Love and Adventure Down Under

by Jenny Turner

Romantic getaways are a fun and memorable way of spoiling you and your partner any time of the year. Choose a location that will take less than two hours to drive to the location, the accommodation rate won’t break the budget, there will be plenty of reasonably priced and free things to do within a 0-15 km radius of Sydney and it’s somewhere that you and your partner may not have been to before.

Saving money for your getaway can be hard, but there are things you can do to budget for your getaway. Beingfrugal.net suggests you do simple things like using power strips to be able to turn off electronics at night, using pasta water for watering your household plants and turning the water off when you brush you teeth. Shop around for budget car insurance as well. The money you save can help pay for your getaway.

Ettalong Beach

A popular location, just 90-minutes drive north from Sydney’s Central Business District is Ettalong Beach, on the gorgeous Central Coast of New South Wales. Via the Sydney-Newcastle freeway, you take the Woy Woy turn off and follow the signs to Ettalong.

Alternately, you can head north to Palm Beach, leave your car there and take the ferry across to Ettalong Beach. You can find deals for resort accommodation through Ettalong Beach Tourist Resort that include three nights and four days, all breakfast and dinners, a cruise, a bus tour with lunch, a cinema pass and hotel lodgings. It is located just three minutes way from the ferry terminal.

Ettalong Beach, according to VisitNSW.com, is one of the Central Coast’s best kept secrets and definitely a great spot for a romantic weekend — if you are quick you can even reserve the honeymoon sweet to make it an extra special experience.

Photo by learza via Flickr

Close to the resort is everything you would want to do:

Cinema Paradiso

Within walking distance of the ferry terminal you will find the well known Cinema Paradiso — an elegant way to catch up on the latest releases — and another fun experience on your romantic weekend. There is one outdoor screen and five indoor screens, themed in art deco, starlight, Mediterranean or Italian inspirations, according to CinemaParadiso.com.au.

Ettalong Beach Markets

Year round, every weekend, between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. you will find the Ettalong Beach Markets. These undercover markets are fast becoming the place to be for local artists, fresh produce, crafts, books and fashion and jewellery designers, according to EttalongMarkets.com.au. Definitely the place to purchase things that are a little different and not seen in Sydney department stores.

Active Travellers

Ettalong Beach really has everything to offer the water sport fans from canoeing, fishing, swimming, surfing and boating and hiring equipment is very reasonably priced. If trails and walking are more your thing, pack your walking shoes, sun visor and block out and head out to the beautiful 8-km (one way) coastal walk through the beautiful Bouddi National Park. This walk starts at Putty Beach and ends at Little Beach and is just one of the many walks available in the region, according to VisitCentralCoast.com.au.

Crackneck Point

Crackneck Point is the spot to take in the beautiful sunsets while catching a glimpse of the humpback whales making their way along the NSW coastline between May and November, according to NationalParks.NSW.gov.au. Patonga Public Wharf is a great spot for fishing and many of the local restaurants are happy to cook up your catch of the day.

Jenny Turner Jenny is a graphic designer and caretaker who lives and writes about her adventures in Melbourne.