From food and wine trails to country cottage getaways, here are some picture-perfect weekend getaways within driving distance of Sydney. Whether you’re yearning to arrive (around two hours’ driving time), want to feel like you’re really getting away (around three hours), or are craving a road trip (four to five hours), pack your bags and discover a new way to have a well-deserved break in New South Wales.

DRIVE TIME FROM SYDNEY: 2–3 HOURS 

Fine food and wine in Lake George 

Wash away the everyday by tasting cool-climate wines and feasting on fine food in the Canberra District, a 2.5-hour drive from Sydney. Secure a table at Lake George Winery’s Westering restaurant for a long lunch paired with the estate’s acclaimed chardonnay, pinot noir and shiraz. 

Settle in to your stay – in one of Lake George Winery’s cottages, tiny homes or glamping tents or a cute country cottage at Tallagandra Hill Winery Accommodation – and freshen up for a memorable dinner of “refined country fare” at Grazing Restaurant in nearby Gundaroo. 

Taste your way around Lake George and surrounds to sample hand-worked shiraz and riesling at Nick O'Leary Wines in Wallaroo, single-parcel shiraz viogniers at Clonakilla Wines and award-winning shiraz at Four Winds Vineyard, both in nearby Murrumbateman. 

Freshen your palate with some divine handcrafted Belgian chocolates at Murrumbateman Chocolate Co before jumping in your car for the 10-minute drive to the Blackwattle Alpaca Farm to meet alpacas and llamas and tour this unique property. 

Family getaway in Lake Macquarie  

Set sail for a weekend of aquatic adventures at Lake Macquarie, the largest saltwater lake in the southern hemisphere, around a two-hour drive north of Sydney. If you’re travelling as a family, check in to Macquarie 4 Star in Argenton, where a Family Room sleeps up to six across two adjoining rooms. Embrace a sense of seclusion at the waterfront Raffertys Resort at Cams Wharf, at the southern end of the lake, or breathe in the salt air from your room at beachside Caves Coastal Bar and Bungalows at Caves Beach. 

Soak up sunshine while absorbing the messages conveyed by the art on Lake Macquarie’s Creative Lake Sculpture Trail from as it winds from lakeside Eleebana and Warners Bay to the Speers Point parklands, before wandering through the outdoor sculpture garden and gallery space at Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie, yapang, across the water from Speers Point.

While away a glorious morning or afternoon on this vast lake – you can drop in a line straight from the jetty to reel in a fish, kayak to a sand island on the lake, or watch the sunrise from ancient cave formations on Caves Beach. 

See the lake from a different perspective by hiring a boat or kayak from JetBuzz Watersports or Lake Mac Watersports. Be fascinated by a hidden underwater world as you paddle a transparent kayak with lights that illuminate the depths of the lake on a guided night-time kayaking expedition with Showtime Kayaking.

DRIVE TIME FROM SYDNEY: 3–4 HOURS 

Local treats in Braidwood 

Step out of your car and feel your mind calming as you survey the leafy park and handsome main street of Braidwood, a three-hour drive from Sydney, in the countryside between Canberra and the South Coast. 

Check into a quiet, comfortable room at Colonial Motel or indulge in a luxury stay at Mona Farm outside of town. Then stroll picturesque streets lined with 19th-century buildings before tucking into a pie or pastry from the famed Braidwood Bakery, a yeast-raised doughnut and organic coffee from Papua New Guinea at Oscar’s Donuts, or a hand-made sausage roll and German-style sourdough at Dojo Bread.

Find just-picked local produce at the Braidwood Farmers Market on the first and third Saturday every month – come in the winter months of June to August to join the thrilling hunt for truffles at farms outside of town. Join trained truffle dogs as they sniff out the prized fungi at L'Air du Wombat Truffles, around 50 minutes outside of Braidwood, and Turalla Truffles, a 40-minute drive away.

Time your visit and you can immerse in the art of blending botanicals to make the perfect gin at Hold Fast Distillery, which holds the Braidwood Gin School on selected Fridays and Saturdays on the grounds of the excellent Troopers Rest restaurant. 

Wine and dumplings in Rylstone  

Follow the example of canny fellow travellers and aim to arrive in Rylstone, a 3.5-hour drive west from Sydney, in time for yum cha and tea at cult dumpling house 29 Nine 99. Then stroll the streets to admire the Federation sandstone buildings of this beautiful town in the Mudgee wine region. 

