Getting here
By car
Lake Macquarie is an easy 90-minute drive north on the M1 Motorway from central Sydney, or a 20-minute drive from Newcastle’s city centre. (It’s also around a three-hour drive south of Port Macquarie, the New South Wales North Coast town that’s sometimes confused with our lakeside destination.)
By plane
Take a direct flight to Newcastle Airport, the sixth largest regional airport in Australia, from Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne or Sydney. Hire a car at the airport, or take a taxi or rideshare to your Lake Macquarie stay.
By train
The Central Coast & Newcastle Line between Sydney and Newcastle runs through western Lake Macquarie, with key stops including Morisset, Fassifern (near Toronto) and Cardiff. XPT Country Link Express trains also stop at Fassifern.
By coach
Premier Bus Service’s Brisbane to Sydney service stops at Charlestown.
By boat
Enter the lake via the Swansea Channel – call (02) 4971 3498 in advance to request opening the Swansea Bridge. Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie is available 24/7 for weather reports, radio checks, bridge bookings and assistance on (02) 4972 7400.
Getting around
You’ll get the most out of your stay in Lake Macquarie if you have a car or a boat – or both.
If you prefer to go car-free, you can bring your bike on a train from Sydney or Newcastle. Get off the train at Booragul Station to link up with the shared path running from Booragul through to Belmont via Speers Point, Warners Bay and Eleebana. Or hop off at Cockle Creek Station to take the Speers Point to Glendale shared pathway, which connects to the Tramway Track to Wallsend in western Newcastle.
You can also hire an e-scooter from via an app from micromobility operator Beam to travel along selected bike paths and shared paths – the Fernleigh Track, Croudace Bay foreshore, Warners Bay foreshore to Glendale, and the Toronto foreshore to Fassifern train station.
Newcastle Transport operates bus services through eastern Lake Macquarie, including to Charlestown, Belmont and Swansea. View the NSW Transport Bus Route Map here