Once you’ve had your fill of iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, head to one of Sydney’s many beautiful beaches and spend a day relaxing on the sand or having fun in the water. Consider renting a beach house in Sydney during your trip, or book a stay at one of the beach resorts in Sydney so that you’re always close to the water’s edge.
All of the beaches in Sydney are sand beaches, and you can find locations perfect for swimmers, surfers, families, and those who want a little bit of everything. Sydney’s beaches are beautiful, but there will always be sections of the beach that are safer to swim in than others. So be sure to swim between the red and yellow flags and follow any advice or signs from the local lifeguards.
Beaches in Sydney: Bondi Beach
Clear blue waves crash against white sand at Bondi Beach, probably the most famous beach in Sydney, with the reality show ‘Bondi Rescue’ catapulting it to international fame. One of many Sydney beaches offering surf classes, Bondi is just as good for surfing and swimming as it is for relaxing on the beach, soaking in the sunshine amongst locals and tourists. After you’ve had your fill of swimming and surfing, you can take a roughly one-hour stroll on the Bondi to Coogee Walk, which takes you along sandstone cliffs, past Clovelly Beach, and provides gorgeous views. Don’t forget to try Bondi Icebergs; a winter swimming club that’s been turned into an excellent casual bistro restaurant.
How to reach Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach is super accessible from Sydney’s CBD. The 380 and 333 buses run from Circular Quay approximately every 45 minutes. You can also take the T4 train from Central Station to Bondi Junction and then take either the 380, 381 or 333 bus from Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach. You can drive to Bondi from Circular Quay by taking the M1 until you reach Moore Park Road. Then follow Moore Park Road until Oxford Street, which turns into Syd Einfeld Drive. Finally, turn onto Old South Head Road and follow it until you reach O’Brien Street and Bondi Beach.
Bronte Beach
Bronte Beach is super close to Bondi Beach. The main bay area is not quite as family-friendly a beach for swimming with underwater rocks and bully headlands creating some challenging conditions better for more experienced swimmers. However, those rocks also create a lovely sheltered pool which is perfect for young kids. There’s also an ocean-fed lap pool beneath the south headland. Behind the beach, you’ll find a large, grassy park where you can set up at a picnic table and use one of their barbecues for lunch.
How to reach Bronte Beach
The 333 bus from Circular Quay that goes to Bondi also goes to Bronte Beach, as do the 379 and 381 buses. You can also take the T4 Train from Central Station to Bondi Junction and then take the 360 bus towards Clovelly Ocean Street and get off at Murray Street and Bronte Road. If you’re at Bondi Beach, you can walk to Bronte Beach in around 30 minutes.
Manly Beach
Manly is one of Sydney’s most beautiful and popular beaches, with surfers, swimmers and sunbathers all finding something to love. Manly is a great beach for beginner surfers, and you’ll find multiple surf schools offering lessons and places where you can hire boards of varying lengths. It’s also excellent for families with young kids as the netted beach pool area provides a great place where kids can swim. In addition, it’s patrolled by three different lifesaving clubs, making it easy to find a safe spot to swim.
How to reach Manly Beach
The easiest way to reach Manly is via a ferry from Circular Quay. The ferry is a super fun trip in and of itself, taking you past the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge and getting you to Manly in around 30 minutes. Another option, if you like hiking, is to head to Spit Bridge and make the roughly three-hour, spectacular hike to Manly through the bush and over the clifftops.
Cabbage Tree Bay & Shelly Beach
Shelly Beach is another beach in Manly, and it is part of Cabbage Tree Bay, a protected marine reserve area where visitors can swim, snorkel and scuba dive. There are more than 150 species of fish in the reserve, including giant cuttlefish and turtles. Shelly Beach has excellent amenities with showers, toilets and two free electric barbecues, making it easy to spend an entire day at the beach. There’s also a cafe called The Boathouse, which is a lovely place to grab some lunch during your trip.
How to reach Shelly Beach
The easiest way to reach Shelly Beach is to follow the same directions for getting to Manly beach. From Manly, you can reach Shelly Beach with a roughly 15-minute walk that takes you along the coastline with a few eco-sculptures. Walking also lets you see the beautiful Fairy Bower Baths in between.
Palm Beach
With Pittwater to one side, Broken Bay to the other, and the Pacific Ocean out the front, Palm Beach has great waves for surfing north and a more sheltered, calmer swimming area to the south. Affectionately known as ‘Palmy’ by the locals, it stretches 2.3 kilometres and stops at Barrenjoey Head which marks Sydney’s northernmost coastal point. If you head up to Barrenjoey and the Barrenjoey lighthouse, you’ll get incredible views of the coast (the head and the lighthouse are particularly beautiful at sunrise).
How to reach Palm Beach
Palm Beach in Sydney is around 45 kilometres north of the city centre, and you can take buses from either Circular Quay or Central Station. You’ll first need to head to Manly on either the B1 bus or the Manly Ferry. From Manly, you can take the route 199 bus, which stops at various points throughout Palm Beach.
Balmoral Beach
Balmoral Beach is excellent for families and young kids, with a playground and snack bars close to the sand. With a wonderfully tranquil beach and calm waters, this is one of the best beaches in Sydney to visit if you’re more interested in swimming than surfing. Other water activities are quite popular here, including snorkelling, sailing, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, which are all amazing ways to explore this peaceful, sheltered bay. You can hire equipment for kayaking and paddleboarding, take scuba diving tours or learn the basics of sailing with the Balmoral Sailing School.
