Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

A visit to the Blue Mountains was probably the highlight of our adrenalin adventures while traveling around Australia, but that does not mean, that afterwards nothing interesting was happening.

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Port Stephens has about 20.000 inhabitants (Australia travel)

After all the city exploration and adrenalin activities it was finally time to start a little bit more relaxed and easy going travel in Australia. Staying in Port Stephens was most definitely a little bit more holiday oriented, even more, because we stayed there for two sunny and hot days.

Port Stephens is mostly known as a holiday place for people leaving in Newcastle and maybe even to Sydney residents, as it is only 2,5 hours drive by car from it. As soon as we reached Port Stephens it felt a little bit more relaxed – I guess this is always the case when visiting and staying at the coast, with its numerous sandy beaches and stunning views. The best view can be seen from 161 meters high Tomaree view point, which makes a nice 15-20 minutes hike up the summit.

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

A viewon Port Stephens from Tomaree Head Summit (Australia travel)

Port Stephens has lots of different types of accommodations, from camping grounds to hotels, but doing this Australia travel as a part of the international competition Big Blog Exchange, which Hostelling International organized, we stayed in a lovely Port Stephens YHA Samurai Beach Bungalows.

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Port Stephens YHA Samurai Beach Bungalows are the place to stay (Australia travel)

Not many people live in Port Stephens. To be exact only about 20.000, what makes it big enough to be a nice place to live in as there is always something to do. Honestly told, we both agreed we could say this place our home. I guess one of the main reasons are the beaches and numerous outdoor activities, which would make us busy.

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

The Australian coast is perfect for surfing – great surfing spots can be found inPort Stephens too (Australia travel)

Things to do in Port Stephens

  • Surfing
  • Stand up paddling
  • canoeing
  • sandboarding
  • camel riding
  • Horse riding
  • hiking
  • off-road driving
  • playing golf
  • kangaroo and koala spotting

Before we traveled to Australia, we have never heard of Port Stephens, but as soon as we found out we are headed here too, we had a feeling this will be the place for us. If you have read our blog, you noticed for sure, that we are big fans of deserts, sand, vast areas and off-road driving, but weird enough, we also like spending time in or on the water.

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Port Stephens is famous for its sand dunes and sandboarding (Australia travel)

Luckily the YHA itinerary included also a visit to the sand dunes, for which Port Stephens is well known for. We felt like a fish in the water there. One of the most popular activities there is for sure sandboarding, which we have done as well! It was sooooo much fun! Climbing up the high dunes and seeing how diverse the nature is, is something you cannot miss in Port Stephens. The area, where the numerous sand dunes are, is just meters away from the water and white sandy beaches.

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Amazing sand dunes in port Stephens (Australia travel)

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Sandboarding in Port Stephens (Australia travel)

Even though we were limited with time (two days is just not enough for Port Stephens to really emerge in it) we have done all kind of things here; from hiking, spotting kangaroos to stand up paddling and sandboarding. There are lots of local agencies you can choose from, but we used Port Stephens Paddlesports for stand up paddling and Port Stephens 4WD Tours for sandboarding. Both very professional and fun to be around.

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Paddling in Port Stephens is a very popular thing to do (Australia travel)

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Paddling in Port Stephens , Shoal Bay (Australia travel)

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Paddling in Port Stephens , Shoal Bay (Australia travel)

Australia travel, Port Stephens, YHA, Samurai Beach Bungalows, sandboarding, paddling, what to do in Port Stephens

Paddling in Port Stephens is fun to do (Australia travel)

Port Stephens is for sure one of our favorite places in Australia – maybe even more because we visited it off season, where we had beaches and the town completely to ourselves. 

Check out our short movie from sandboarding and stand up paddling