Be transported by Australia’s answer to France’s Burgundy region at De Beaurepaire Wines, a 10-minute drive from Rylstone. Enjoy a guided wine experience at the estate’s 170-year-old cellar door or relax over a picnic on the lawn overlooking 100,000 vines. Sample a vintage of another kind when you sip the ultra-fresh extra virgin olive oils at Rylstone Olive Press’s cellar door, a half-hour’s drive out of town.

As the sky darkens, cosy up beside the fireplace at one of Wollemi Retreat’s luxe cabins, or discover a storybook charm in the heart of town at White Corner Cottage with its rambling garden and thoughtfully stocked pantry.

Outdoor adventures on the Barrington Tops 

Travel back to a pre-human past when you step into the ancient UNESCO World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforest of Barrington Tops National Park, a 3.5-hour drive north of Sydney. Follow the park’s Gloucester Tops Circuit to encounter a mosaic of eucalypt forests, timeless rainforest and grasslands on a 25-kilometre-long plateau set among long-extinct volcanoes. 

Experience another form of time travel by staying at the Settlers Arms, a classic Australian pub in the delightful town of Dungog. Spot wildlife, kayak along the river and stay overnight in a cabin, bunkhouse or tent at the tranquil Riverwood Downs property at the foothills of Barrington Tops. Or bunk down in an early settler’s home at the rustic Roseleigh Cottage, a few minutes’ drive outside the entrance to Barrington Tops National Park.

Help ensure the long-term future of threatened Australian wildlife by basing yourself at Aussie Ark’s Devils Retreat, a secluded homestead around a 40-minute drive from the heart of the national park. Time your stay for the Aussie Ark’s Devils in the Wild Tour every second Saturday, where you can observe Tasmanian devils in free-range enclosures.

DRIVE TIME FROM SYDNEY: 4–5 HOURS 

A sweet stay in Junee 

Stroll down beautifully preserved historic streetscapes in Junee, a 4.5-hour drive from Sydney in the Riverina region of southwest NSW, and follow your nose to one of this pretty town’s main attractions. See how Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory makes its irresistible organic licorice and chocolates on a tour of its operations in a restored flour mill before filling a basket at its tempting store and indulging your sweet tooth with a treat at the in-house café. 

Burn off some of the energy from all that confectionery as you wander around the former steam locomotive workshop that now houses the Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum’s steam and diesel trains and passenger carriages – or take on the challenging 18-hole course at Junee Golf Club. Visiting in August or September? Follow the Canola Trail from Junee to Coolamon and Temora to see the region’s canola fields bloom in a sea of vivid yellow.

After the day’s adventures, freshen up in your cabin at Junee Tourist Park or your spacious silo-shaped loft at The Silos Accommodation, around a 10-minute drive out of town, before heading over to Junee’s Red Cow Hotel, a quintessential country pub, for dinner. 

Leaf peeping in Tumut 

Set your navigation app to Tumut, a pretty town at the foot of the Snowy Mountains, around a four-hour drive from Sydney. Come in April for the town’s Falling Leaf Festival, as autumn hues of poplar, elm and maple trees colour the surrounding countryside.

At any time of the year you can seek out the sculptures dotted around town that form part of the 150km-long Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail; look out over the surrounding valley from Rotary Lookout; hike, fish or go mountain-biking in Tumut State Forest; and pop into Tumut River Brewing Co, a microbrewery crafting beers from local ingredients, for a cleansing ale. 

Settle in to a room at the French Provincial-style Monarch Tumut House, a short stroll from Tumut River in the heart of town, or take a lodge suite or a cute cottage at Nimbo Fork, a 20-minute drive out of Tumut. Then delight in some of the finest fresh produce from the Riverina district at Nimbo Fork’s acclaimed restaurant Three Blue Ducks Nimbo.

In the morning, roam the wine region of Tumbarumba – try the chardonnay and pinot noir at Courabyra Wines’ cellar door and stay for lunch at the onsite restaurant. Afterwards, hire some bikes from Tumba Bikes and Blooms or Ride Tumba and tackle the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail, a 21km sealed trail that follows a former rail line through scenic countryside.