10 best beaches of New South Wales

By Australia specialist Tom

Beaches are part of Australia’s mystique. The culture and lifestyle surrounding them — surfing, fresh air, sunshine, and the good life — are a powerful part of the country’s appeal. And, the state of New South Wales is blessed with some of Australia’s very best stretches of sand. Some, like Sydney’s beaches of Manly and Bondi, are icons in their own right, and you’d want to include these Sydney beaches, or a meander along the Coogee to Bondi Coastal Walk, in any trip.

Some, like Sydney Manly and Bondi Beach in Sydney, are icons in their own right. On any trip you’d want to spend time relaxing on them or meandering along a coastal walk, like the celebrated Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk.

But, there are riches in store if you explore further afield, venturing to places beyond the scope of most overseas visitors. You’ll find more low-key but beautifully quiet beaches, each with their own draws, from wildlife to geology.

I can weave any of the beaches here into a coastal road trip around New South Wales, such as this beach-focused itinerary — but I’d very much encourage you to look beyond the big names and explore some of New South Wales' more off-the-beaten-track shores.

1. Main Beach & more, Byron Bay

Let’s kick off with a bona fide Australian beach icon, Byron Bay, which made its name in the 1960s as an enclave for alternative lifestylers. These days, there’s rather more designer boutiques sitting cheek-by-jowl with the green juice bars and racks of tie-dye, but it retains its bohemian whimsy and carefree atmosphere.

It’s a classic surfer hub, too, with plenty of locals sporting board shorts and wandering around barefoot. You can stroll right onto its generous sweep of beach — Main Beach — from the low-rise streets of the town. Along the way, you might pass drumming circles and van dwellers while sipping on your chai latte or cradling an acaí bowl (when in Byron…).

Main Beach is ideal for a private surf lesson, especially if you’re a beginner or are visiting with children. The waves are small, and you’ll have the chance to catch some gentle whitewater rollers. If you drive a little way out of town onto Cape Byron Headland, you can also delight in the theatrics of more experienced surfers at The Pass, a caramel curve of sand that sees some incredibly big swells.

If you’d rather stay dry(ish), there’s a great kayaking tour that takes you around the headland to spot bottlenose dolphins. Your chances of seeing them are high, and between May and November you can also look out for humpback whales, who you might see fluking, breaching, or tail-slapping around the bay. It's possible to watch the whales from the beach, but a kayak will give you an even better view.

Things to do away from the beach

Walk the looping, undulating track through Cape Byron Headland’s thick coastal forest to reach the gleaming white beacon of the cape’s lighthouse. Standing at its base, gaze down onto the rocks at the base of the cliffs and look for rings of bubbles — they’re a sign of turtles surfacing below you.

Then, go out for lunch. Byron Bay has been one of Australia’s culinary trendsetters for years. Three Blue Ducks, a short drive out of town, was a pioneer of farm-to-table dining, and still brings the goods. I like walking off a meal in their peaceful macadamia orchard.

2. Tallow Beach, Byron Bay

Here’s a postscript to Byron Bay’s main beach scene, a quieter option to the town’s more popular, centrally located beaches. It’s best approached via Crystalbrook Byron, which is one of the best places to stay in town. Go at dawn and melt into the deliciously dense tangle of regenerated rainforest that sits in the middle of this resort, just you and the chatter of the awakening woodlands.

You’ll follow a maze of boardwalks, perhaps accidentally flushing out a bush turkey or two, before emerging onto a long, wave-battered, yellow swathe of sand, backed in places by dunes, and patrolled by oystercatchers and white-bellied sea eagles. Wilder than Byron Bay’s central beaches, I’d avoid swimming here and instead settle down for some seawatching, or a languorous afternoon with a book. Hardy local surfers might also be putting on a display.

Things to do away from the beach

There’s an oasis-like feel to Crystalbrook Byron, set as it is a little way out of Byron Bay’s CBD (what Australians call their Central Business District), though there are shuttles to town. I’ve enjoyed the complimentary early-morning yoga classes here, and there’s a spa, as well an infinity pool that’s particularly inviting at night with its mood lighting and backdrop of rainforest.

3. The beaches of Coffs Coast

The town of Coffs Harbour is a popular stop on New South Wales road trips, but not all visitors are aware of the variety of beaches on this stretch of coast. In the heart of the town, you’ll find family-friendly beaches bordered by playgrounds and waterparks, as well as roller-blading routes and an accessible beach with beach wheelchairs that’s adjacent to the town’s rickety-looking wooden jetty.

Not far from central Coffs Harbour is Park Beach, which hosts evening food markets every Friday. There’s also the mostly quiet Emerald Beach (20 km, or 12.4 miles away from town). Here, on the memorably named Look At Me Now Headland, you can spot eastern grey kangaroos snacking on the grass in the late afternoon.

Things to do away from the beach

Drive a mere 30 km (18 miles) inland to reach Bellingen, a free-spirited, artsy town hiding among verdant Big Scrub rainforest and rolling green hinterland. It makes for a pleasantly pastoral, relaxed diversion from the coast, with opportunities to delve into the rainforest trails of Dorrigo National Park, and splash around in the refreshingly cool, boulder-strewn plunge pools of Never Never Creek.

