The Getaway Expert: 'Holiday secret hidden in the middle of Sydney Harbour'
Cockatoo Island is hiding in plain sight. A 10-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay will deliver you to the only island you can stay overnight on Sydney Harbour.
That sounds like some secret enclave for the rich and famous but that couldn't be further from the truth.
This is an island escape for everyone, but not everyone knows about it.
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Cockatoo Island is a holiday gem hidden in the middle of Sydney Harbour. Sydney
Cockatoo Island has been a lot of things: a convict gaol, a girls reformatory, a boys nautical school, and most famously a shipbuilding and repair facility from 1857-1992.
Now, it's run and maintained by the Sydney Harbour Trust as a historical site open to daytrippers and overnighters. The island sits between Balmain and Hunters Hill, west of the Harbour Bridge.
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You can come for the day from Circular Quay as mentioned or from ferry stops along the Parramatta River. Entry is free. You can bring a picnic or have a drink and a meal at one of the two eateries overlooking the harbour then have a wander around on your own or on a paid guided tour.
The place is eerie and fascinating and oversized! When you walk through the old shipbuilding facility everything is on a huge scale from the old machinery to giant nuts and bolts.
Everything is on a huge scale from the old machinery to giant nuts and bolts. Supplied/John Walsh
Then there's the Convict Gaol which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 1839 Cockatoo started receiving re-offending prisoners from the infamous Norfolk Island penal colony. The facilities have been very well preserved and provide a fascinating insight into this brutal period of the island's history.
OK, that's daytime done. Once night falls and the daytrippers have gone home the island takes on an entirely different atmosphere. It becomes a shadowy world of dimly lit alleys and unnervingly silent old workshops.
there is no better family-friendly, overnight stay in Sydney.
You basically have the run of the place and how much you're prepared to explore at night will depend on the extent of your courage.
If you want to experience this you need to book some accommodation and I can't think of anywhere that caters to such a broad range of budgets and tastes as this place.
Cockatoo Island accommodation
I stayed with a large family group in one of two heritage houses that were once occupied by the island's Medical Officer and Engineering Manager. Big old character-filled federation semis.
Eight people in four bedrooms or up to 12 if you include sofas and rollaways. From $644 a night for eight people to stay in a mansion on Sydney Harbour. Tell 'em their dreaming, son.
In this case they're not. Amazing value. And that's the top end.
One of two heritage houses that were once occupied by Medical Officer and Engineering Manager. Supplied/John Walsh
You can house eight people in four bedrooms or up to 12 if you include sofas and rollaways. Supplied/John Walsh
Down from there you have Harbour View Apartments (from $350 a night), Garden River View Apartments (from $350) and a Fire Station Studio (from $335).
If that's still too much your blood, or you yearn for more rustic lodgings, you can camp.
And again, there are a big range of options. You can bring your own tent and set up on an unpowered site for $55 for up to four guests. I'll do the maths for you. That's $13.75 per person.
Pre-erected tents start from $105 for adults and two kids. Do your own maths. Right up to the Premium Waterfront Tents from $315.
Views from the house over the campground. Supplied/John Walsh
Things to do on Cockatoo Island
As far as activities go the island itself is like one big activity but more specifically there is a basketball court, oversized chess set and an interactive family tour that costs $5 for a booklet to let you do it on your own.
No swimming or fishing, though.
There are two movies screened every night in the free Campground Cinema. An all-ages film at 7pm and a more grown-up friendly one at 9.15pm.
When morning comes round again, sunrise is a magic time to be on the island. You see the harbour coming to life and hear the sounds of the city drifting across the water.
A special sunrise over Sydney Harbour. Supplied/John Walsh
The biggest wonder of all for me is why more people don't come here?
I'll just say it straight out. I have no links to the Harbour Trust and paid my own way to stay there but I will declare that there is no better family-friendly, overnight stay in Sydney.
Someone may want to challenge that but if you can beat Cockatoo Island on location, price, and uniqueness please DM me. I'd love to know.
John Walsh was Executive Producer of the TV travel series Getaway from 1999-2024. You can follow John on Instagram @thegetawayexpert.
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