Ever since moving to Sydney I had known about Lord Howe. It seemed like an exotic paradise island that was extremely expensive to get to. Keep reading to know how to visit Lord Howe without spending thousands of dollars.
Pristine, stunning, tropical, this postcard perfect island is a pacific island dream. Being only a 2 hour flight from Sydney, it is a must see if you live here.
Lord Howe Island is perfect for those who love the outdoors, walking and hiking, snorkelling and seeing a world that humans haven’t taken over yet.
Lord Howe Island only allows 400 visitors on the island at a time, meaning that it will never feel crowded, and you will always be able to find some spots all to yourself.
Finding cheap flights to Lord Howe Island
By far the best way to find cheap flights to Lord Howe Island is to use Qantas Classic Flight Rewards. These would normally need to be booked far in advance, they are like gold dust! However, if you keep searching you should be able to find them, and it is worth it!
At the time of writing the cost of classic reward flight to Lord Howe island from Sydney is 16,000 points and $172 (AUD) per person. Compare this to the normal cost where the return ticket is over $1000 (AUD), it is a huge saving!
The Qantas Link plane is a 32 passenger plane, on the way there we were only 2 of 6 people on the whole flight!
We had heard that sometimes the flights don’t leave if the wind is too high. That does happen a lot, but if you see it is windy on the day you are meant to fly, it doesn’t mean the flight won’t leave as it depends of the wind direction. They day we flew from Sydney to Lord Howe Island, the wind was 40 km/h, and the flight still left on time.
Suggested four day itinerary
We visited Lord Howe Island in mid-May. Some say that this is a cold time to visit, and yes we needed coats in the evening, but during the day it was perfect temperature to hike in shorts, sunbathe and swim in wet suits.
- Day1 – arrive in morning, get bearings of the island. In afternoon go to Neds beach for sunbathe, swim, snorkel with turtles and feed the fish.
- Day2 – choose a day hike e.g. Mount Eliza.
- Day3 – quality chilled day with beach, BBQ and beers
- Day4 – if flight is late in the day do a hike on the other side of the island.
Choosing a hike
The island is split up into the Southern, Northern and Central section. Mount Gower is at the Southern Section, and so if you do any hike on the Northern section, you will get the great views of Mount Gower. Lord Howe island website has a great map that is very useful.
Hikes on the Southern Section
Mount Gower trek can only be done with a guide and only runs twice a week (at time of writing), therefore you need to be there on a day where it runs and you’ll need to book ahead. We didn’t do this trek as we weren’t there on a day that it ran. It is considered one of the best day treks in Australia, in my opinion it should be done if you have a whole week on Lord Howe. If you only have half a week then this trek may wipe you out for the whole time!!
Other good options on the Southern Section include King Beach to little island (very flat), Mutton bird point lookout and Goat House Cave.
Northern Section day long trek
The treks on the Northern Section provide stunning views of Mount Gower the ‘famous’ view of Lord Howe. We spent a day including most treks on the Northern Section and it was the perfect whole day trek. This will take between 4-6 hours in total. The views were absolutely epic! To follow this route:
- Start at the ‘CBD’ or your accomodation if close by
- Walk down Lagoon Road to Old Settlement beach
- Follow the memorial track and Max Nicholls track (this one is quite steep!) to North Beach (beautiful beach with incredible views)
- Visit the old Gulch
- Follow the track up to the top of Mount Eliza
- Come back up Max Nicholls track onto Kims Lookout
- Follow the track to Malabar hill
- Carry on down the Malabar Ridge to Neds beach (part of this track goes down a grass hill)
- Arrive at Ned’s beach and have a chill or continue to CBD or back to accomodation
Accomodation
There are many options available on Lord Howe Island, but it really does get booked up quickly (especially during Covid while no one can travel abroad for holidays!). Accomodation varies from very expensive hotels with their own restaurants (e.g. Capella Lodge, Arajilla Retreat) to mid range hotels (Pinetrees, great reputation but closes in May until spring), to all of the apartments and villas.
We stayed at Ebbtide apartments, and while quite basic, it had a bedroom, lounge, kitchen and deck, it was exactly what we needed as a base. The location was perfect (secret passage to Ned’s beach) a 10 min walk from CBD or 3 min cycle. The owner was lovely and so fun to talk to, she picked us up from the airport and gave us a quick island tour, she also gave us a lift to restaurants for dinner in evenings and back to airport at end of the stay.
The facilities at Ebbtide included snorkel and wetsuit hire, perfect for Ned’s beach! Also the garden was so beautiful and tropical.
Getting around
Normally all of the accomodations on the island will guarantee to pick you up and drop you back off at the airport.
In the evening some accomodations (like Ebbtide) will give you a lift to one of the restaurants on the island providing you have written your name on the board during the day and the time suits you.
Normally the restaurants will give you a lift back to your accomodation after you have finished. They will come around near the end of the night to check who needs a lift.
During the day you will need to make your own way around the island, this can be by walking or cycling. There is a bike hire shop just 5 minutes from the centre (locals call it the CBD). The CBD has a restaurant, a bar, a post office, a couple of clothes shops, a small super market and a butchers. Beware the opening times of each one!
Food and drink
Here are some great places to eat and drink on Lord Howe:
- The Anchorage restaurant – Right in the middle of the CBD, The Anchorage restaurant is probably the most popular restaurant on Lord Howe Island. We had most breakfasts, some lunches and 2 dinners here, and we were only on Lord Howe for 4 days! The food is very good and it makes for a lovely evening to have sunset drinks at the cocktail bar and then walk over the road to The Anchorage.
- The Crooked Bar – again in the middle of the CBD, The Crooked Bar is a great cocktail bar that allows you to sit on the deck and watch the sunset whilst drinking a delicious cocktail or Lord Howe Island Beer!
- Lord Howe Island Golf Club – it is worth at least one meal here to get the absolutely epic views of the sunset whilst having a drink, and trying the delicious fish and chips!
- BBQ – Of course most accomodations on the island have BBQ facilities, and if they don’t then you can use one of the many free BBQ spots on the island with epic views! Just make sure to go to the butchers and shop during opening hours (they close for a few hours at lunch etc). I hear the Kingfisher is great on the Barbie!
Overall
Overall Lord Howe Island makes for an absolutely epic and memorable holiday! The mountain views the water are comparable to photos of Bora Bora (without the overwater bungalows of course), and this is one of the few places left on Earth that is virtually untouched.
“…so extraordinary it is almost unbelievable… few islands, surely, can be so accessible, so remarkable, yet so unspoilt.” David Attenborough
