Australia: Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk
Sydney is a world-class city with gourmet restaurants, renowned architecture, innovative museums and gorgeous public gardens. So what tops every tourist’s list of things to do is this thriving metropolis? A day at the beach, of course.
In addition to the aforementioned attractions, Sydney boasts literally dozens of stunning beaches both in the city and in the surrounding area. All boast sand, sun and surf, so how is a visitor to choose? My suggestion: don’t choose. Instead, try a bunch of them.
A simple way to do that is the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. This is a well-marked 6-kilometer trail that takes you past five beaches and several rock pools, as well as providing incredible cliff side views.
Most people start at the world-famous Bondi Beach. This gorgeous crescent of golden sand is famous for its surf, and boasts a number of amenities including locker rentals, changing rooms, surf board rentals and lessons for all ages. Cafes and restaurants of all stripes abound, so you can eat before your trip and/or stock up on snacks for the walk.
The walk itself begins at the southern end of the beach (keep the water to your left). The first attraction you come across is the Bondi Icebergs Pool. A public saltwater pool, Icebergs welcomes anyone willing to pay the modest $8 fee to take a dip. The pool is built into the ocean and waves do crash into it, giving swimmers a taste of open-water swimming with the added security of being closely overseen by some of the best-trained lifeguards in the business. It also has changing rooms, showers, rental lockers and a cafe. While it is almost always crowded, approximately 2/3 of the visitors seem to be there exclusively to take photos of themselves standing next to the pool, so serious lap-swimmers rarely have a problem getting their exercise.
For me, it was all the best things about the beach (waves, water) and none of the worst thing about the beach (the sand that gets into everything). There is also an adjacent kiddie pool that is more sheltered from the surf.
After a dip at Icebergs, the walking trail continues along some of the most stunning coastline in the world. Aquamarine water and blue skies abound, with a picture-postcard view around every corner.
The next beach is pocket-sized Tamarama. Small, but with mighty surf, Tamarama is a tiny gem and my personal favorite of all the beaches on this walk.
A surfer contemplates Tamarama’s current before taking the plunge.
A very short walk from Tamarama brings you to Bronte Beach. Bronte offers a good mix of swimming and surfing, as well as plenty of space to spread out a towel and catch the sun.
Swimmers and surfers at Bronte Beach
Sunbathers make a bright, abstract pattern on Bronte’s sand
At the southern end of Bronte Beach is Bronte Ocean Pool. Like Icebergs, this is a saltwater pool built into the rocks around the beach. There is no entry fee, but it doesn’t have the amenities (lifeguards, lockers, changing rooms). I
After Bronte comes Clovelly. This is a deep inlet with a small sandy beach at the end and concrete tanning platforms providing ample (if uncushioned) spots for sunbathers.
Stunning cliff side scenery is par for the course
From Clovelly, hikers pass through Gordon’s Bay. This is the steepest part of the trail, with a series of well-maintained steps up the cliff face. Gordon’s Bay also has an underwater nature trail that you can avail yourself of, if you bring your own snorkel gear.
The end of the 6-kilometer trail brings you to Coogee Beach, a wide stretch of sand that was very swimmer-friendly the day I visited. The truly ambitious then turn around and do the entire hike in reverse. For the rest of us, the main street running along Coogee Beach offers many bus options for returning to downtown Sydney.
If you go: the cliff side walk can easily be done in either direction (I have described it from north to south) and many of the middle stretches also offer bus routes back to central Sydney, so walkers can opt to do less than the full 6km. There is very little shade, so sun protection (hat, sunscreen) is key. There are many small cafes along the way and plenty of places to fill up your water bottle. The trail itself is easy to moderate and can be enjoyed by a wide variety of fitness levels. I walked it in flip flops with no problem. It could be done quickly by somebody looking to push their physical limits, or you can make it last all day by stopping for photos, swims, sunbathing and snacks (a much more enjoyable process, to my way of thinking).
