Guide · Dunes

The Port Stephens sand dunes, by board, 4WD or quad

South of Anna Bay the Port Stephens sand dunes roll away towards Newcastle along Stockton Bight. Here is how big they are, whose land they are, and which way of getting onto them suits you.

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Editorial team, dolphincruiseportstephens.comUpdated October 24, 2026Reading time 6 min29 sources

This guide's tour Port Stephens: Unlimited Sandboarding & 4WD Sand Dune Tour 4.5 (563 reviews) 1.5 hours from$31per person Check availabilityFree to cancel until 24 hrs before the start

Quick answer

01What they are: The largest moving coastal sand mass in the southern hemisphere.¹
02How tall: Over 30 metres, with slopes up to 60 degrees.²
03The beach: Stockton Beach runs 32 km to Birubi Point at Anna Bay.³
04Easiest way on: A 4WD transfer and unlimited sandboarding from $31.
05Own car: A beach vehicle permit is needed; park passes do not count.⁴

A desert at the edge of the bay

Drive south from Nelson Bay and the bush gives way to something that looks borrowed from another continent. The Port Stephens sand dunes belong to Stockton Bight, which NSW National Parks calls the southern hemisphere's largest mobile coastal sand mass; its making began well over 100,000 years ago and the dunes are still on the move.¹ Every storm reshapes the ridges you climbed the year before.

In front of the dunes, Stockton Beach curves for 32 kilometres from the Hunter River at Newcastle to Birubi Point at Anna Bay.³ National Parks calls it the longest beach in the state.⁵ From the crest of a big dune you can see the surf on one side and a sea of pale sand on the other, with no buildings in between.

The scale is the surprise. Destination NSW gives heights of over 30 metres and slopes of up to 60 degrees.² That is steep enough for a long sandboard run and steep enough to leave your legs burning on the way back up, which is why the most reviewed tour adds a 4WD to do the climbing for you.

A sandboarding trip

From the car park to the top of the dune

Start

Anna Bay lower car park

Find the ticket booth on James Paterson St.
Transfer

By 4WD bus

A 10-minute ride onto the dunes.
Before boarding

Safety briefing

The crew explains how to ride and stop.
On the sand

Board as often as you like

Most people board for 1 to 1.5 hours.
Back

The last shuttle

Do not miss the final return ride.

Worimi land, jointly managed

The dunes are not simply a park. They make up the Worimi Conservation Lands, a group of three reserves, Worimi National Park, Worimi State Conservation Area and Worimi Regional Park, owned and co-managed by the local Worimi Aboriginal community with NSW National Parks.⁶ Together the lands cover 4,200 hectares, including 1,800 hectares of forest of blackbutt, smooth-barked apple and paperbark.⁷

The sand holds a long human story. An extraordinary number of Aboriginal cultural sites that predate European settlement lie scattered through the dunes, including middens, campsites and burials of special significance to the Worimi people.⁸ As the sand shifts across the Stockton sand dunes it covers and uncovers them, which is one reason the rules about where vehicles may go are strict.⁹

At the northern end, Birubi Point is a declared Aboriginal Place; its name means Place of the Southern Cross, and the headland looks out over a wide sweep of sea and sky.¹⁰ Port Stephens Council records the declaration as made in 2007 and the place as about 56 hectares.¹¹ Stand there at dusk and the name makes sense.

Size

The Worimi lands in hectares

Areas as Destination NSW, NSW National Parks and Port Stephens Council give them; Birubi Point is about 56 hectares.⁷ ¹² ¹³ ¹¹

Side by side

Dune tours around Anna Bay

Tour	Length	Rating	From
Sandboarding + 4WD transfer	1.5 hrs	4.48	from $31
Sandboarding, all-day ticket	1 day	4.71	from $28
Beach 4WD + sandboarding	75 min	4.84	from $40
Quad bikes on the dunes	1 hr	4.78	from $64
Tag-along in your own 4WD	3 hrs	4.67	from $235

Length and score come straight from each GetYourGuide listing; every price is that listing's starting fare for one guest, and the date you pick fixes the total.

Three ways onto the sand

Board, beach drive or quad bike?

