7 Secret Beaches in Sydney the Crowds Walk Past

Bondi and Manly get the tour buses. But Sydney has dozens of smaller beaches tucked into the harbour and along the national park coast, and plenty of them are quiet even on a sunny Saturday.

This guide picks seven. Four are harbour coves with calm water, good for a swim and a long lunch. One has a waterfall running onto the sand. Two are proper ocean beaches you have to walk to, with surf and no lifeguards.

None of them is truly secret any more, but every one is quieter than the beaches on the postcards.

Quick answer: Sydney's best secret beaches

Drive times in each card are our estimates without traffic.

Want calm water? Pick a harbour cove. Want a beach to yourself? Walk to Little Marley or Resolute.

1Milk BeachVaucluse

The spota small harbour beach on the Hermitage Foreshore walk, looking straight back at the city skyline and the Harbour Bridge.

Milk Beach is the view everyone's after: a strip of sand in the eastern suburbs with the whole city laid out across the water. It sits on the Hermitage Foreshore track, which NSW National Parks lists as 1.8 km one way from Nielsen Park, 30 minutes to an hour, past a string of small beaches.

It's tiny and there are no facilities, so bring water and a towel. Late afternoon is the time to be here, when the light drops behind the skyline.

Top tip: walk the whole Hermitage Foreshore track from Nielsen Park and you pass several more small beaches on the way, so you can pick the emptiest one.

2Parsley BayVaucluse

The spota narrow harbour inlet with a sandy beach, a netted swimming area and a heritage suspension bridge overhead.

Parsley Bay is the most family friendly spot on this list. Woollahra Council runs a swimming enclosure here about 150 metres long and 95 metres wide, so you can swim in the harbour behind a net.

The white suspension bridge across the bay was built in 1910 and is heritage listed. It's worth walking across before or after your swim.

Heads up: the reserve car park has been closed for Sydney Water works, with access on foot from Fitzwilliam Road and The Crescent. Check Woollahra Council's page before you drive over. And don't jump off the bridge or the rocks: the water's shallower than it looks.

3Collins Flat BeachManly

The spota sheltered harbour cove inside Sydney Harbour National Park, with a small waterfall running down the rocks behind the sand.

Collins Flat is the one that surprises people. It's minutes from Manly, but tucked into the bush below North Head, and a little waterfall trickles down the rocks at the back of the beach.

NSW National Parks says the easiest way in is from Little Manly Point at the end of Stuart Street, a 200 metre walk. You can also catch the ferry to Manly and walk about 15 minutes. Parking is very limited and fills on weekends, so the ferry is the better bet.

Got a kayak? Next door is Store Beach, which you can only reach by water. NSW National Parks suggests paddling over from here. The area is home to little penguins, so leave dogs at home and keep well away from any you see.

4Chinamans BeachMosman

The spota long, curved harbour beach behind a grassy reserve on Middle Harbour, often overlooked for Balmoral next door.

Chinamans Beach is the easy one. You walk in through Rosherville Reserve, a big grassy park that's good for a picnic, and the beach curves away along Middle Harbour with calm, clear water.

Mosman Council lists street parking and a pay and display car park. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach, but the reserve behind it has off lead times for dogs on weekdays, and before 9 am and after 4 pm on weekends.

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5Resolute BeachKu-ring-gai Chase National Park

The spota small, sheltered beach on the Pittwater side of West Head, at the end of a bushwalk.

Resolute Beach is the one you earn. It's deep in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, and you walk down to it from the Resolute picnic area through bush. NSW National Parks estimates anything from 30 minutes to an hour and a half depending on the route you take, and the track is steep in places on the way back up.

At the bottom, there's calm water and a view across Pittwater. Most people who drive out to West Head only go to the lookout, so the beach stays quiet.

Heads up: take more water than you think. The walk out is all uphill, and there's no shop or tap at the beach.

6Bungan BeachNewport

The spota 600 metre surf beach between Newport and Mona Vale, hidden below the houses and reached by a steep path.

Bungan is one of the quieter beaches on the Northern Beaches. You walk down from the street, about 10 minutes, and it opens out into a stretch of sand between two headlands.

It's a proper surf beach, so it's not for everyone. Northern Beaches Council warns of strong rips at both ends and rips that shift along the beach, and it's only patrolled in season.

Heads up: only swim between the red and yellow flags when they're up. Outside patrol season, enjoy the sand and leave the swim for somewhere sheltered.

7Little Marley BeachRoyal National Park

The spota small, wild ocean beach between sandstone headlands, at the end of a walk through the heath of Royal National Park.

This is the most remote beach here, and the most beautiful. NSW National Parks' Bundeena Drive to Marley walk is 7.8 km return, about 3 to 4 hours, through coastal heath to Marley Beach and its little neighbour.

Go for the walk and the view, not the swim. NSW National Parks says both Marley beaches are remote and unpatrolled, can be rough, have very strong currents and drop off steeply, and are not recommended as safe swimming beaches.

Heads up: there's no shade on most of the walk. Start early in summer, and carry plenty of water.

Which secret beaches in Sydney are good for swimming?

The harbour coves: Milk Beach, Parsley Bay, Collins Flat and Chinamans. The water's calm, and Parsley Bay has a netted area. Resolute Beach on Pittwater is calm too.

Bungan and Little Marley are ocean beaches with rips. Bungan is patrolled in season, so swim between the flags then. NSW National Parks recommends against swimming at Little Marley at all.

Is it safe to swim at harbour beaches after rain?

Not straight away. Stormwater runs into the harbour after heavy rain and can carry bacteria. The NSW Government's Beachwatch service forecasts pollution for Sydney's swim sites twice a day, so check it if it's rained in the last day or two.

Practical tips for Sydney's secret beaches

• Use the ferry. Manly, Watsons Bay and Mosman are all quicker by ferry than by car on a summer weekend, and parking near the small beaches runs out first.
• Pack for no facilities. Most of these beaches have no shop and some have no toilets. Bring water, food and shade.
• Check park alerts for the walk-in beaches. The NSW National Parks alerts list covers closures in Royal and Ku-ring-gai Chase.
• Know your beach safety. Our stay safe outdoors guide covers rips and swimming in unfamiliar water.
• Want a pool instead? Our guide to the best rock pools in Sydney has eight ocean pools, and there's more in our NSW guides.

Pick a beach and go

Sydney's quiet beaches aren't really hidden. They're just a short walk, a ferry ride or a bushwalk further than most people bother to go.

Pick a harbour cove for an easy swim, or a walk-in beach for a day out, and go early on a weekday if you can.

Take your rubbish home, keep to the tracks, and leave the shells and sea life where they are. Read our Leave No Trace guide before you go. These places stay special because people look after them.