Merimbula asks you one question, all weekend: lake or ocean? The town sits on the far south coast of NSW with Merimbula Lake on one side and a five-kilometre surf beach on the other, and a local’s weekend simply alternates between the two until it’s time to drive home.
The lake is the famous half: oyster country, calm and clear, ringed by beaches, boardwalks and walking tracks, with kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, boating and swimming all on offer and a boat ramp giving access to both lake and ocean. Charter boats work the water, and the Merimbula Boardwalk puts the lake’s ecosystem at eye level. Everything below is a listed venue on Scoop, so the details are a click away.
The lake half of the weekend
Start at Spencer Park, where calm, clear water laps the lake edge and you can hire kayaks, SUP boards or small boats on the spot. There’s a playground and barbecues for the family contingent, fishing off the sandy shore, and a local tradition worth timing: when the moon is full and the tide is right, the prawning comes out. At low tide, you can stroll the shallows all the way to Bar Beach.
Mitchies Jetty at Fishpen is the lake’s other anchor: sheltered swimming, paddling and fishing, with Mitchies Espresso Bar handling coffee and baked treats jetty-side, and a public bus running to Fishpen if you’re car-free. Locals rate autumn here, when the weather is mild and the crowds have gone home.
The ocean half
Merimbula Main Beach runs for five kilometres, with a patrolled area during summer, surfing at one energy level and shoreline strolling at the other. Dogs get their own off-leash stretch, and the beach borders Ford Park, home to a monthly market and an accessible playground.
The wilder option is Middle Beach, about 500 metres of sand under forested slopes and cliff faces, reached by a steep track and stairs from the unsealed car park on Cliff Street. The rock pools are pristine and the clear water suits snorkelling, but it’s unpatrolled with treacherous tides, so check conditions and keep your ambitions modest. December to February, when the air sits between 20 and 24 degrees, is the window.
The walks that stitch it together
The Rotary Walk, also known as the Djirringanj Peoples Walk, is the everyday classic: a well-marked route above the lake’s turquoise water, gentle enough for all ages, with giant stingrays visible below and birdlife for the binocular crowd. It ends at Bar Beach, where Bar Beach Kiosk serves well-cooked food with healthy options and a view over Bar Beach and Merimbula Bay that does half the work.
North of town, Dolphin Cove and North Tura Beach is a 4.4-kilometre run of sand from Dolphin Cove up to Bournda Island. Dolphins visit often, whales pass in late winter and spring, and the viewing platform earns its spot. The 1.6-kilometre track along Tura Headland, with its red Devonian rock, adds panoramic ocean views; the six-kilometre Sandy Creek Loop extends the day.
And for the ambitious: the Wharf to Wharf Walk runs from Merimbula Wharf all the way to Tathra Wharf, through coastal reserves, headlands, lagoons and Bournda National Park, with side trails around Merimbula, Pambula, Tathra and Mimosa Rocks National Park. Walk it in the September-to-November whale migration and the ocean provides the entertainment.
One history stop
The Old School Museum is a 15-minute curiosity that sticks with you. The school story starts in 1869 with Reverend William Thom, whose wife Clarinda Menie was the eldest daughter of Sir Henry Parkes; by 1875 there were 39 children enrolled, paying ninepence a week for the first child and sixpence for each sibling, a fee cut to threepence a head by 1893. The building served until the end of 1945, then passed into community use.
Where the eating happens
Merimbula’s café bench is deep for a town this size:
- MorMors sits in a leafy little spot, opens daily from 8am, pours Ona coffee from the Canberra roaster and does an all-day burger, with most things costing between $3 and $13.
- Cranky Cafe at 33 Ocean Drive opens seven days from 7am to 2.30pm at the end of a superb beach, with outdoor seating, wheelchair access and coffee locals genuinely rate.
- Nourish Wholefoods & Cafe on The Promenade at Market Street does chia bowls, wraps, toasties, quiches and salads with strong vegan and vegetarian coverage, plus a bulk-foods corner. It runs 7.30am to 4pm on weekdays, plus weekends.
- The Waterfront Cafe holds down one end of restaurant-heavy Market Street with water views and a menu of seafood, pasta, burgers and salads; the seafood freshness is the recurring compliment, and the spacious, modern room keeps dessert on the agenda.
For the evening, Ritzy Wine Tapas Bar runs Mediterranean and Australian small plates across lunch and dinner, with a wide wine selection and proper vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Tapas suits the lake-or-ocean weekend: you were always going to want a bit of both.
Sleeping arrangements
Apollo Luxury Apartments puts you a two-minute stroll from Main Beach and the Top Lake boat ramp, with self-contained apartments in a quiet court, a large heated pool, a playground, a barbecue area and a half-size tennis court, with the town centre still only a 15-minute walk away. Black Dolphin Motel & Apartments is similar arithmetic from the other direction: two minutes’ walk to the main beach, five to town, 47 rooms with a heated outdoor pool, restaurant and free parking.
Families chasing space should look at Beach Cabins Merimbula, 150 metres from Short Point Beach, where three-bedroom cabins sleep up to seven, kitchenettes come stocked with tea, coffee, milk and biscuits, and there’s a heated pool, laundry facilities, barbecue areas and even a private beach on the property.
Keep the map open
That’s the local’s plan; the long tail lives on the hubs. Browse the full list of things to do in Merimbula, the Merimbula food & drink listings, the accommodation hub and the Merimbula local guide.
