alkristensen

Just looking for a nice beach,ideally a horseshoe bay with craggy rocks,rockpools for us and the kids but not choppy surf beaches, ideally palm fringed(may be impossible but you never know) nice sand and clear water.

We want to know if there are any out there(or as near as) and what are the non surf beaches called so i can search on that too.

Thanks for answers in advance.

al and clare

Lewis Lapthorn

I can only comment on beaches north of Sydney.

NSW is absolutely gorgeous, and is so much more than Sydney and suburbs. Port Macquarie, Forster/Tuncurry, Trial Bay etc.

If you're looking closer, about an hour and a half drive out of the city is Port Stephens & Shoal Bay. Idylic natural beauty, lovely green back drops, forests, white sands and crystal clear water.

Sydney beaches themselves - from what we saw were a little more commercial/surfer, hotel/commercial centre back drops. Although you'd still choose them over ours any day

wanderingwombat

for calm water try
Balmoral
Clontarf
Pittwater side of Palm Beach (there are a few spots)


WW

NickyC

Not a lot of palm trees but best on the southside of the Harbour is:
Parsley Bay - gorgeous and perfect for little kids. Has a suspension bridge across it.
Nielson Park - grassy park behind with a great cafe

Northside has some too but that's not my area so can't speak from experience. Middle Harbour has Balmoral, Chinaman's and Clontarf which are all nice.

There are also some tiny beaches, most people have never heard of, tucked away amongst the houses between Rose Bay and Vaucluse. Do the Sydney Harbour foreshore walk from Rose Bay to Nielson Park and you will find them.

seasprite

Shelly beach, nr manly, very calm whenever I have been, sheltered cove and cafe I think! (it was 12 years ago though)

tiredwithtwins

Balmoral is lovely......

alkristensen

thanks alot guys, when i said sydney i meant anywhere around too, the north shores etc, somewhere within an hour or so commute if we needed to but its not important.

We are looking to settle in an area near to a beach as desribed, cost umnimportant at this stage as we will rent for first year or 2 as we have indepndant means, so we will take the areas mentiuoned into consideration, but would more than welcome more suggestions based on my revised needs.

Thank you very much for the places listed already, they sound great

al an clare

wanderingwombat

And there are some tiny beaches around the harbour that are clothes optional.

WW

thomas and sarahjayne

recommend palm beach, calm, fairly secluded and also home of home and away, if your into that.

sj

Anastasia Beaverhausen

Try Austinmer, about an hour south of Sydney. Beautiful beach, sorrounded by trees, huge play/picninc area, salt water pools, rocky area, smallish beach and lovely views.

I'll download the pics off my camera tonight and post some.

Any of the beaches down this area are lovely. From Stanwell park down to Woonona. We are in Thirroul, its a slightly bigger beach but is lovely non the less. Its only an hour or so commute to Sydney, but you really feel like you are out of the rat race.

ELLJAY

Hi!

I am going to the FTC (First Tuesday Club) Sydney ladies meet in about 2 hours at Clontarf - so I'll report back tomorrow.

hope your plans are still going well.

The beaches are beautiful here.

L-j

si.young

Spoon Bay near Forrester's Beach is like a huge natural rock pool and is good for kids (but its not patrolled so you do need to watch them), and so is Umina, both on the Central Coast. Patonga is also nice, it has the best fish and chip shop and is usually pretty quiet, there is a ferry that comes in here but not sure where to get it from, maybe Circular Quay.

Where in Manchester are you from....

DrWho

Avoca beach is an hour or so north of Sydney... Was there last week and really nice...

gedge

Good answers from WW.
Balmoral and Clontarf are 'inner harbour' beaches so any waves are most likely caused by a passing ferry.

I'd suggest the Pittwater beaches too, such as Clareville or Paradise. They're not big nor your normal ocean front beach but still nice and calm.
Here's some piccies of Clareville last Christmas..

si.young

Avoca is nice, but can get a bit surfy at times.