This little unknown harbour beach sits at the bottom of Taronga Zoo. If there were any animal…read moreenclosures that could give a hint to where it could be it would definitely be the Muir Cats - standing upright pointing the way. Access to Whiting Beach is a beautiful rugged bushwalk from a residential street which clears out to this tiny beach with a spectacular view of the harbour and ferries pulling into Taronga Beach zoo ferry wharf. As its off the beaten track it does not have the manicured maintenance of our most well known beaches and there is a sign that warns of syringes that maybe hidden in the sand. I talk to some locals and they say in all the years they have been using the beach they have never come across syringes and just as much chance of finding them on the popular beaches than Whiting Beach however for the sake of my baby I keep her shoes on and watch her as she excitedly bumbles towards the water. Bring a picnic blanket also as well as beach towels as the walk is steep you may want to spend quality time on this beach. Alot of leisure craft use the beach as a swim stop. There is only 4 other people on the actual beach which gives it a deserted feeling... well as deserted as you would find in the middle of one of the worlds most beauitful cities. This natural gem is just a reminder of how beautiful it can be.

Beautiful surrounding but extremely dirty. I havnt seen so much garbage on the beach and in the…read morewater since phuket. I pulled out 10 bottles from the beach and on finding no bin left them next to the syringe recepticle unit. Many bottles were broken and swimming would mean cut feet. A real black eye for sydney.

Went early in the morning being one of the firsts on the beach. High tide day so there was very…read morelittle sand available for lounging so we retreated to the rocks. It was a gorgeous sunny day with the water feeling refreshing. We left close to noon just as more people started showing up. Will go again if I ever have the opportunity to return to Australia.

I think the days of believing that nudist beaches are a hotbed of blonde beauties flaunting their…read moreperfect physiques are loooooong gone. And if you needed any clarification of this, head to Lady Bay Beach in Watsons Bay. I've never quite worked out if this is technically a gay nudist beach, or whether it just happens to be populated by ageing naked guys, with large guts, most of the time. The beach itself isn't too bad, I've never ventured down to spend an afternoon on it, but you can see it quite clearly from the path that leads to South Head (and it tends to be quite a pretty sight, except when there are people on it!). I've not really considered nudism as a potential activity, but that's mainly due to the fact that I get annoyed when I get sunburnt shoulders, imagine getting sunbu- ... never mind. If you're trying to get around the beaches of Sydney on your travels, I think you'd be better off hitting up Camp Cove just down the path, it's a much more pleasant setting!

Lovely long beach, lots of areas for swimming including a net-protected area with a pier (for…read morejumping off, obviously). Restaurants, lots of benches. Just about perfect for swimming, people watching, strolling.

Balmoral Beach is absolutely one of my favorite beaches in the world!!!…read more It is a family friendly, protected beach without the massive waves and harsh currents. It is also less populated by surfers and their boards. There are great rock pools to explore at low tide. There is grassy, shaded park area for those who want to stay out of the sand and sun. Availability of food, drink, and bathrooms is good. Parking can be an issue but it is worth a brisk walk.

This sheltered beach is a great place for families due to its small, manageable size, and its…read morerelatively calm surf that makes it an attractive beach for those who love to swim. Many people come here to participate in watersports, so you will see many windsurfers, kayakers, and swimmers when you visit. There's also a shaded playground located behind the beach, which offers a great place for kids to play if they get tired of swimming or building sandcastles at the beach. It doesnt have the crowds that Balmoral Beach can get but on the rare occasion can be busy. Come and relax at Chinamens away from the maddening crowd.

If you love to swim in the ocean, then this is the beach for you. If you love to play ball in the…read moreocean, you can't go past this place. If you love to soak up the rays, Chinamans Beach is the answer - it's always the answer. There is plenty of room on the sand and in the water - the only crowding you get is battling the traffic along Military Rd in Neutral Bay and Mosman to get to this gem of a beach ... sooo bring your Webber, throw on some prawns, slice up a frozen watermelon and enjoy our Sydney summer days.

Do you love getting nude?…read more Do you lament the restricting nature of contemporary underwear and long to let your skin breathe under God's blue sky, as nature intended afore Eve bit from the poisoned apple and condemned us to a life of self-awareness, shame and rhine-stoned Gucci t-shirts? Well, have I got the place for you: Obelisk Beach, one of Sydney's very few havens for the pants-free lady and gentleman. You'd barely know this place existed but for a sign on Middle Head Road down towards Chowder Bay. Pull the car over, skip down a short bush path and there she blows, a tiny, beautiful stretch of sand where you can shed those duds, spread those legs and wave at the Manly ferries as they chug by with their load of gawking tourists with their telephoto lenses. There's even a little hollowed out area in the shrubbery that serves as a changing room. No camping, fires or pets are allowed, but wangs and hoo-hoos aren't just okay - they're welcomed! Wee!

