Moruya - town in New South Wales, Australia

Moruya is a small town situated on the Moruya River in the Eurobodalla region of New South Wales. It the administrative centre of the Eurobodalla Shire. The word Moruya is an Aboriginal word meaning "Resting place of the black swan", and the Black Swan is the town emblem.

Get in

Moruya is located on the Princes Highway, 1/2 an hour south of Batemans Bay and some 300km (190 miles) south of Sydney (5 hrs driving time) and about 10 hours north of Melbourne. Batemans Bay can also be reached from Canberra (2 hours) by the Kings Highway. Both the Kings Highway and the Princes Highway have difficult stretches and a fairly high accident rate.

By bus

• Murrays Coaches Canberra - Moruya
• Premier Motor Service Sydney - Batemans Bay - Melbourne
• VLine (dead link: January 2023) Batemans Bay - Melbourne (via Sale)

By plane

• Moruya airport (IATA: MYA), -35.897778°, 150.144444°. Rex flies between Moruya and Sydney daily. The airport is absolute beachfront, and the approach and descent is very scenic. The airport is one of only two airports on the NSW South Coast that have scheduled services, the other being at Merimbula. This airport is the closest to Batemans Bay

A hire car (arrange before you arrive) can be collected at the airport. Hertz have an office, and others make arrangements. Taxis also operate to the airport.

From the airport it's a very short walk to the sand of an unpatrolled beach and the neighbouring campground. Or to walk out along breakwater at Moruya Heads. It's a bit far to walk into town, and there is no real pedestrian amenity to do so. You can walk the full length of the beach to the town of Broulee. The walk will take around 90 minutes, and there is food and accommodation there.

Get around

• Prior's Bus Service, +61 2 4472 4040. Local Bus Service
  • Daily timetable Batemans Bay to Moruya; there are stops at some of the local beaches
  • Daily timetable Moruya to Batemans Bay
• Local Taxi Service: +61 2 4474 3455

See

Do

• Skydiving. There is a skydiving from the airport. 2019-01-14

• Swim and Surf. 2019-05-01

Buy

• The Saturday morning Markets are a local institution and feature local produce and food, handcrafts including textiles and wood, secondhand books and bric-a-brac. The markets run on Saturday mornings all year round, they are located in the carpark on the eastern side of the main street.

Eat

• The River Moruya, -35.9082720°, 150.0803108°, +61 2 4474 5505. 16b Church St. The River Moruya restaurant overlooks the Moruya River across fields to the mountains. Winner of the Restaurant and Catering Association of NSW's "Best South Coast" restaurant for informal dining. They do a good value (for the food) two or three course set meal for lunch or dinner. And you're not squeezed in with tables next to each other like in the fancy city places. ~ $35 mains

All the pubs serve food at mealtimes. There are also electric BBQs in the riverside park - and a Woolworths just behind.

Drink

You won't want for a beer garden in Moruya. Over the other side from the bridge from the town, is the Waterfront. It has cabins and a beer garden right on the river.

• Moruya Waterfront Hotel Motel, +61 2 4474 4399. Pub with a absolute riverfont beer garden, drinks and bistro. Offers accommodation in waterfront cabins too.

Back over on the township side the Adelaide is the landmark, right in the centre of town. With live music Sunday afternoons, a beer garden there too.

• The Adelaide. Beer, beer garden, and bistro.

A little further up the main street is the Monarch. With a bit of quieter, more traditional English pub feel

• The Monarch. Also has motel style accommodation.

Sleep

• Camping
• Moruya Waterfront Hotel Motel, 1-5 Princes Hwy, -35.9056°, 150.0815°, +61 2 4474 4399. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. A waterfront hotel and motel. 2021-06-23

Go next

The next headland north is Broulee, which is a nice little community with a patrolled beach and a couple of cafes. From north of the heads, you can walk north the entire length of the beach, or there is a track behind the beach if you'd rather stay off the sand. Alternatively, it's only a five minute drive.