$100 Helpline: Three Newcastle experiences for less than $100

Holidays are about accumulating happy memories – not holiday debt – so here at 9Honey Travel we created the '$100 helpline' for Aussie holidaymakers who know good value when they see it, and want to get the most out of a destination. Our mission: to find you the best travel experiences of a particular region for under $100.

Flashback a few years ago and the small city of Newcastle, found a two-hour drive north of Sydney, was a rather quiet university spot encased by some of the most spectacular beaches of the NSW coast. 

But today Newcastle is having its moment. In fact, of the 9.2 million overseas visitors arriving into Australia each year, 66 percent head out of Sydney and up the Pacific Motorway to the harbour city. Pretty impressive when you think about the many stand-out beach towns that lie closer. 

But there’s a magic to Newcastle. Not only is it the gateway to the Hunter Valley and its many wineries, but this spot offers a nice mix of trendy bars and restaurants, boutique hotels and stunning coastline that makes it like a mini-Sydney without the elbowing busyness. 

And with Newcastle seeing a boom, we wanted to handpick the three most exciting activities that cost less than $100 and will fit quite nicely around those fancy meals and chill-out time at the many beaches. 

A zip line rollercoaster through the bush 

There’s many bush walks and treks to do in the surrounding Newcastle bushland but for those who’d like a different experience then it has to be Treetops. Here you’ll find a zip line through the canopy but with a difference. It’s in fact a rollercoaster zip line which is the fastest in the world. Quite the claim! It features 360-degree loops and many twists and turns and take 30 minutes to complete. It’s really not for the fainthearted. 

Cost: $49

Tour the dunes by quad bike 

Just outside Newcastle, towards the town of Port Stephens, you’ll find the longest moving sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. Stretching over a staggering 32kms, the Stockton Bight Sand Dunes, in the Worimi Conservation Lands, cover 4,200 hectares and reach heights over 30 metres. And the best way to navigate them is to book a quad bike for the day and really churn-up the sand with Sand Dune Adventures.  First timer? A guide will provide a one-on-one induction and training so riders feel confident on their 400CC quad bike. And during the tour, the staff also share the deep history of this aboriginal land. 

Cost: $88

Crime tour of the city at night

Yes, it feels like every city the world over offers a crime tour once night has fallen but Newcastle is a place which has seen quite the transformation. The Dark Stories Tour is a guided journey through the mobsters and dark crimes that Newcastle has seen since its day as a convict camp in 1801, shipping coal to Sydney. The tour also gives a background of the many impressive buildings spotted through the lengthy streets, lasting 90 minutes in total. 

Cost: $34