alpine Way in New South Wales to go to the ski resorts such as Thredbo or Perisher.

By plane There are two airports with regularly scheduled flights: the Cooma–Snowy Mountains Airport (OOL IATA) a few kilometres southwest of Cooma serving the Snowy Mountains, and Merimbula Airport (MIM IATA) just to the south of Merimbula serving the Sapphire Coast. There are no airports in Eurobodalla. Though the two airports are in the southeast, both have very different purposes. The Snowy Mountains Airport is specifically designed to be a central hub for exploring the Snowy Mountains; most travellers who fly to Cooma are travellers who have come to visit Thredbo, Perisher or just the Snowy Mountains in general. Very few fly to the airport to visit only Cooma. Meanwhile, the Merimbula Airport is designed for tourists coming from Victoria. While there are rental cars available, most travellers who fly into Merimbula often only visit Merimbula. Be aware that renting a car may come with limits, and if you're intending to go on dirt tracks or gravel roads, check whether it is permitted.

Getting around

Public transport in Southeastern New South Wales is minimal with the coaches except to the ski resorts heavily optimised for locals. With a few exceptions such as the skitube to Perisher, getting around southeastern New South Wales bar a few corridors has to be done by car. While the roads have improved over the decades, it can still take hours to get from one place to another, especially in the Snowy Mountains. Many roads that aren't numbered are very narrow, so it's quite easy to underestimate distances – to give just one example, a drive from Thredbo to Khancoban is just 78 km, which would ideally take you 47 minutes on average if you're going on a typical rural road in New South Wales. However, due to the narrow winding road, it actually takes over 2 hours. Some roads require all 2WDs to carry snow chains – see Snowy Mountains § Get around. Take extra precaution on snow roads, as most Australian cars are not equipped with winter tyres – see driving in New Zealand and winter driving for some good tips that apply to this region. While major highways may be wide enough to accommodation one lane each way, the roads between the coastal areas and the Snowy Mountains can get very steep with lots of hairpins along the way. Be extra careful around trucks; trucks may need to cross the centre/median line to get around hairpins. Waiting an extra few minutes won't cost you anything.

Coaches As of 2026, there are four NSW TrainLink coaches. One leaves from Canberra to Jindabyne, one from Canberra to Eden via Bega and a third from Cooma to Bombala via Nimmitabel. The fourth NSW TrainLink coach, completely detached from the other routes, is from Cootamundra to Tumbarumba via Tumut. V/Line also operates coaches southwards from Batemans Bay via Eden and Canberra via Bombala. Private coaches also operate to the ski resorts seasonally, most often either to Thredbo and the skitube station at Bullock Flat.

See

There's quite a lot to see in southeastern New South Wales, from natural scenery, to museums, to historic sites. While this area has been a significant area to the Indigenous peoples, there just isn't as much of an "indigenous emphasis" compared to other regions of New South Wales. From May to November, southeastern New South Wales is a great place for whale-watching. Humpback whales usually migrate from Antarctica north for some warmer waters during May and the early months of winter, and later in the whale-watching season during spring, the whales usually migrate back to Antarctica but with their calves. Due to the large number of whales that pass by, this area used to be a location for whaling, but the industry has since died ever since the humpback whales were protected. The Eden Killer Whale Museum in Eden is a great place to learn more about the whaling industry in the region and also shore-based whaling, something that Indigenous Australians did prior to European colonisation. Though not as well known as the Victorian Gold Rush and the Eureka Stockade, this region did also have its own gold rush during the 1850s. It did bring wealth to the region (for a short time anyway), but a few remnants remain around the Batemans Bay Region and the Snowy Mountains.

Do

Like elsewhere in the state, there are good hiking and bushwalking trails in all three regions. Whether it's the short 1.1-km Pinnacles loop walking track in Beowa National Park, the 6-km Kosciuszko walk in the Thredbo-Perisher region of Kosciuszko National Park or the 15-km Nunnock Swamp and Grasslands track in SE Forest National Park, there's a bushwalking trail for everyone. In the coastal areas, bushwalks mostly resemble a typical bushwalk in New South Wales, but in the Snowy Mountains and the areas surrounding it, it can be an experience of its own. First up, if you're stereotyping everywhere in Australia to be bright sunny, and entirely covered in desert, probably don't, or otherwise you're going to be in some serious trouble, and