A little before dusk, make your way to Lavenders Bridge opposite Bellingen Island, and wait with bated breath for the resident flying foxes to depart en masse for their nightly hunt. You’ll see first one, then a couple, and then suddenly, a whole stream of them come pouring out of a tree in a great noiseless, winged wave.

4. Fingal Bay, Port Stephens

Located a short drive southeast across the headland from the coastal area of Port Stephens, this large horseshoe of clean, almost-white sands is delightfully roomy — you’re almost guaranteed to find a spot away from everyone else’s towels. You’ll also find useful amenities like showers and picnic tables, plus a decent fish and chip shop, but they don’t detract from the unspoiled nature of Fingal Bay's beach and its peacefulness.

The beach has a sand spit that leads to an uninhabited island, and, conditions permitting, you can walk over it at certain times of day (though you should always check with the beach’s Life Saving teams first). I like to sit on the southernmost section of the shoreline, which is protected by Fingal Head, and watch locals fishing straight from the beach — they can land some pretty big catches here.

A reef a little way offshore is also something of a local spa for humpback whales, who like to come here to exfoliate their barnacled backs — look out for them approaching during their migration periods (May to November).

Things to do away from the beach

I’d highly recommend the Tomaree Head Summit Walk, a circular hiking trail that involves scrambling up ladders and along walkways that give you far-reaching views over Port Stephens and its coastline. Look out for gun emplacements from World War II concealed among the bushland, and pods of bottlenose dolphins cresting the waters around Tomaree Head — this locale sees some of the highest levels of dolphin activity in Australia.

And, as a bonus, you can start or finish this trail at Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary, which offers a responsible way of seeing one of Australia’s best-loved mascots.

5. Merewether Beach, Newcastle

This beach located in a suburb of Newcastle has so much going for it, and yet it often flies under most visitors’ radar. If you’re road-tripping north along New South Wales’ coast, I’d consider a stop here. You’ll find a long tawny stretch of sand that makes prime sandcastle material, and you can swim in sheltered oceanwater pools. On “big wave days” you can also watch surfers tackling the huge swells around Merewether Point. I’m fond of Merewether Surfhouse, a hilltop restaurant that makes a good lookout for migrating humpbacks, especially if you like your whale-watching with cocktails.

It's worth venturing into the town of Newcastle itself and maybe eating at one of the establishments on Honeysuckle Drive, which is full of waterfront restaurants with a very vibrant, entrepreneurial mentality. While you eat, there’s the novelty of watching a container-ship ballet (no, really), performed right next to you on the Hunter River.

Things to do away from the beach

You’re under an hour’s drive from the Hunter Valley, Australia’s oldest wine region. You can hole yourself away here in a vine-nestled retreat like Spicers Guesthouse, and take a tasting tour of the region’s produce — you’ll find great cheesemakers and chocolatiers here too, alongside wine.

You can make it up as you go along, calling at cellar doors that take your fancy (there are over 150 to choose from, and I’ll share the best ones with you). Or, I can arrange a brilliant tasting tour with a charismatic guide, who’ll show you some of the lesser-seen sides of the valley, taking you behind the scenes of a brewery and to a gin distillery, before delivering a cheese-and-wine masterclass.

6. The beaches of Lord Howe Island

If you’re yearning for the kind of footprint-free, castaway-style beaches that only seem to be found in remote archipelagos of the South Pacific, consider flying two hours northeast of Sydney to Lord Howe Island. This volcanic-formed, rainforest-smothered smidge of an isle sits on the world’s southernmost coral reef, and only accepts 400 visitors at any one time. It’s also entirely car-free.

It has several beaches to choose from, from the champagne sands of Blinky Beach to Ned’s Beach, where you can wade into piercingly clear waters and snorkel straight from the shore alongside cat-sized trevally and kingfish. And those are just the named beaches — there are lots of smaller, almost untouched coves that you can explore by boat. Kings Beach also has a coral garden that’s accessible from the shore, and, being on the west coast of the island, it makes for a really good spot to watch the sunset from.

Big-game fishing (and the culinary pay-off it brings) is a highlight of staying here — and you can read more about in in our guide to food experiences in New South Wales.

Things to do away from the beach

The island is laced with hiking routes, and none more challenging than the eight-hour return hike up and down Mount Gower. Making your way through natural forests of Kentia palms, Banyan trees, and ubiquitous woodhens, you’ll steeply ascend 800 m (2,634 ft), with some roped sections. You’re eventually rewarded with a panorama over the island’s southern tip.

7. Green Patch Beach, Jervis Bay

Pristine, white sands that feel satiny to the touch. Rock pools sheltering octopus and squid. A calm, shallow entryway into the ocean, ideal for young snorkellers. The outcrop of Scottish Rocks, their rock platforms haunted by surreal-looking sea dragons. The angular, picture-frame-like feature known as the Hole in the Wall. Bristol Point, a tiny, bush-fringed strip of sand, a beach within a beach if you like, that can only be reached at low tide. Water that changes abruptly from neon turquoise to midnight blue. The rainbow flashes of lorikeets.

