Sydney to Berry Weekend Road Trip Itinerary + FREE Map

After spending almost 2 weeks exploring this stretch of coast, we can honestly say Berry is one of our favourite stops!

It’s a really cute old-school town, and the whole area is perfect for a relaxed weekend away. There’s delicious food, excellent wine, and zero pressure to pack every hour with activities.

Plus the drive down is beautiful, with heaps of little towns to check out!

If we only had a weekend, this is the itinerary we’d do, plus a bonus Monday for those with an extra day. Grab the free map so you can easily visualise the whole route:

Road trip snapshot

• Distance: ~360km return from Sydney
• Drive time: ~5 hours of driving spread across the weekend
• Areas covered: Sea Cliff Bridge, Berry, Gerroa. Optional: Kangaroo Valley
• Best time: Autumn and spring for mild weather and green hinterland views, though the wineries and cafes work year-round.
• Vehicle: 2WD, every road on this route is sealed
• Pet-friendly: Some, check with individual guesthouses as not all take dogs
• Good for: Couples and food lovers wanting a slow, eating-focused weekend that’s dead easy to plan

Day 1: Sydney to Berry (Friday)

• Distance: ~170km
• Drive time: ~2 hrs 15 mins

We recommend driving straight to Berry, that way you’ll be sipping delicious wine before dinner!

There’s just one stop we recommend doing on the way:

Sea Cliff Bridge

This is one of those spots that photos never quite do justice.

If the weather’s good and there’s space to pull over, stop on the southern side and walk across the bridge. And don’t forget to take pictures!

There’s also a popular track heading up the hill nearby with much better views. But it’s not an official trail, so take care and use it at your own risk.

If you love this kind of coastal driving, check our roundup of 12 epic coastal road trips for your next weekend off!

Dinner in Berry

By the time you roll in on Friday evening, the shops will probably be closed and the pubs are just filling up, exactly the pace we come here for!

Here are some spots we’d recommend for dinner:

• The Berry Hotel for classic pub food in town. It can get packed so book a table if you can.
• Head to Bangalay Dining if you’re after a luxury meal. We wouldn’t usually book something like this, but we LOVED the experience! Delicious food with native Australian flavours and local produce. Worth the splurge.

Berry accommodation

We stayed at the Berry View, a Palm Springs-inspired spot. It was a great stay and it’s not as expensive as it might look!

It has an incredible view over a field, plus it’s within walking distance to the main spots in town, which will be handy for tomorrow.

Here are other great places to stay in Berry and surroundings: 

• Hotels: The Berry Hotel for solid pub food, and seems more budget-friendly than the Berry View. Another alternative is the Mandala Signature Berry.
• Campsites: Shoalhaven Heads Village or the Berry Showground Camping Area. 

Whichever spot you choose, we recommend staying there for the whole road trip! It’s much easier that way.

Berry is also an excellent base if you want a longer road trip down the coast! If you’re keen, you’ll love our Sydney to Batemans Bay road trip.

Day 2: Berry Village > Hinterland & Wineries (Saturday)

• Distance: ~30km
• Drive time: ~30 mins

Have breakfast and spend the morning wandering the village, then head into the hinterland for a long lunch at a fancy winery!

Berry Village and Queen Street

First, breakfast. There are a couple of good spots in town, our faves were Berry General Store, the Garden Berry, and the Milkwood Bakery. Can’t go wrong with either one!

Then head to Queen Street, Berry’s main street, lined with heritage buildings, boutiques, and bakeries

Things to do in Berry

• The Famous Berry Donut Van: Order fresh, made-to-order cinnamon donuts and a coffee from the van that’s been running since the 1960s.
• The Berry Tea Shop. The scones with jam and cream were delicious, and you can pick your tea!
• Berry Museum: A small local-history museum inside a former bank building, a quick dive into the town’s dairy-and-timber past. 45 min
• Berry Chocolatier: Pick up handmade chocolates and truffles as an edible souvenir. 20 min

Wineries around Berry

There are a couple of excellent wineries in the area! Here are some we recommend:

• In Berry hinterland: Silos Estate
• In Shoalhaven Heads (beautiful coastal town nearby): Mountain Ridge Wines, Coolangatta Estate, and Two Figs Winery

If you’re new to road tripping around Australia, check our list of best road trips for first-timers!

Day 3: Berry > Gerroa (Sunday)

• Distance: ~170km
• Drive time: ~2 hrs 20 mins

Pick any of the breakfast spots mentioned on day 1 and explore a bit of Queen Street if you didn’t yesterday. Then, head to Gerroa for some coastal fun before driving back to Sydney.

Gerroa

Gerroa is a tiny beach town with one of the best views on the South Coast and no crowds to fight for it.

Things to do in Gerroa

• Seven Mile Beach: A long, wild stretch of white sand at the northern end where the Crooked River meets the ocean, one of the most beautiful beaches on the South Coast.
• Black Head Reserve: A grassy headland reserve above Gerroa for golden-hour light over the beach, river mouth and hinterland, the best spot in town for sunset.
• Gerroa Boat Fishermen’s Club (Seahorse Bistro): A casual bistro dinner with panoramic windows straight out over Seven Mile Beach.

From Gerroa, it’s about 2 hours back up the Princes Highway into Sydney, an easy way to close out the weekend before Monday hits!

If sunset chasing is your thing, our list of the best sunsets in Australia has a few other spots worth adding to the bucket list.

Bonus: Kangaroo Valley (Monday)

• Distance: ~175km
• Drive time: ~2 hrs 25 mins

If you can wrangle a Monday off, Kangaroo Valley is a quick, pretty detour on the way back to Sydney!

Things to do in Kangaroo Valley

• Hampden Bridge: Walk across Australia’s oldest surviving suspension bridge, a castellated 1898 timber landmark over the Kangaroo River.
• Kangaroo Valley village stroll: Browse the small strip of galleries and the historic Friendly Inn.
• Kangaroo Valley Pie Shop: Pick up a hearty gourmet pie for a relaxed Monday lunch before the drive home.
• Kangaroo River kayak tour: If you want to finish the trip with a bang, definitely book a tour like this one! Kayak through the calm Kangaroo River before heading back home. Here’s a good tour if you’re keen.

From Kangaroo Valley, it’s around 150km and 2 hours back to Sydney via Moss Vale and the Southern Highlands, a nice change of scenery from the coast road you came down on.

Best time to go

Autumn and spring are our pick, the hinterland stays green, the wineries are quiet and the drive down the Grand Pacific Drive is comfortable rather than sweaty.

Summer weekends and long weekends get busy in Berry, so book accommodation and lunch/dinnner well ahead if you’re going in January or over Easter.

Winter still works fine, it’s just a bit cooler on that Gerroa headland at sunset, so pack a jacket.

Top tips

Get to the donut van early on Saturday, the queue builds fast once the town wakes up.

If your weekend lines up with the first Sunday of the month, plan your morning around the Berry Markets.

Leave Sydney by early afternoon on Friday if you can, it means you’ll hit Sea Cliff Bridge in good light.

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