Most reviewed

Unlimited sandboarding

With a 4WD transfer

Duration: 1.5 hrs
Rating: 4.48
Reviews: 563
Price: from $31

See this tour

Top rated

Beach 4WD tour

Stockton Beach, then boarding

Duration: 75 min
Rating: 4.84
Reviews: 124
Price: from $40

See this tour

Port Stephens: Worimi Sand Dune Quad Bike Adventure

Fastest

Quad bike ride

Guided, single file

Duration: 1 hr
Rating: 4.78
Reviews: 217
Price: from $64

See this tour

Decision helper

Which dune trip suits you?

Pick the line that sounds most like your group

We have toddlers with us I want to see the long beach too I want speed and an engine I have my own 4WD I only have an afternoon

All-day sandboarding ticket

Children aged 3 and under go free.

Beach 4WD tour

It drives onto Stockton Beach before boarding.

Quad bike ride

A guided hour on the dunes, ages 16 and up.

Get a beach permit

Driving your own 4WD on the sand needs a beach permit.¹⁴

Unlimited sandboarding

It lasts 1.5 hours with the transfer.

Set your sights on the southern hemisphere's largest mobile coastal sand mass at Stockton Bight. The landscape's creation began well over 100,000 years ago, and believe it or not, these enormous dunes are 'alive' and forever changing.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife ServiceSource 1

Sandboarding on the big dunes

Sandboarding in Port Stephens is the classic way to meet the dunes, and the tours make it simple. The most reviewed one adds a 4WD transfer onto the sand and unlimited sandboarding for 1.5 hours, from $31 and rated 4.48 from 563 reviews. Its operator notes that most people board for 1 to 1.5 hours, and that unlimited means until the last shuttle back.

A second option starts from the Anna Bay lower car park on James Paterson Street: a 10-minute bus ride to the dunes, a safety briefing, then boarding, and the same ride back. It is valid all day from $28 and rated 4.71 from 196 reviews, and children aged 3 and under go free. Anyone who would rather watch can ride along as a spectator.

Expect to board sitting or lying, not standing: one sandboarding listing states that stand-up sandboarding is strictly prohibited. It is gentler than snowboarding and needs no skill, but it is still fast on a steep face, and the tours make clear you board at your own risk. Keep your mouth closed on the way down unless you like the taste of sand.

Map

From the marina to the heads, the dunes and Sydney

Where the cruises leave Nelson Bay and the two headlands at the mouth of the bay, the coast south past the koala sanctuary to the Stockton Bight dunes, and the drive up from Sydney.

Map of Nelson Bay with d'Albora Marina, Shoal Bay, Tomaree Head and Zenith Beach on the south side of the entrance, Yacaaba Head on the north side, and Fingal Bay — Nelson Bay and the heads

Map of the coast from Nelson Bay past the koala sanctuary at One Mile, Anna Bay and Birubi Point, along Stockton Bight to Newcastle Airport and Stockton — Along the dunes to Stockton

Map of the New South Wales coast from Sydney north past Newcastle and its airport to Nelson Bay on Port Stephens — Sydney to Port Stephens

1
d'Albora Marina
6 Teramby Road, a launch point for dolphin and whale watching tours.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
2
Shoal Bay
A 40-minute drive from Newcastle Airport.¹⁶
In Google Maps ↗
3
Tomaree Head
161m above the entrance; whale watching from May to November.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
4
Yacaaba Head
The northern headland, in Myall Lakes National Park.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
5
Zenith Beach
A marine park sanctuary zone where dolphins can be seen.¹⁹
In Google Maps ↗
6
Fingal Bay
A patrolled beach; never cross the spit when water covers it.²⁰ ²¹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Nelson Bay
Wharf 1 at 40 Victoria Pde, where the dolphin cruise boards.
In Google Maps ↗
8
Koala Sanctuary
562 Gan Gan Road, One Mile, beside the koala hospital.²²
In Google Maps ↗
9
Anna Bay
The lower car park on James Paterson St, where sandboarding trips start.
In Google Maps ↗
10
Birubi Point
An Aboriginal Place whose name means Place of the Southern Cross.¹⁰
In Google Maps ↗
11
Newcastle Airport
About 30 minutes by car from Nelson Bay.²³
In Google Maps ↗
12
Stockton
Stockton Beach runs 32 km from the Hunter River to Birubi Point.³
In Google Maps ↗
13
Sydney
An easy 2.5-hour drive south of Port Stephens.²⁴
In Google Maps ↗
14
Newcastle
Buses link Newcastle Interchange with the airport up to 11 times a day.²⁵
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you head onto the sand

Bring

A full bottle of water
Sunscreen and a hat
A light jacket for the wind

Know

Own vehicle: a beach permit, not a park pass
Avoid the beach near high tide
Board sitting or lying, at your own risk

Cost calculator

What a dune afternoon costs your group

Starting totals for each dune tour by group size.

