Grand Pacific Drive: route guide

The drive runs south from Sydney's Royal National Park through the Illawarra to Bomaderry, near Nowra. It is one of the longest signed tourist drives in New South Wales and is marked as a route rather than a single road: you follow signs through Helensburgh, the coast at Stanwell Park, Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Gerringong.

The scenic payoff is concentrated in two stretches: the Royal National Park and the cliff-hugging Lawrence Hargrave Drive around Sea Cliff Bridge, then the coastal run from Shellharbour through Kiama to Gerringong. Between them the road is often freeway-grade and fast, which is why the drive works as a day trip even though the full length looks long on a map.

Some spur roads inside Royal National Park are unpaved. If you take those, carry water and expect no phone coverage in places.

Royal National Park to Stanwell Park. Enter the park from the north and take the coast road south. The park is the oldest national park in Australia and the road threads through bush before dropping to the coast at Stanwell Park. Allow time for a short walk or a lookout stop; this is the section most people rush and later regret.

Stanwell Park to Wollongong. Lawrence Hargrave Drive is the highlight: a narrow coastal road cut into the escarpment, with Sea Cliff Bridge carrying the road out over the water where the cliffs are unstable. Park at the northern end and walk the bridge; it is short and free. Cyclists share parts of this road and must dismount on some steep sections.

Wollongong to Shellharbour. The road becomes faster and more urban. Wollongong is the natural lunch stop, with the most choice of food and accommodation on the route. From here the coast opens up again towards Shellharbour.

Shellharbour to Kiama. A freeway-grade stretch with easy exits to beaches. Kiama is the second anchor stop: the blowhole, the harbour and the coastal path are all within walking distance of parking.

Kiama to Bomaderry. The road turns inland through Gerringong and the green dairy country of the Shoalhaven. This last leg is quieter and less scenic than the coast; if you are short on time, turning back at Kiama costs you little.

Spring and autumn give the most reliable weather and the lightest traffic (check). Summer weekends and NSW school holidays fill the coastal car parks at Stanwell Park, Sea Cliff Bridge and Kiama, and the single-lane sections around Lawrence Hargrave Drive slow to a crawl (check). Winter is quieter and still driveable, with shorter daylight and a higher chance of rain and wind on the exposed stretches (check).

Start early from Sydney. Leaving before 8am gets you through the Royal National Park and over Sea Cliff Bridge before the day-trippers, and puts you in Kiama around lunchtime. Check for road closures after heavy rain: landslips and fallen trees close parts of the Royal National Park and Lawrence Hargrave Drive from time to time (check).

Wollongong has the widest range, from motels to serviced apartments, and works as a single base for the whole drive. Kiama is smaller and more coastal, with motels and holiday rentals near the harbour; it suits a two-day trip where you want the blowhole and the coastal walk at your doorstep.

Stanwell Park and the villages along Lawrence Hargrave Drive have limited accommodation and book out early in summer. If you are driving a loop back to Sydney, staying in Wollongong or Kiama and returning north the next day avoids doubling back on the slow cliff road. Book ahead for summer weekends and school holidays.

You need a car for the scenic sections. Trains run through the corridor south of Helensburgh but do not follow the coast road, so they are a fallback rather than a way to see the drive. Buses operate in Wollongong but are not practical for the route as a whole.

Fill up before the Royal National Park; fuel and food are sparse inside it (check). Carry water, sun protection and a jacket, because the coastal weather changes quickly. Mobile coverage is patchy in the park and on parts of Lawrence Hargrave Drive (check). If you plan to walk unpaved spurs in the park, tell someone your route.

Cyclists can ride much of the route on shared paths, especially in Wollongong and Kiama, but should expect traffic on the cliff road and dismounts on the steepest parts. Drive on the left, watch for cyclists and pedestrians at bridge and lookout car parks, and do not leave valuables visible in the car overnight in Wollongong.