Every guest who asks our concierge for "somewhere quiet by the water" gets a version of this list. It has been refined over fifteen years, mostly by people coming back and telling us which stops were worth the drive and which were not.
Start Before the Traffic Does
The single biggest difference between a good coastal day and a frustrating one is leaving before seven. The road south empties out entirely for the first ninety minutes, and every one of these stops is a different place at eight in the morning than it is at noon.
Ask the kitchen the night before and a breakfast box goes in the car with you — pastries, fruit, a flask of coffee. It costs nothing and it buys you an extra hour of the coast to yourself.
“The best hour on this coast is the one before the car parks open. Everything after that is just a nice drive.”
The Seven, in Driving Order
Each is within a two-hour drive, and the whole loop can be done in a single long day — though we would rather you took two and stayed somewhere along the way.
- Marlow Cove — forty minutes out, a shingle beach with a single café that opens at six.
- Kestrel Point — the cliff path here runs four kilometres with almost no elevation.
- Old Harbour — working fishing port; the seafood counter sells whatever came in that morning.
- Saltmarsh Reserve — a boardwalk through the wetlands, best in the two hours before dusk.
- Bellevue Steps — two hundred and eleven of them, and the view at the top justifies every one.
- Fisher's Bay — the swimming here is the calmest on the coast, and lifeguarded until October.
- Cape Lantern — the turning point, with a lighthouse you can climb and a bar that stays open late.
What to Take
Less than you think. Shoes that handle wet rock, a layer for the wind at the point, and something to swim in — the water is warmer than it looks from the road, and three of these stops are worth getting into.
Our front desk lends dry bags, towels and a printed map with the tide times marked. Ask for the coastal pack when you collect your keys, or the night before if you plan an early start.