You could see all of the above at Green Patch Beach, one of the best places to go in Jervis Bay and part of Aboriginal-owned Booderee National Park, only a two-and-a-half-hour drive south of Sydney.

Further south, in Murramarang National Park, you can enjoy the spectacle of beach-going kangaroos at Pebbly Beach. And, back in Jervis Bay, you might catch the otherworldly phenomenon of bioluminescence, which makes an appearance on several local beaches. Stay at Paperbark Camp, and your hosts will share their intel on how to spot it.

Things to do away from the beach

Located a ten-minute drive from the coast, Paperbark Camp is a great base for exploring the region more widely. I like the cycle trails to local microbreweries. And, if your visit coincides with New South Wales’ school holidays, you could roam Booderee Botanic Gardens with a local Koori guide. They’ll share their knowledge of bush medicine on an in-depth tour.

8. Narooma & Bermagui, the Sapphire Coast

The southern stretches of New South Wales’ coastline have a different feel to the north — they’re slower, even more laid-back, and much quieter in terms of visitors. You feel like you’re really stepping into local life down here, and I’ve got a two-for-the-price-of-one recommendation when it comes to the beaches.

The seaside town of Narooma is a good place to see Australian fur seals lolling on rocky shorelines, and it has some geological quirks too. At Narooma Surf Beach you can see pillow lava, the remains of a lava flow from an underwater volcano. It also has a very pleasant boardwalk.

Half an hour’s drive south is Bermagui, a sleepy fishing village that has a saltwater swimming pool wedged into its coastline, and safe ocean swimming elsewhere too. Buy lunch at the town’s fisherman’s co-op, where your seafood will have been freshly caught that day. Try the rock oysters, which are particularly good on this part of New South Wales’ south coast.

Things to do away from the beach

Less than a 20-minute drive inland from Bermagui is Tilba Tilba, a bucolic rural town that has a deep and enduring love affair with local arts and crafts. It’s all low-rise wooden storefronts, clapboard houses, bakeries, dairy shops, and little cafes festooned with pot plants and flowers.

I’d opt to stay in Tilba Lake Camp, a glampsite with eco-pods or bell tents. You’ll have views over the surrounding farmland, Tilba Lake, and the extinct volcano of Gulaga (Mount Dromedary) — a site that’s especially sacred to local Yuin women.

9. Coogee to Bondi Coastal Walk, Sydney

It’s a classic for a reason. This 6-km (3.7 mile) trail forms a meandering path between Sydney’s eastern beaches and is beloved by locals and newcomers alike.

They flock here for its ocean views (another chance to see those migrating humpbacks), as well as the bracing, briny air, the variety of beaches and smaller coves you can walk between, the flourishing native bush, and the weathered sandstone rock formations. Then there’s the fact that, although it’s a popular route, you’ll almost always find a quiet spot to pause, look out to sea, and soak in the vistas.

I have my own prescription for how to approach this walk, though in reality it can be sliced and diced in many enjoyable ways. I’d start mid-morning in Coogee, walking north through palm groves and Gordon’s Bay until you reach Clovelly, where you can stop to swim a lap with the locals.

Continuing through Bronte, I like to grab a flat white and linger for a moment on Tamarama Beach —you’ll get a particularly great view of the coastline and frothing waves if you stand on the northern end of the beach and look south. End with another coffee (or something stronger) on the terrace of Bondi Icebergs, a celebrated swimming club where pool users often have to contend with waves crashing over the sea wall into their lanes.

Things to do away from the beach

You’re in Sydney, so the options are extensive. For something out of the ordinary, take a seaplane to Cottage Point Inn, a gourmet restaurant on the banks of the Hawkesbury River on the city’s outskirts. En route, you’ll be treated to a view that few ever see — a birds’ eye view of Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge framed within the same shot.

10. Manly’s beaches, Sydney

Last but not least, I’m a fan of this northern suburb with its pine-lined Manly Beach and the sheltered, more serene waters of Shelly Beach nearby. You can even join the locals on their daily morning swim between the two strips of sand. It’s the kind of place where you’ll see some of the stereotypical ingredients of Australia’s enviable, outdoorsy existence come to life. Here, people play volleyball and surf before work, eat avocado-rich brunches, and sip sunset cocktails in the evenings.

Manly is also very accessible from Sydney’s CBD, being only 18 minutes by ferry from Circular Quay. As such it makes for an easy day or afternoon jaunt if you’re staying more centrally. Hit the beach, have a swim, sit and nurse a drink, and catch the return ferry in time to watch the sun go down over the city’s singular skyline.

Things to do away from the beach

Sydney is known and loved for its food scene, and one of the best ways of experiencing it is via a progressive dining tour with a local, in-the-know guide.

You might eat a seafood starter at Bennelong, one of the Opera House’s flagship restaurants, then steak-frites at a bistro at Potts Point. After, make your way into the Darlinghurst district for some artisan gelato at Gelato Messina. With ingredients such as pandan and coconut, their creations take inspiration from Sydney’s strong Southeast Asian community.