Visitor Information -- The Port Stephens Visitor Information Centre, Victoria Parade, Nelson Bay (tel. 02/4980 6900; www.portstephens.org.au), is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm. You can book everything on the Cruise Booking Agency site, www.cruiseportstephens.com.au.

Getting There

To get to Port Stephens, take the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (F3) to its end, and then follow the Pacific Highway signs to Hexham and Port Stephens. Port Stephens Coaches (tel. 1800/045 949 in Sydney, or 02/4982 2940; www.pscoaches.com.au) travels between Port Stephens and Newcastle, and to Nelson Bay from Sydney daily at 2pm. Buses from Sydney leave from Eddy Avenue, near Central Station; the journey takes 3 1/2 hours. Round-trip tickets cost around A$59 for adults and A$38 for children. There's no train service to Port Stephens. You must book ahead. A number of tour operators run trips here from Sydney. Among them is Gone Walkabout Safaris (tel. 02/4915 8515; www.gonewalkaboutsafaris.com.au), which offers a two-day trip taking in dolphin watching, a 4-wheel-drive adventure on the Stockton Sand Dunes, and wine tasting in the Hunter Valley. The trip costs A$289 for adults, and A$199 for kids under 14. Tours leave Sydney at 7.30pm from YHA Central on Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays (Oct-May), and 6.30pm Fridays and Mondays (June-Sept). Sydney Wilderness Tours (tel. 1800/011 103 in Australia, or 02 9357 5511; www.sydneywildernesstours.com.au) offers a 1-day trip from Sydney to Port Stephens (including Stockton Sands and dolphin-watching) on Wednesdays and Saturdays costing A$170 for adults and A$88 for children.

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