How to reach Balmoral Beach
You can reach Balmoral Beach via train and bus from central Sydney. Take the T8 Line towards City Circle and get off at Wynyard. From Wynyard Station, you can take the 168X bus towards North Balgowlah and get off at Spit Road at Awaba Street. From here, you’ll need to walk for around 14 minutes to get to the beach. The whole trip takes about 40 minutes.
Cronulla Beach
Cronulla Beach is a beautiful location on the Bate Bay coastline that’s patrolled all year round, so it’s perfect for those who want to swim outside of the peak warm weather season. The beach itself is great for swimming and surfing, but you’ll also find tons to explore in the surrounding area too. The Cronulla Pavilion and Cronulla Life Surfing Club are close by, and there’s a large grassy area behind the beach with plenty of shady spots and a great playground for kids. You can find beach supplies for purchase and hire, ice cream and gelato shops, places to get fish and chips and much more to ensure you have a great day out.
How to reach Cronulla Beach
Cronulla Beach is one of Sydney’s only beaches that you can reach directly by train. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the beach on the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra train line, which departs from Central Station in the CBD. The drive takes about 40 minutes, and there are usually a lot of parking spaces available. Cronulla is also wheelchair accessible with accessible toilets, free Beach Wheelchairs and Mobi Mats available.
Clovelly Beach
Although it’s not specifically a gay beach, Clovelly Beach is one of Sydney’s most popular beaches amongst the local LGBTQIA+ community. It’s something of a quieter hangout spot and one of the smaller beaches in Sydney, nestled between a narrow bay and two rocky ridges. You can relax in the saltwater pool to the south of the beach, and the Sea Salt Cafe on the beach itself is an excellent place to grab a bite to eat and something to drink. The waves here are usually calm and small, so it’s super kid-friendly, while tidal rock pools provide excellent opportunities for marine wildlife spotting.
How to reach Clovelly Beach
You can get to Clovelly Beach by bus using the 339 line, which usually departs from Platform C of Central Station and arrives at Clovelly Road Terminus in about 25 minutes. You can also reach Clovelly in about 15 minutes from Bondi Beach on the 350 bus, which arrives at Clovelly Road at Arden Street. The final stops are just a few minutes’ walk from the beach itself.
Obelisk Beach
Obelisk Beach is a nudist beach in Sydney, Australia, on the southern side of Middle Head in Sydney Harbour and makes up part of Sydney Harbour National Park. Close to Balmoral Beach, Obelisk Beach is tucked away off the beaten path down a long set of steps and is usually much quieter than its neighbour. Obelisk is another beach that isn’t officially a gay beach but is certainly gay-friendly, and the majority of visitors are part of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community. It’s important to note that although clothing is optional on the beach, there are strict rules about putting your clothes back on as soon as you leave.
How to reach Obelisk Beach
You can get to Obelisk Beach by first taking the F Line Train from Circular Quay to South Mosman Wharf and then the 111 bus from South Mosman Wharf to Balmoral Naval Hospital.
From here, you’ll need to make a short walk towards the beach and head down a flight of stairs through the bush.
Maroubra Beach
Maroubra Beach is one of the most popular beaches for surfing in Sydney, and two surf lifesaving clubs service it with year-round patrols by Randwick City Lifeguards. Maroubra has minimal shelter, which helps provide regular swell and good wave conditions for surfing. However, it can be too strong for swimmers in some parts, so be sure to stay between the flags if you do decide to swim. The beach has plenty more to do, with a skatepark, free outdoor gym, playground and free barbecues. There are also some beautiful parks and reserves in the surrounding area where you can have a picnic, and there are plenty of shops and cafes nearby.
How to reach Maroubra Beach
You can get to Maroubra Beach by bus in about 30 minutes. Both the 376 and 377 buses run directly to the beach and operate seven days a week. You can also take the T8 train from Central Station towards Macarthur and switch to the 350 bus at Mascot.
Coogee Beach
Coogee Beach is one of the stops on Sydney’s Coastal Walkway and one of the most frequently visited beaches in Sydney. The shelter offered by the rocky Wedding Cake Island makes it an excellent swimming beach with calmer waters than Maroubra Beach. You’ll find rock pools at both the northern and southern ends of the beaches, including the Ross Jones Memorial Baths, an artificial rock pool close to the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. It’s also very close to two ocean pools: Wylie’s Baths and McIvers Baths, the latter of which is only open to women and children. In addition, there are some excellent parks and nature reserves around the beach which have amenities like barbecues and playgrounds, making them the perfect place to set up for the day.
How to reach Coogee Beach
The 374 bus runs from Central Station to the Arden Street/Dolphin Street stop, which is only a short walk from Coogee Beach. It usually takes about 30 minutes to arrive. Coogee is also close to Bondi, Bronte and Clovelly. You can walk to Coogee from Clovelly in around 20 minutes.
Little Bay Beach
Little Bay Beach in Sydney is something of a ‘secret’ beach that tends to be more popular with locals than tourists. It’s great for families as it’s protected from larger ocean swells and has clear, calm waters. You’ll love swimming and snorkeling here with lots of fish and sea life to spot. Although it’s more tucked away, Little Bay can still get packed during the summer months. So if you’re visiting during the warmer months, you can avoid larger crowds by heading to the beach on weekdays instead of weekends.
How to reach Little Bay Beach
You can get to Little Bay Beach on the 394X bus from Museum Station near Central Station. It arrives at Anzac Parade, and once you arrive, you’ll need to head down a steep timber staircase to reach the beach itself. The trip takes about an hour by bus, and it takes about half that time to get there by car. Most of the trip runs down Anzac Parade, and you’ll go through Maroubra on the way.
