EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Bike rental Promenade Leisure Hire, Coffs Promenade, Coffs Creek, 321 High St (tel 02/6651 1032), charges $9 per hour; call for cheap daily specials.

Buses Besides the interstate services, there's Jessups Bus Service (tel 02/6653 4551) to Bellingen, Urunga and Nambucca Heads; Watsons City Link (tel 02/6654 1063) to Grafton via Red Rock and Woolgoolga (5-8 services Mon-Fri); and Sawtell Coaches (tel 02/6653 3344) to Sawtell, 6km south. Kings Coaches (tel 02/6652 2877) offer air-con tours to Bellingen, Dorrigo and Nambucca Heads.

Canoeing Wild Water Adventures (tel 02/6653 3500) organizes full-day canoeing trips on the Bellinger River for $90 including gourmet lunch.

Car rental Choice Auto Rentals (tel 02/6651 5221); Coffs Harbour Rent-a-Car (tel 02/6652 5022); Hertz (tel 02/6651 1899); Thrifty (tel 02/6652 8622).

Cinemas Coffs Cinema, Bray St (tel 02/6651 6444).

Cruises Pacific Explorer (tel 02/6652 7225) runs whale-watching cruises on a sailing vessel June-Nov; regular cruises during summer.

Diving The Solitary Islands Marine Reserve, five islands and several islets north of Coffs, is the largest marine reserve in NSW; the mingling of tropical and temperate waters means that there's a huge variety of sealife, described in a range of excellent leaflets, available from the visitor information centre or the Fisheries office (tel 02/6652 3977). Jetty Dive Centre, 398 High St, at the harbour (tel 02/6651 1611), offers dives for beginners and advanced divers at the coral reefs around South Solitary Island, costing from $137 for two dives, as does Divers Depot (tel 02/6652 2033) at the Marina and Pacific Blue Dive Centre (tel 02/6652 2759) at the Promenade. All hostels arrange inexpensive snorkelling expeditions and scuba courses.

Horse riding Valery Trails, 20km southwest of Coffs (tel 02/6653 4301): turn off the Pacific Highway at Bonville. Closer to Coffs, Bushland Trails (tel 02/6649 4491, www.bushlandtrails.com.au ) offer horse rides and overnight treks from $22 per hour, $50 per half-day.

Hospital High St, near Aussitel Backpackers (tel 02/6652 2866).

Internet access   Happy Planet (closed Sun), is just down from Woolworths on Park Ave.

Laundry Marina Laundrette (daily 8am-8pm) at the jetty has the best views whilst you wait for your whites.

Markets Sunday-morning markets are held at the Jetty Village Shopping Centre, on Coffs Jetty (8am-2pm), and in the Big W car park, cnr Castle and Vernon streets (same hours).

Police tel 02/6652 0299.

Post office In the arcade off the Grafton Street Mall, NSW 2450.

Sky Diving Coffs Sky Divers (tel 02/6651 1167, www.coffsskydivers.com.au ) offer single dives from $84 and tandem from $299.

Surfing East Coast Surf School, based at Diggers Beach (tel 02/6651 5515), is an excellent place to learn to surf in small groups. Introductory two-hour lesson ($22) or three classes ($45); includes surfboard and wetsuit. Write for details of their excellent-value three-day surf camps: PO Box 6336, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450.

Taxi tel 13 1008.

Tours 4WD Adventure Safaris (tel 02/6655 9477) does half- and full-day tours including George's Gold Mine ($80) and a twilight glow-worm trek including dinner ($65), plus canoeing and horse riding; Mountain Trails 4WD Tours (tel 02/6658 3333) operates recommended half- and full-day 4WD adventures along remote tracks to banana plantations, waterfalls and the rainforest, weekend trips to Dorrigo and mountain country, and wildlife tours at night; Gambaarri Tours (tel 02/6655 4195) runs Aboriginal cultural tours with a local guide to Red Rock and the Yarrawarra Cultural Centre, plus other tours from Nambucca Heads and Bellingen (all $45, including bush tucker).

Travel agent Kelly Travel, cnr High and Moonee streets (tel 02/6651 2747, kellytravel@key.net.au ), is a discount flight agent for Qantas and STA Travel.

White-water rafting Coffs Harbour is one of the few places on the east coast where you can go rafting, though after a dry winter the rivers can be low. The best outfit is WOW (tel 02/6654 4066; around $139 per day).