Bypass Sydney heading south

If I Was you I Would go the other way that is via darwin ,perth and sneak in that way . Any way around that hell hole is a bonus

findanomad

head down the freeway into sydney,travel along pennant hills rd till you come to the m7,turn right onto the m7 toll rd & your home and hosed,cheers.

There are no toll booths on the M7, you either have to have an E tag or phone within a certain time after travelling and pay the toll. I'm not sure but I have an idea there is an extra admin charge if you pay after you have used the toll road

Hi Findanomad,

Once you arrive on the F3 at Wahroonga, take Pennant Hills Road and then turn right onto the M2 motorway. This becomes the M7 and eventually the F5 (Hume Hwy)
You will need an E-tag or pay by phone on the M7 tollway.
Once you are south of Sydney you can exit toward Wollongong on the Illawarra Hwy, but I find the traffic lights on the Princes Hwy south of the 'Gong very frustrating.
IMO, better to go via Goulburn, through Braidwood, and direct to Batemans Bay.

You could also drive from Braidwood to Nowra via Nerriga, and then turn south to Batemans Bay. Both are good drives.

have a good trip
Gary

mmmm ... tough one that - assuming you're heading down the Princes Hwy to Batemans Bay, you could either:

1. turn of the Pacific Hwy at and take the Cumberland Hwy to the M2 and then head over the bridge Southern Cross drive past the airport and take the Princes Hwy at Arncliffe - bit of traffic until you clear Waterfall or:

2. same route but continue the Pacific Hwy to Pymble and take Ryde Road to the M2 or:

3. take the long way around the M2 (not over Hbr bridge), but you'll still need to get back to the Princes Hwy probably via Centenary Drv at Homebush (will involve traffic) or:

4. skirt Sydney via the M2 and head down the Hume Hwy and take the scenic drive thru Kangaroo Valley and into Nowra onto Batemans Bay

5. Go way West.

Options 1-4 are going to require tolls and most of Sydney's tollways are now cashless so you'll need an e-tag otherwise you'll pay a premium toll (read fine in other words)...

A lot depends on what time of day and what day of the week you plan to hit Sincity .... if you time it right options 1 &2 can be quick and fairly traffic less - hit Sidderly on a Friday arvo and be warned !

Thanks everyone i'll check the map but seems M2 and head down the Hume Hwy and into Nowra onto Batemans Bay has some merit.
Cheers

Hi!

Avoid Cumberland Highway like the plague.

The M2/M7 route eliminates no less than 36 sets of traffic lights.

Ian

I thought someone asked this a couple of weeks ago.
I agree with Pennant Hills rd, although you should realise this can be one of the most heavily congested roads in Sydney with numerous B doubles.
Onto M2/M7
When you get to the end of the M7 turn left towards the city on the M5 , until you reach Heathcote Rd Trunk Rd 6, take the exit and turn right over the top of the M5. You then follow it to its end where it meets the Princes Highway ( after 20-30 ks of no lights) at the LAST set of lights before open road.
I think still quicker than via Goulburn and you do not have the pass.
Regards Philip A

What time do you intend getting near Sydney? If you go through just after sunrise on Sunday morning, you can go straight down the Pacific Hwy to the start of the freeways near Artarmon then over the bridge and onto the Princes Hwy as easy as can be.

I used to go that way to work a few years ago and the roads were near deserted. Everyone must have been recovering from the night before.

I used to see a fair few clubman sports cars out for a play on the mid to upper north shore. That must have been the only time their owners thought the roads were quiet enough to take them out without getting run over.

Brian

On your Navman turn off the Toll ways and it will take you down and turn right into Ryde Road and follow it right down over Ugly Toms Bridge etc.To the Pacific Hwy, a lot of lights but not as stress full and easy to follow.

We did this trip about 3 wks ago and found it quite good and no tolls to worry about.

If you hit Sydney after 9:00am and before 2:30pm or after 7:00pm you should get a good run.

Just watch the speed cameras.
Safe trip.

Hi findanomad. Definitely the M2/M7. Take the Wollongong exit at Picton. You will come down Mt Ousley and bypass Wollongong. Instead of going down the Princes h'way through Dapto/Albion Park take the Port Kembla/Warrawong exit off the by pass. Follow this 6 lane road(called Masters/Springhill/Five Islands Roads,King St,Windang Shellharbour Rd.) through Warrawong/Primbee/Windang/Warilla/Shellharbour and it will rejoin the Prices H'way at Dunmore. There are roadworks (new highway for about7k) through Albion Park and it gets pretty hectic but this way is a breeze. Sounds hard but check Google maps and you will get a better idea. Regards, Bob.(I'm local at Shellharbour)

I'll tell you just how much I hate Sydney.....

If it was me, I'd drive down the Newell Hwy (or maybe even the New England) and go all the way around Sydney.... hahahaha

I'm glad that we do not have toll roads in W.A. So don't give them any ideas.

Findanomad,

I assume you realise that you don't need a E-tag fitted on you vehicle to use the Tollways.
On the ROAM website you can set up an account for a period that you are likely to be using the M7 Tollway and you get billed accordingly. We travel that road about 5 times a year and do it this way.
It is a couple of dollars cheaper than over the phone via credit card on the day.
Cheers
Trevor

There is one important detail that I have not seen in this thread. Once you have crossed the Hawkesbury River you will not pass any rest areas until you clear Sydney (ie possibly hour and a half.) You may be able to find parking along the Pennant Hills Rd in one of three town centres or a service station. The rest of the roads are express ways and there is no stopping.

As you come down the long decent to the Hawkesbury there is what looks like a service road on the LHS. This is the rest area with dunnies. I suggest you make use of that one, the one back at Ourimbah or the Caltex service centre a few kilometres before that.

PeterD

It doesn't get simpler than this -

Google maps is your friend

1. Head south on Sydney Newcastle Fwy 32.0 km
2. Turn left at Cumberland Hwy 7.9 km
3. Turn right to merge onto M2 Mwy on ramp
Partial toll road 1.1 km
4. Slight left at M2 Mwy 7.3 km
5. Continue on Westlink
Partial toll road 39.8 km
6. Merge onto South Western Fwy 14.8 km
7. Take the exit toward Narellan Rd 0.3 km
8. Keep left at the fork to continue toward Narellan Rd and merge onto Narellan Rd 3.0 km
9. Continue on The Parkway 11 m
10. Turn right at Oxley Bypa 4 m
11. Continue on Appin Rd
Go through 2 roundabouts 14.7 km
12. Turn left to stay on Appin Rd 17.0 km
13. Slight left at Princes Hwy 0.8 km
14. Continue on Southern Fwy 31.8 km
15. Continue on Princes Hwy
Go through 7 roundabouts 179 km
.