Bronte Beach

I took my children to Bronte Beach today by public transport. If you take the bus in, I highly suggest taking the bus was the first stop as this bus fills quickly. It’s also a full bus from the first stop back as people head home. The ride is easy. About 30 minutes for the whole trip but some of the buses on this run only service between Bronte Beach and Bondi Junction.
This was my children’s first time at Bronte Beach and quite possibly my first time as well. This is an excellent beach. The swells can be strong so watch it if you’re not a strong person or strong swimmer. Generally not overly rough though.
The natural rock pool is fantastic with rocks to explore and find crabs and other animals though take care not to pick up little octopus. There’s also a nice area to just swim around in as the rocks shields much of the surf when not rough.
A little farther past the rock pool and the pool are rock formations to enjoy. Climb them, sit on them, seek shade in them. They’re excellent.
There is parkland, a playground and fairly clean toilets for a beach toilet.
Quite a number of life savers and life guards.
We all enjoyed this beach. It’s fantastic and we’ll be back. Definitely.

Bronte Beach, you are just too beautiful! It was my first time to go here after 3.5 years in Sydney, and I thought I couldn’t be impressed by another beach. But I was. This is a relatively small beach (when compared to Bondi or Manly), but it looks really clean and neighborhood-​y. The waves, at least when I went, were perfect for surfers, and there were quite a lot of them out on the water.
There’s a green grassy area with barbecues and lots of tables, and several cafes across the street if you choose not to barbecue. The food at the cafes is pretty good, but a bit pricy for what you get, which would probably be my only complaint about this place.
I was told it gets quite busy in summer and during the weekends, but it was pretty perfect when I went there during the week. Will definitely have to go back here!

Another great Sydney beach! You can take the coastal walk to Bondi and experience one of the most amazing coastal views there are!

When I was 14, I came over to Sydney to visit my dad who was living over here then. I went down to Bronte Beach while he was at work, went in the water as all the English tourist books advise you against doing, and was promptly stung by a jellyfish (or blue bottle — I didn’t see the bastard). It hurt. A lot. English people grow up expecting to not be hurt by anything in nature, so this was a bit of a shock to the system. And unfortunately I hadn’t seen that episode of Friends where they discuss the cure for jellyfish stings, so I just had to «grin» and bear it.
Fortunately, 14 years on and I can appreciate Bronte for what it is — a beautiful, yet small beach, with big waves that I’m very unlikely to be throwing myself into. The grassy area is also a great place to hang out and will get very busy during the summer. The main drag next to the beach is an array of cafés and restaurants, making it a fantastic setting for both breakfast and dinner!
Parking can be a bit of a pain, but don’t let that stopping you from coming down and enjoying it!

At the end of the beautiful Bondi to Bronte walk, you’re presented with a beautiful view of the park and beach from a great height. The best thing about this park is the crowds are so much less than Bondi or Coogee.
The café’s spotted along the side of the park are a perfect accompaniment to the park, and sure to excite for a picnic when you forget to pack lunch. For the naturals, they have some BBQ equipment, and a bunch of tables, and a ice-​cream parlour close to the sand.
No doubt that the waves here are not as big as Tamarrama, and the crowds are a bit quieter than Bondi or Coogee, but it’s a perfect combination of family friendly, and great vibes.

Bronte is a great place to organise a party or BBQ. It is a centralised location so you won’t run the risk of your guests wandering around aimlessly looking for you. It’s also less of a tourist trap than it’s big brother, Bondi Beach, which makes the atmosphere a bit more laid back.
I like Bronte because the grassy park blends easily into the sandy beach. You can be lounging on the grass under a shady tree and be at the water’s edge for a dip in no time at all. There are a few key cafes surrounding the cove, but nothing mainstream. If want some goods from the bottle shop (not legal, but I won’t tell if you don’t), you will need to source them before you head over to Bronte, because there isn’t one here.
Bronte a good place for the kids, it’s a good place to sunbake, it’s a great place to BBQ, and it’s a fantastic place to roll like a log down a grassy hill.

Bronte is my favourite of Sydney’s eastern beaches.
It gets reasonably good surf (better than Coogee anyway), the shore isn’t as packed as Bondi, it seems to draw a less ‘cakeface’ crowd than Coogee (i.e. fewer women with four inch faces of makeup for the beach) and it has a beautiful and expansive adjoining park, perfect for BBQs and those beach lovers but sand haters.
Bronte makes for a great day at the beach. Their BBQ facilities are top quality and they provide a bunch of covered tables. They also have a little kiosk that sells all your beach-​side favourites like slushies, killer pythons and sausage rolls. Bronte is frequently (as in every time I’ve been there) patrolled and if the waves are a little daunting, or if you’re up for a few laps, the Bronte ocean pool is a top cliff-​side pool that doesn’t charge entry (unlike at Bondi).
Free parking (limited on weekends) can be found off the main strip.

Q: What do you call a man with no arms and legs swimming in the ocean?
A: Bob
Call me grandma, but that’s me to a tee. I like to float, bob and lightly paddle in the ocean when I go to the beach, which is why Bronte is my favourite beach. While Bondi has the crowds and Tamarama has the dumping waves, Bronte has the natural rock pools which provide a calmer ocean pool perfect for floating, bobbing and lightly paddling in.
Bronte is the more laid-​back child friendly of the three beaches and while Clovelly and Gordon’s Bay are also relatively calm paddling havens, the lack of masses of sandy shores is what gives Bronte the edge.
Add to this the nearby strip of cafes and restaurants, the ocean pool for lap swimming and the huge grass park area and Bronte is definitely the big winner.
Need further proof? Check out the photos.

Bronte Beach is really kid-​friendly, as is the adjacent Bronte Park. The waves here can be major dumpers and watch out for bluebottles in Summer, yeeowch! The natural rock pool at the south end of the beach is a safe haven from both of those although on bad days the odd blue bottle does slip through the rocks so protection is not guaranteed.
Walk around these rocks at low tide and you’ll often see sea creatures that get trapped there til the tide comes in and washed them back out into to the ocean. Commonly spotted are octopuses– both brown and the extremely dangerous tiny blue-​ringed. Do not touch! I’ve also seen a HUGE pink moray eel trapped in here, it’s always worth a look. The ocean pool at the very South or the beach is a good place to swim laps, as a lot of older locals do daily, and if you need a swim on a blue bottle day you can take refuge here.