The Best Beaches In Sydney

Tamarama Beach

Next door to Bondi, but completely different, Tamarama is much smaller and surrounded by cliffs. It’s another great surfing beach, but better for more advanced surfers (I’ve surfed here twice, but only when the waves were small). I lived between Bondi and Tamarama beaches for a few years, so I was spoilt for choice!

Where to Stay:

• Luxury – Tamarama Apartments or Bondi 38 Apartments
• Budget – Wake Up! Bondi Beach

Activities at Tamarama Beach:

• Walk Bondi to Coogee Coastal Path
• Have a barbecue on the free public barbecues behind the beach

Manly Beach (South Steyne & North Steyne)

North of the harbour is the aptly named Northern Beaches. Manly is the most popular of these and can be easily reached by the ferry from Circular Quay. It’s a great surfing beach and hosts the Australian Open of Surfing each March.

Swimmers love Manly too, and many (including me) swim the 1.4km return Manly to Shelly Beach swim. A big group of swimmers head off at 7am, known as the Bold and the Beautiful swim group, but you can do it any time of day.

Manly also has lots of bars, restaurants and cafes, and the main corso is lined with shops.

Read about the best cafes and restaurants in Manly

Where to Stay:

• Luxury: Peppers, The Sebel or Manly Pacific
• Budget: Stoke Beach House

Activities at Manly Beach:

• Walk the Spit to Manly path
• Snorkel in Cabbage Tree Bay or join a snorkelling tour
• Have a swim at Fairy Bower Ocean Pool
• Take a surf lesson
• Enjoy brunch at one of the many cafes, including Calibrate, The Pantry, Market Lane Cafe and Vini’s
• Shop at the many boutiques and shops, including Humphreys, Budgy Smuggler and Baku

Check out the best things to do in Manly

Little Manly Beach

Little Manly Beach is a short walk from Manly Wharf. It’s a sheltered beach with a sectioned-off area known as Little Manly Baths. It’s one of the more family-friendly beaches in Sydney as it has gentle waves and plenty of shade. I spend a lot of time here with the kids, and they love searching for crabs in the little rock pools on the left-hand side.

Little Manly has a small kiosk serving coffee and fish and chips, and a lovely restaurant called Ripples that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Where to Stay:

• Luxury: The Sebel or Little Manly Apartment
• Budget: Stoke Beach House

Activities at Little Manly Beach:

• SUP or kayak across to Store Beach or Quarantine Beach
• Have lunch at Ripples or get takeaway fish and chips from the kiosk and eat on the sand
• Jump off the shark nets into the water
• Rent a barbecue boat and eat lunch on the water

Camp Cove Beach

This charming little beach is located in the harbour, so it’s much calmer than the ocean beaches and doesn’t have any waves. It’s a great beach for swimming, and lots of families come here. It also has a nice coffee kiosk at one end.

Where to Stay:

• Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel

Activities at Camp Cove Beach:

• Grab a coffee or a sandwich or, somewhat randomly, a bag of oranges from the kiosk
• Walk the South Head Heritage Trail, which starts at Camp Cove Beach

Shelly Beach

This is my favourite beach in Sydney. It’s such a lovely little bay, great for snorkelling as it’s part of the Cabbage Tree Bay Marine Reserve. Cabbage Tree Bay is considered one of the best dive sites in the whole of Sydney. The Boat House Café, located on the beach, serves a variety of breakfast and lunch dishes in an idyllic setting, and there are free-to-use barbecues at the back of the beach.

Where to Stay:

• Luxury: The Sebel or Manly Pacific
• Budget: Stoke Beach House

Activities at Shelly Beach:

• Snorkel in Cabbage Tree Bay or join a snorkelling tour
• Have a swim at Fairy Bower Ocean Pool
• Enjoy brunch, lunch or happy hour at the Boathouse

Quarantine Beach

This beach is much nicer than it sounds! Quarantine Beach is located next to the old Quarantine Station in Sydney Harbour National Park, which was the arrival port for passengers arriving in Sydney from 1828 to 1984. The Q Station has transformed most of the old buildings into a hotel, and there is a café and restaurant moments from the beach.

During the winter months, a mobile sauna sets up on the jetty, and you can heat up in the sauna before cooling off in the water. Heaven!

Where to Stay:

• Q Station

Activities at Quarantine Beach:

• Visit the Quarantine Station Museum
• Have a coffee in the cafe overlooking the water
• Relax in the sauna during winter
• Walk up to North Head Lookout and the Fairfax Walk

Palm Beach

If you’re a fan of Home and Away, you might recognise Palm Beach, as it’s the filming location for Summer Bay. From the beach, you can walk up to the Barenjoey Lighthouse for spectacular views. This is a lovely spot for families, as you have access to water on both the ocean side and Pittwater side, which is much calmer without waves.

If you’re looking for an adventure, you can hire kayaks (or even small boats) and head across Pittwater to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

Where to Stay:

• Barrenjoey House

Activities at Palm Beach:

• Walk up to Barenjoey Lighthouse
• Hire a kayak or small boat and paddle across the water to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
• Swim on the Pittwater side and surf (and swim) on the ocean side
• Have lunch at The Joey

Avalon Beach

South of Palm Beach is Avalon. I love this beach; it has orange-hued sand and a great ocean rock pool, and is popular with longboarders. Lovat cafe, right on the beach, is a good spot for coffee or breakfast or head upstairs to the restaurant for beautiful ocean views while you dine. The village of Avalon behind the beach is lovely, with great cafes, boutiques and restaurants.

Where to Stay:

• Palm Cottage

Activities at Avalon Beach:

• Have a swim at the Ocean Pool
• Enjoy brunch at one of the many cafes, including Lovat, The Hungry Ghost and the Sneaky Grind
• Shop at the many boutiques like Peggy Concept Store, Deesse, Bassike or the excellent op shops
• Head over to the Pittwater side and relax in the calm waters of Clareville Beach Reserve

Bronte Beach

Bronte in the Eastern Suburbs is a relaxed beach with one of the oldest ocean pools in Sydney. Behind the beach is a large park, perfect for picnicking and barbecues. This pool is great for surfers, but also good for kids due to the natural pool at the southern end.

Where to Stay:

• Tamarama Apartments

Activities at Bronte Beach:

• Walk Bondi to Coogee Coastal Path
• Have a swim at the Ocean Pool or rock pools
• Cook on the free beach barbecues
• Have brunch or a coffee from the Bogey Hole Cafe
• Grab a tasty treat from Iggy’s Bakery

Curl Curl Beach

This is one of the best Sydney beaches for surfing (in my opinion, anyway!). It’s a long, beautiful white sand beach surrounded by plants and trees; it feels miles from the city. The ocean pool at the southern end is really good for kids as it has a sloping entry and lots of shallow areas.

Where to Stay:

• Freshwater Hideaway
• Freshwater Beach Apartment

Activities at Curl Curl Beach:

• Walk the coastal path to Dee Why or to Freshwater
• Have a swim at the Ocean Pool at the southern end
• Have brunch or a coffee from The Beach Eatery or a crepe from the Nomad Creperie

Where to Stay in Sydney

Sydney has lots of great accommodation options. If you’re looking for a good base for beach exploration, then I recommend staying in either the Eastern Suburbs or the Northern Beaches, or base yourself in Sydney CBD, which has easy access to both.

My recommendations are:

Eastern Suburbs –

• Hotel Ravesis
• QT Bondi
• Tamarama Apartments

Northern Beaches –

• The Sebel
• Manly Pacific

Find accommodation in Sydney

I’ve still got plenty more beaches to explore, so if you have any favourites, please let me know!