Need suggestions for a 3-day trip outside Sydney in October
 

We are visiting our son who is studying in Sydney in mid-October. Looking for a weekend trip (Saturday - Monday) somewhere in the vicinity of Sydney. I'll rent a car. Looking for something off the beaten tourist track and hope someone out there who is familiar with the surroundings can help. Please suggest specific places, hotels, etc. that you are familiar with. Many thanks.

It depends somewhat on how many hours you want to spend driving each day, but here are a few of my favourites:

1. Southern loop.
Day 1: Sydney to Berry (2hrs) detour into Kangaroo Valley (1/2 hour)(Morning tea). Then south coast to Huskisson & Vincentia, (about 15 mins off highway)(45 mins - 1 hour) (beach, good lunch at the "Hussky pub"), then on to Mollymook (about an hour). Perhaps stay here or go on further down the coast.

Day 2: Batemans Bay to Canberra via Braidwood. (about 30 mins Mollymook - Batemans Bay and 2 hours from there to Canberra).
Overnight Canberra.

Day 3: Canberra back to Sydney via Southern Highlands towns of Berrima, Moss Vale, Bowral. Make the detours into Bundanoon, Sutton Forrest etc.

2. Blue Mountains & Hunter Valley to Port Stevens.

Day 1: Sydney to Blackheath via Blue Mountains towns. (2hrs)
Spend some time exploring & stay Blackheath or Mount Victoria.

Day 2: Blackheath to Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens (30-40 mins) Mt Tomah - Wisemans Ferry via Bells Line of Road ( around an hour) Good lunch options. Interesting area - allow some time to wander around. From Wisemans Ferry, take the car ferry across the river & follow the Paynes Crossing road through to the Hunter Valley. (about 2 hours )
See a few wineries and then take the Nelson Bay road to Nelson Bay. Good accommodation options. Overnight

Day 3: Explore Nelson Bay area & head back to Sydney. (about 3 hrs via the F3). You might like to detour into Newcastle which is, these days, an attractive city with very good dining options along the waterfront.

A variation on this is to stay in the Hunter Valley explore more around that area rather than taking the loop further to Nelson Bay.

I've not made any accommodation recommendations as I usually stay with friends and, without knowing your budget or taste, it's a little difficult.

With a good map of NSW, there are lots of short loops you can take. If you see something that interests you, just ask - someone is sure to know about it.

It would be helpful to know what you are interested in seeing/doing, but I'm going to go ahead and recommend a trip to Canberra. It's an easy 3-hour drive from Sydney and there is certainly enough to see and do there for three days. If you like museums, there's the Australian War Memorial (not to be missed); the National Museum of Australia, the National Gallery of Australia and Questacon, the national science museum, just to mention a few of my favorites. All of these except Questacon have free admission. You could also visit and tour Parliament House (whose architecture I just love) and Old Parliament House. If you go to Parliament House, be sure to take the elevator to the rooftop for great views of the city. If you'd like to learn something about what life was like on an old Australian homestead, visit Lanyon Homestead. If you'd like to learn about Australia's contribution to space exploration, go to Tidbinbilla Tracking Station. If you'd like to do some good hiking and see some native animals, go to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and/or Namadgi National Park. If you do the Yankee Hat Hike at Namadgi, you'll get a chance to see a rock with Aboriginal drawings and I guarantee that you will walk amongst hundreds of kangaroos in the wild.
Sound like enough to keep you busy?

All the above are good suggestions. As much as I agree with longhorn55 that there's plenty to occupy you in and around Canberra, I do like Bokhara2's loop drive.

The New South Wales south coast is remarkably unspoilt and Jervis Bay is a beautiful part of it (the towns of Huskisson and Vincentia, as mentioned by Bokhara) where you can walk on briliant white sands, watch the resident dolphins cruise by or take a coastal bushwalk.

At Batemans Bay take a left just after you've crossed the bridge over the Clyde River, pull into the car park alonnside the river and lunch on fish and chips and excellent local oysters from the adjacent fish shop.

Once you've climbed the coastal escarpment (hopefully you're not bothered by switchbacks) you'll encounter classic Australian inland scenery all the way to Canberra (use the 'Search' function on this page for dining and other suggestions). Incidentally, Canberra is also the centre of a fast-growing wine region whose rieslings and cool-climate shiraz are starting to attract attention.

If you'll be travelling with your son you could consider a 2BR apartment in Canberra - check www.wotif.com for what's available and discounted rates. Kingston, a short distance east of Parliament House, and with a good choice of restaurants (there and in nearby Manuka) is a good location.

I'd do the south coast loop (but then I'm a south coast nut!)

The area around Jervis Bay, Huskisson is lovely - and different.

Rick Stein takes over as chef at Bannisters, Mollymook, in October. Might be worth a try.

All great suggestions. Many thanks for all your suggestions, I am really grateful