8 Things To Do In Coffs Harbour At Night: Bananas After Bedtime

Coffs Harbour gets clocked by the highway crowd as a Big Banana and a fuel stop, which is a bit rude to a town with one of the prettiest jetty precincts on the New South Wales coast. Once the sun drops behind the hinterland, the Jetty strip lights up, the marina glows, and Muttonbird Island turns into the best free sunset seat for a hundred kilometres. This is our local-tested rundown of the best things to do in Coffs Harbour at night, written by a crew who actually turns up, sets up and sings along here.

Every spot below was checked and confirmed trading as of June 2026, with the location so your maps app does the driving while you do the deciding. Coffs evenings are mild, coastal and made for a wander.

1. Sunset walk to Muttonbird Island

Northern Breakwall, off the Coffs Harbour International Marina. The local move at dusk is the short, steep walk out along the breakwall and up Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve, where the reward is a sweeping panorama back over the marina, the jetty and the Solitary Islands as the sky goes off. It is free, it takes about half an hour return, and in winter you may well spot whales tracking past. Time it for golden hour, bring a jacket for the breeze, and let the island do the rest.

2. The historic Jetty and Jetty Beach at dusk

Jetty Foreshores, Coffs Harbour. The heritage Coffs Harbour Jetty has stood since 1892 and is the town's favourite evening stroll, all timber underfoot, boats sliding into the marina and the lights starting to reflect on the water. The flat, lit Jetty foreshores pathway runs the length of it for an easy after-dinner wander. Walk out to the end to watch for dolphins, or drop onto the calm, protected Jetty Beach below with its grassy foreshore, barbecues and picnic shelters. It is free, it is gorgeous, and locals will tell you it is the top sunset spot in town.

3. Dinner on the Jetty Strip

Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour. The Jetty strip on Harbour Drive is the dining heart of Coffs, a walkable run of a dozen-odd restaurants, cafes and bars covering just about every craving, from casual to a proper sit-down. It is the easy answer for a group that cannot agree, because everyone finds their thing within a few doors of each other. Park once, wander the strip, follow your nose.

4. Cocktails and shared plates at Element Bar

Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour. When the night calls for a drink with a bit of polish, Element Bar on the Jetty strip is the local pick for cocktails, craft beer and shared plates in a relaxed, buzzy room. It works as a pre-dinner stop, a long graze or the whole evening, and it sits in easy stumbling distance of everything else on the strip. Order a couple of plates, settle in, see where the night goes.

5. A paint and sip night (yes, ours, and we have receipts)

We would be fibbing by leaving this off. Paint Juicy runs paint and sip events across Coffs Harbour and the Coffs Coast, from the jetty end of town out to Woolgoolga, Nambucca and the hinterland. Three hours of guided painting, full-throated singalongs, sips and zero artistic talent required. We have even taken it bush, running a session at the Coramba Hotel just out of town with koalas and country views thrown in for free.

Do not take our word for it, read the recap from our night at the Coramba Hotel and judge the grins for yourself. While you are at it, you will see we know Coffs well enough to have written up local oddities like the gloriously Dutch Clog Barn. Public tickets are $59, brushes are blunt-proof and the chorus is mandatory. You walk out with a painting, a playlist stuck in your head and a camera roll you will actually keep.

6. Marina-view seafood at Latitude 30

Coffs Harbour International Marina. For the night that wants a view and a tablecloth, Latitude 30 sits right on the marina with the boats and the water filling the windows. The focus is fresh seafood, the setting does a lot of the work, and the marina lights on the harbour after dark make it a proper occasion spot for an anniversary or a milestone. Book the water side and time it so you arrive with some light left in the sky.

7. A view and a feed at the Deep Sea Fishing Club

Southern end of Jetty Beach, Coffs Harbour. The worst-kept secret in town: the Coffs Harbour Deep Sea Fishing Club serves an affordable feed with a million-dollar view, perched at the southern end of Jetty Beach with a big wraparound veranda looking straight out over the water. It is casual, it is licensed, the prices are friendly and the sunset from the deck is free with every meal. Easy on the wallet, big on the view.

8. A show at the Jetty Memorial Theatre

Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour. For a culture-leaning night, the Jetty Memorial Theatre is the town's intimate live venue, hosting theatre, live music, comedy and film on the Jetty strip itself. It is small, it is characterful, and it sits a short stroll from dinner and a drink, so a show slots neatly into the middle of a Jetty night. Check what is on while you are in town and build the evening around the curtain.

Make a night of it, Coffs style

Our perfect Coffs evening: the sunset walk up Muttonbird Island, back down to the Jetty strip for dinner and a drink at Element Bar, then a slow wander along the foreshore as the marina lights come on. Feeling fancier? Book the water side at Latitude 30 or catch a show at the Jetty Memorial Theatre. Or, if we are in town, hand the whole night to us and walk out with a painting you made while singing.

Painting your way down the coast? Browse our New South Wales paint and sip lineup for what is on nearby.

Coffs Harbour at night FAQs

What is there to do in Coffs Harbour at night?
Plenty. Walk to Muttonbird Island for the sunset, stroll the historic Jetty and Jetty Beach, eat your way along the Jetty Strip on Harbour Drive, have cocktails at Element Bar, dine on the marina at Latitude 30 or at the Deep Sea Fishing Club, catch a show at the Jetty Memorial Theatre, or join a Paint Juicy paint and sip night when one is on.

Where is the best sunset in Coffs Harbour?
The walk out to Muttonbird Island via the Northern Breakwall is the local favourite, with panoramic views back over the marina and jetty. The end of the historic Jetty and Jetty Beach are also classic sunset spots, all free and within a few minutes of each other.

Where do you go for dinner at the Coffs Jetty?
The Jetty Strip on Harbour Drive has a dozen-odd restaurants and bars, Latitude 30 does marina-view seafood, the Deep Sea Fishing Club at the southern end of Jetty Beach does an affordable feed with a view, and Element Bar handles cocktails and shared plates.

Is Coffs Harbour good for a night out with a group?
Yes. The Jetty Strip, the marina and the foreshore all handle groups easily, and a Paint Juicy session is built for groups, hens dos, birthdays and work nights of ten or more.

Does Paint Juicy run paint and sip nights in Coffs Harbour?
We do. We run sessions across Coffs Harbour and the Coffs Coast, including Woolgoolga, Nambucca and Coramba, with public sessions from $59 a head and private bookings for groups of ten or more. Check the current Coffs Harbour lineup to see what is coming up.

Closest to home, here is the Coffs Harbour paint and sip lineup.