Unlimited sandboardingWith 4WD transferfrom $31 All-day sandboardingFrom Anna Bayfrom $28 Beach 4WD tour75 minutesfrom $40 Quad bike ride1 hourfrom $64

People 2

Total from$61

per traveler from $31

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Each total multiplies the lowest per-person starting price on GetYourGuide by the size of your group and converts it at the European Central Bank's daily rate; your date and option set the final amount.

Video

Sandboarding Adventures in Port Stephens

The YouTube player stays switched off here until you press play.

Quad bikes and 4WD on Stockton Beach

If speed appeals more than sliding, quad bike tours in Port Stephens run on the Worimi dunes in a guided line. The best reviewed one lasts 1 hour, starts from $64 and is rated 4.78 from 217 reviews. It meets at 2163 Nelson Bay Road, Williamtown, rides tag-along in single file, provides a safety helmet and does not take children under 16.

For the beach itself, a 4WD tour is the comfortable choice. One 75-minute trip leaves the Anna Bay lower car park, drives onto Stockton Beach for a guided look, then stops for 45 minutes of sandboarding. It starts from $40, is rated 4.84 from 124 reviews, and its listing says the national park access fee is included.

The dunes also hide Tin City, a cluster of eleven dwellings first built by shipwreck survivors in the early 1900s and used as a filming location for the 1979 Mad Max film.²⁶ Destination NSW notes that many tour companies visit it.²⁶ If a beach tour names it, that is the reason; if not, ask before you book.

Driving your own 4WD: permits and tides

You can drive your own four-wheel drive on the beach, but not on a whim. Driving on the beach and dunes needs a special beach vehicle permit, sold through the Worimi Conservation Lands website, and vehicles go onto the sand at Lavis Lane in the south or Gan Gan Road in the north.¹⁴ Annual NSW National Park passes are not valid here.⁴

The rules on the sand matter. National Parks asks drivers to avoid the beachfront for 1 hour either side of high tide because of pinch points, and between Gan Gan and Lavis Lane only beachfront driving is allowed: going onto or behind the frontal dune is not permitted.²⁷ It also asks visitors not to drive over the dunes at all, because their shape and stability change with the weather and because of the risk to cultural sites, plants and animals.⁵

If you have never driven on sand, a tag-along tour teaches you with your own vehicle. One three-hour trip from Anna Bay trains you on the way, starting from $235. For a single afternoon, though, a tour vehicle is simpler, cheaper and kinder to the dunes.

Planning a dune day around the cruise

Anna Bay is the gateway to the dunes and sits a short drive from Nelson Bay, which makes a cruise in the morning and the sand in the afternoon an easy pairing. The dolphin cruise from Nelson Bay lasts 1.5 hours, so you can be on the dunes soon after lunch. From Sydney, Anna Bay is about a 2.5-hour drive.²⁸

Think about heat and wind. The sand reflects sun back at you, and the sandboarding operator advises water, sunscreen, a hat and a light jacket because it can turn windy and cool on the dunes. Tours may also be cancelled at short notice in heatwaves, heavy rain or gale-force winds. Book with free cancellation, which every dune tour on this page offers, and keep a back-up afternoon.

Leave the dog at home. Pets other than certified assistance animals are not allowed in Worimi National Park, though dogs are permitted in some sections of the regional park.²⁹ And take every piece of rubbish back with you: on land this fragile, even an orange peel lasts longer than you think. If you want a quieter look at the dunes without a board or an engine, walk out from the Anna Bay end in the early morning, when the wind has smoothed the ridges overnight and the only tracks are those of birds and lizards.

Meet the locals