Manly Beach

With a regular ferry running between downtown Sydney to the North Shore suburb of Manly it is no surprise that this long stretch of fine sand is as popular as ever. The town here is very much centred around the beach and this in turn attracts travellers from all over the globe who come here to soak up the sun, party and ride the world-famous waves. 

Perhaps Manly beach’s most iconic feature is the lively  Corso, a tree-lined promenade running much of the length of the beach. Most of these trees were planted in the late 1800s and have flourished to say the least. Reaching over 30 metres in height the Norfolk pines create a stunning backdrop to the golden sand and deep blues of the Pacific Ocean.

Whilst many come to the beach just to hang out and catch some rays you can’t ignore Manly’s surfing heritage. This is where surfing really began in Australia back in the 1900s when Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku came to town after that the sport took off big time down under. Manly was also the location for the inaugural world surfing championship held back in 1964. And another Manly first; the beach became Australia’s first World Surfing Reserve in 2012.

There’s no question the waves can be great at Manly and it is widely regarded as one of the best beach breaks in Sydney on its day. Generally it is a fairly accessible place to surf and suitable for all levels until the swell gets really big. Then the legendary “Queenscliff bombora” lights up producing surfable waves of up to 30 feet.