We are planning a trip that will include 5-6 days in Sydney and would like to inculde an overnight south along the Pacific Highway stopping probably in Jervis Bay and continuing on to Ulladulla and Murramarang National Park. Can we get a bus there or will we need to rent a car and drive ourselves? If we need to rent a car, any suggestions as to where to get a good rate? Are the roads pretty easy to navigate for someone from the US? I don't recall that either of us has ever driven on the left, but I'm willing to try if I won't get myself killed.

You'll need a car - I can't help with rental deals but hopefully another poster can.

Navigation will be no problem, but note that south of Sydney the coast road is called the Princes Highway. You'll have a slab of Sydney suburbia to get through first, but it's straightforward enough - I'm sure the car rental people will be happy to help with directions. The old road that actually runs along the coast just south of Sydney to the city of Wollongong, i.e. not the motorway further inland, is 2-lane and somewhat twisty but has excellent views.

If you use the search box on this forum there's a few threads dealing with driving on "the wrong side". If it's any help, our very first experience of driving on the RH side involved finding our way out of Boston. It's a bit disorienting at first, but it soon grows on you - and the drive you're contemplating is definitely worth it. Jervis Bay in particular.

If you do rent a car, there's no need to rent in Sydney and then drive all the way.... you could train it to an intermediate stop and then hire a car without all the hassle of coping with heavy traffic while you're trying to work out which side of the road Australians drive on.

There are buses around the south coast, but I don't know how they would fit into your schedule....as Neil says, a car might be the only viable option. However, do check out this site before you set your plans in concrete: http://www.coastshop.com.au/NSWsouth.../transport.htm.

Good point, Alan. Maybe take the train to Sutherland and rent there? That would avoid the worst of the city traffic.

Thanks so much for the tips! And the correction on the name of the highway. I saw it listed as both and wasn't sure which was correct. Neil_Oz, even those of us who grew up driving on the righthand side don't relish the thought of dealing with Boston traffic. My parent got into one of the rotaries and went around it about 3 times before they found a road that wasn't one way coming in ! I like the sounds of the road running to Wollongong. May have to plan in a few camera stops! Thanks for the website, Alan. I'll check it out. We don't even have our international flights yet, so things are still in the very non-concrete stage. Would the train to Sutherland allow us to still have some good views from the road?

The south coast - my favourite area.

You won't miss anything on the train to Sutherland - it's all through suburbia.

However, I couldn't find any car rental places there, so you may need to rethink.

The coast road is closed (still) somewhere near Coalcliff, after a landslide, so you do need to detour back to the highway - but the road is lovely - especially of you go through the national park.

Down south - there are some buses. In the Oz version of Google (google.com.au) I typed in south coast, buses, and came up with some options. I don't know just how suitable they are. And, unless you do a tour - you'll need a car to get arouind Jervis Bay.

I think the best idea might be to hop a fast train to Campbelltown and hire a car there. There are bound to be plenty of car rental agencies there, as it's more like a self-sufficient country town than a suburb. I know Europcar has an agency there, even though I am not recommending them, as the one report I have read about that firm on this forum was pretty shocking.

From Campbelltown you have three major ways to head south.... all are delightful, in their own way, and I will leave others to recommend which is the route for you.

First, is to head down towards the coast to Bulli, and from there to Wollongong (a major city), and, beyond that, Kiama.

Second is to take the inland road through lovely Picton, Bowral, Mittagong and Moss Vale; there's a turn-off near Moss Vale to Nowra, which is south of Kiama. Nowra is half way between Sydney and Ulladulla.

Third also takes you down to Moss Vale, but youthen head for Shellharbour, via Robertson. This road joins the coast just north of Kiama, missing Wollongong completely. You then continue south on the coast road to Nowra.

Thanks for all of the recommendations. And the heads up on Europcar. I'll search for the threads about them and consider going with a different company.