Kiama is a small South Coast town south of Wollongong, famous for the boom and spray of its blowholes. It is close enough to Sydney for a long day trip, but the setting feels properly coastal: green dairy country runs down toward black basalt headlands, surf beaches, rock pools, and a harbour tucked under the lighthouse.
The headline stop is Kiama Blowhole and Lighthouse, but the better day is not just standing around waiting for the next plume. Walk a section of the Kiama Coast Walk, detour to Cathedral Rocks, and give the smaller blowhole a chance; it often performs when the famous one is sulking.
Kiama has enough cafes and fish-and-chip stops to make the logistics easy, but its best moments are outside. Arrive by train if you can, because the station is within walking distance of the harbour, the blowhole, and the coast path. A car helps for Saddleback Mountain and the northern rock formations.