Raining, windy, cool! Total bliss after the last few days cremating! The water was beautiful!…read moreParking no problems today, 2 others there and $4 for 24 hours because the machine is damaged! Now off for coffee. Craig keeps saying he can't believe you have to pay for parking. Obviously he hasn't been here since he left high school....

Probably one of my favorite beaches in Sydney. During my semester abroad way back when I'd enjoy…read morestrolling through Manly all the way to lesser known Freshwater beach. Sometimes I head through the lovely cliff side neighborhoods just walk along the cliff. I'd often find my self hanging out here for hours. Sometimes at the beach or sitting on the cliffs studying for school. There's a special connection to this beach to where I currently live in Hawaii. This is where Duke Kahanamoku, Olympian, politician, surfer, spreader of Aloha introduced Surfing to Australia. Inside the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club there is a little memorial for the Duke with pictures, trophies, and his original wooden board he took to Australia. If you head up the stairs above the salt water pool there is an overgrown little park with a statue of the Duke Kahanamoku surfing on a boulder facing Freshwater beach. It's definitely a cool spot for anyone visiting from Hawaii. It's a great beach too with dramatic picturesque landscape. Ideally probably one of my top dream Neighborhoods to reside one day.

Once again, Freshie is one of my favorite beaches. It draws locals and not the chaos of tourist and…read moresurfers.

Well, this is about as hipster as hipster gets, at least in the beachy sense. Which is kind of a…read moreweird analogy because hipsters are allergic to beaches. Also, tans. And the jury is out on whether or not they can swim. Sure can drink the hell out of a cold press, though. Anyway, I digress. This is a beach that only exist for, like, 50% of the time. The other half of the time it's wiped clean out of existence by the merciless, refreshing ocean. So if you want to visit, you need to time your run just right otherwise you'll be faced with big slabs of sandstone (still pretty great, if you're into sandstone). Like all good things, you'll need to work for it - there's a steep climb down the rocks from the at the north end of Grotto Point Reserve, on the Spit To Manly Walking Track.

Very beautiful beach. But the track to access the beach is quite challenging. It is through the…read moreClontarf, Grotto Points. From both Manly bus and The Spit Junction, the bus will stop at Alder St near Woodland St. Then walking to the Castle Rock track, and access to the little bush. Take to the track Spit to Manly Costal walk. Then take the Washaway Beach track. It will end up the top of the cliff. Accessing from top cliff to the beach, people need to climb the rock. (Please note, the cliff is quite dangerous when wets).

I discovered this hidden harbor beach while hiking along the Spit to Manly bushwalk path. The…read morebeach is about 15-20 minutes from the Spit Bridge. Like most other harbor beaches, this one is very family oriented. When I was there, a wedding reception and birthday party were both taking place, albeit at separate ends of the beach. The stretch of sand is a bit narrow, so if there are kids, you'll definitely be hearing them. Thankfully, they tend to stay on the reserve behind the beach. But worry not, Clontarf is not composed entirely of raucous children. It's mostly locals, so you will see young couples and singles looking to stray away from beaches with a 'scene.' Both the water and the sand are very clean. For me, the craziest memory I have at Clontarf was when I saw a mini tugboat pull up to the shore that sold coffee, ice cream, and other refreshments. I'd never seen anything like this before! Great concept if you ask me, since I like to stay put at the beach once I arrive. Here, the coffee comes to you! Clontarf Beach really is the perfect place to go for some serenity along the Northern side of harbor.

Half way on our walk from the Spit to Manly is this awesome little beach - half for dogs, half for…read moreonly people with shallow water, stacks of sand and no trash. Whether it's early morning or in the evening, we've never been alone here. Instead, we find friendly dog walkers with equally friendly dogs, raring to socialize. The dog beach is at the end of a cul-de-sac with minimal traffic - most cars are driving ridiculously slowly so you needn't worry (too much) about your dogs running on the path/road. If you walk a little further along the beach, you'll find Clontaff Reserve. On a sunny day, this place is packed with families BBQing and kids climbing on anything they can find.

Beautiful beach, nature at its best, nice mix of friendly people. A true gem, easily served by…read moreUber. No amenities so pack what you need.

This is a stunning little beach, hidden away in Middle Head. There are parking meters up the top,…read moreand then you walk down a rocky hill, down to this secluded little harbour beach. The water is clear and clean, and the aspect looks out onto the heads - it *almost* feels like you're in the bush, almost. Be careful of sharp oyster shells on the rocks. Don't expect big waves - it's a harbour beach. I really ought to mention, though - this is a nudist beach, so don't wander down here unless you're ok with taking off your togs. There are beach regulars who see themselves as custodians of the place, and mightn't be so keen on photos, large groups of drinkers, or people wearing cozzies. Hats are completely kosher, of course. Treat it with respect, and Cobblers can be great - it's definitely one of Sydney's most idiosyncratic and authentic little beaches. Oh, and you really, really do not want to forget your sunscreen.