Sydney’s Best Beaches: Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk

Once in Sydney, Australia, you have to take the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. The walk follows the Pacific shoreline from Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach to the equally pretty beach of Coogee 6 km south. In between you will walk through many other pretty beaches like Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly.

So you with a good reason you can say that the Bondi to Coogee walk connects Sydney’s best beaches, but that’s not all. Outside the beaches you will walk on cliffs and rocks and see the majestic ocean. So this walk really makes a nice day out from the city.

Sydney’s best beaches: Bondi

So the walk is 6 km long but you can interrupt it at any time and just stay on your favourite beach, taking a bus back to Central Sydney. Yet since the scenery is so stunning all the way down to Coogee I would suggest that you walk all the way and take a bus back from Coogee.

Bondi to Coogee coastal walk: Pacific Ocean surf waves

As we really love the scenery we have walked the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk many times in both directions. As we like the walk so much we walk very slowly and walking takes double the time said in Sydney brochures. The Bondi to Coogee walk takes us half a day.

We have to swim in ocean waters, at least once or twice along the way, and it can happen that we get hungry and stop somewhere to have a meal.

Here you can see pictures from along the Bondi to Coogee walk that takes you to some of Sydney’s best beaches.

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk Map

Map of the Bondi to Coogee walk along Sydney shores

The map shows the Bondi to Coogee area and I marked all beaches on the map. The itinerary between the beaches however is marked along roads, it’s not the same as the coastal walk. The coastal walk does not use the roads but follows the ocean shore. The walking route is clearly marked with frequent signs so you can’t get lost.

The walk starts at Bondi Beach.

Bondi Beach

The most famous beach of Australia: Bondi

Bondi is by far the biggest Sydney beach, it’s 50 m wide at the north end and 100 m wide in the south and its length is one kilometre. As Bondi faces the ocean the waves tend to get huge, yet the beach suits both swimmers and surfers.

Bondi Beach in photos:

Photos of Bondi Beach, Sydney. Click on the small photos to see them in a slide show.

Bondi is a perfect beach for a family day out, it’s a beach for everyone. Lined by trendy seaside restaurants, cafes and shops Bondi is a nice shopping area as well.

As we went by we only looked briefly into one or two shops and as a result bought two shopping bags full of various items. We should have thought about that we now had to carry them with us all the way to Coogee. But things happen.

If you have time for just one beach while in Sydney, go and see Bondi Beach.

How to Get to Bondi Beach from Sydney

Bondi Beach sunbathers

The normal way to get to Bondi is by bus or car, but as Sydney traffic is very slow it takes a lot of time. It might help if you take a train to Bondi Junction from Circular Quay and a bus only for the last 3 km from there.

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk

To make the most out of our walking trips we mostly pack our swimsuits and beach towels, just in case we should need them. And we never forget our water bottles and sunscreens.

Bondi Baths, Sydney

The coastal walk begins above Bondi Baths and Bondi Icebergs clubhouse at the south end of the Beach. Icebergs members come here and swim every Sunday during the winter, which must be exiting even if for me as a Scandinavian winter swimming in Australia doesn’t sound very extreme.

The walking trail begins with a lot of steps between sharp special-looking rocks. Then around the corner walking gets easier and the path is in general in a very good condition. Before the first beach Tamarama, there is a lookout in a place called Mackenzies Point.

Bondi to Coogee coastal walk: Mackenzies Point

Tamarama Beach

Bondi to Coogee coastal walk: Tamarama Beach

Tamarama Beach has a yellow Surf Life Saving Club building above it so the life savers can watch you. This is a nice, small beach that above all surfers seem to like.

Photos of Tamarama Beach, Sydney

Around Tamarama there are at least three different sandy coves, quite small but they look nice from the cliffs where the footpath is.

Tamarama Beach from the coastal walk

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk: Bronte Beach

Bronte Beach, one of the best beaches in Sydney

The next beach is Bronte. Bronte Beach is a lot bigger than Tamarama and has a good picnic area with gas barbecues.

Bronte Beach, Sydney

Waverley Cemetery

Waverley oceanfront Cemetery

After Bronte comes Waverley Cemetery where many Australian citizens and among them many notable persons have been buried. From here the walk again follows the cliffs.

Clovelly Bay

Bondi to Coogee coastal walk: Clovelly Bay

The concrete terraces on both sides of Clovelly Bay make the beach feel a bit like an ocean swimming-pool. In autumn when ocean waves are bigger Clovelly beach looks a bit dirty, but in the summer it’s a perfect beach for families. After all walking we already needed a lunch here and the beach restaurant served an excellent lunch.

Gordons Bay

The rocky Gordons Bay

Gordons Bay is not a sandy beach, its very rocky and has a marked underwater route for snorkellers. So this place is not for swimmers but nice to look at from the path.

The path goes on and there is a bowling club area, many stairs to climb and finally we are approaching our destination, Coogee Beach.

Bondi to Coogee coastal walk: approaching Coogee

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk: Coogee Beach

Coogee Beach, the end of the Bondi to Coogee walk

As we started walking first before noon and it all including swimming breaks took so much time, we reached Coogee first at dusk.

Never mind we still took a dip in the Pacific Ocean before the half-an-hour bus trip back to the city. You should really stay longer at Coogee than we did this time, it is a pretty place.

Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia

The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk is a part of a longer Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk. The Eastern Beaches walk continues further south from Coogee so you can keep walking for as long you like and more beaches will follow.

Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk, Sydney

This was the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk, a popular walk with Australians and tourists alike. That means there are always a lot of people walking, at least during the summer months. But as you know the Australian climate is pleasant for walks all year round. It’s always a good time to enjoy Sydney’s eastern shores.

One thing I still have to add: you can walk the route in both directions. It’s as beautiful from Coogee to Bondi as the other way round.