The name Kiama has long been translated as “where the sea makes a noise”, and that’s your weekend brief in five words. Base yourself near Blowhole Point, let the coastline set the schedule, and don’t over-plan: the town is south of Sydney, compact, and almost everything worth doing sits on or near the rocks.
This plan is built from what’s actually listed in Kiama, not a highlights reel. Anchor point first, then the mornings, the geology, the beaches, the meals and the beds.
Anchor everything to Blowhole Point
The Kiama Blowhole earns its 900,000 visitors a year. Under the right sea conditions it throws 50 litres of water up to 25 metres in the air, in quantities that thoroughly drench anyone standing too close. It was formed by basalt lava flows roughly 260 million years ago, known to local Aboriginal people as Khanterinte, and first written about by George Bass in December 1797.
Locals will tell you about the second one. The Little Blowhole, at Little Blowhole Reserve on Tingira Crescent about two kilometres south, is much smaller but more reliable thanks to its narrow shape, and in the right conditions just as spectacular. If the Big Blowhole is sulking, drive five minutes.
On the same point, Kiama Lighthouse has been standing since 1886, commissioned on 1 January 1887 to a design by Edward Orpen Moriarty, upgraded from oil to coal gas in 1908 and automated by 1920. It sits just south of the harbour, so the blowhole, the lighthouse and your morning swim stack into one walk.
The morning ritual: swim, then coffee
That swim happens at Blowhole Point Ocean Pool on Blowhole Point Road, reached off Harbour Road with parking on-site. It’s a short walk from the point and the Kiama Coast Walk, so the pool-then-walk combination runs itself. Train travellers can get to Kiama station and cover the rest by bus or taxi.
Coffee afterwards is a two-way split. little earth roasters roasts its own beans locally and runs two sites: the Little Blowhole location opens weekdays from 7.30am and Sundays until noon, while the Westend site starts at 6.30am on weekdays. Small rooms, water views at the Little Blowhole end, beans to take home, and a house-made organic cacao and coconut-sugar treat if you need convincing.
For breakfast with more ambition, Otis Deli at 16 Terralong Street is run by a former Ottolenghi chef, pairing Middle Eastern flavours with local ingredients: á la carte breakfast, then a deli-style lunch of salads, falafels, moussaka and frittata.
The geology detour
Bombo Headland is the one photographers cross the state for. The headland is covered in unusual basalt columns, shaped by late 19th and early 20th century quarrying and a century-plus of ocean battering since. You can walk among the pillars and boulders, and the place has featured in enough television commercials and photo shoots to prove the point. Go at sunrise: the light is the whole trick, and you’ll dodge the crowds. It’s reachable by car or public transport, so the early start has no excuse.
Beaches, sorted by mood
- Harbour mood: Black Beach sits by the town and gets busy in the December-to-February peak. Divers know it for the SS Bombo wreck nearby, a vessel that made its final departure in February 1949.
- Family mood: Easts Beach is sheltered from wind and ocean swells, with Munna Munnora Creek at the southern end where young kids can paddle. The water is clear, the soft sand suits a picnic or barbecue, and it’s named after the caravan park filling the valley behind it.
- Green mood: Bonaira Native Gardens is a short walk from Easts Beach, with paths threading the forest floor, plaques naming the flora, and space for a picnic. Spring is the pick, when the wildflowers come out.
Dinner and the drinks question
Book Silica Restaurant and Bar for the serious meal. It sits on Kiama’s Surf Beach with ocean views, and the kitchen leans into fresh local seafood and pasta; the seafood platter and the linguine with prawns and scallops are the dishes people come back for, backed by a long wine list of local and international bottles. The bar pours signature cocktails, and the menu shifts with the seasons, so repeat visits get rewarded.
Penny Whistlers covers the harbour side, with front-row seats to Blowhole Point, live music, and a menu that runs from eggs benedict and pancakes in the morning to burgers, salads and cocktails later on. Vegetarian and gluten-free diners are covered, and it takes reservations, which matters on a weekend.
For the nightcap, Bouquiniste in Kiama Centrepoint on Terralong Street mixes classic cocktail recipes from around the world, a bellini here, a mimosa there, inside a room that doubles as a boutique art gallery with good music. It’s the most unexpected room in town.
Where to sleep
The Sebel Harbourside Kiama is the location play: next to the town centre, a quick walk across the park to the ocean pool and the blowhole, with deluxe ocean-view rooms offering a balcony or terrace, a restaurant and bar on site, a fitness room and plenty of parking. Rooms are spacious and air-conditioned, and the restaurant runs breakfast through dinner with harbour views.
BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park is the family play: 35 acres with beach frontage and mountain backdrops, bungalows, cabins and Ocean View Villas (four directly over the beach), plus a water park, pool, playground and games room. And Grand Hotel Kiama at 49 Manning Street keeps it simple: rooms with a restaurant, bar and garden below, luggage storage, express check-in when you just want the key, and blackout curtains and soundproofing in some rooms for the light sleepers.
If the weekend stretches
Kiama rewards a slow third day. Browse the full list of things to do in Kiama for the rest of the coast, the Kiama food & drink listings for the cafés this plan skipped, the accommodation hub for more beds, or the Kiama local guide for everything at once. Pack the togs, book the table at Silica, and let the sea handle the itinerary.
