Novosibirsk's geography — flat, forested, with the vast Ob River and the Ob Sea reservoir to the south — limits dramatic day trips, but there are a few worth making.
Akademgorodok is technically within the city's administrative boundaries but feels like a separate place entirely, and is the most rewarding half-day trip from Novosibirsk. The combination of birch forest, Soviet-era research institutes, the monument to the laboratory mouse, and the Ob Sea shore covers enough ground to fill a full day. See the getting there section for transport details.
Berdsk (35 km south, 40 minutes by suburban train) is an unremarkable Soviet-era town but its location on the Ob Sea makes it the base for the closest proper lake beaches to the city. In summer Russians come here to swim and fish; in winter the frozen reservoir supports ice fishing.
Novosibirsk Oblast has extensive forests, rivers, and dacha landscapes accessible by car or bus, but they are undifferentiated Siberian countryside rather than specific destinations — best treated as background to the city rather than attractions in themselves.
For longer excursions, Novosibirsk is the practical base for the Trans-Siberian Railway: trains east towards Irkutsk and Lake Baikal, or west back towards the Urals, can be booked for overnight journeys that don't require leaving from Novosibirsk specifically.