A Guide to Sydney's Best Ocean Pools
When I arrived in Australia, the thing that struck me most when I started exploring the beaches around Sydney, is the fact that every single one of them has an ocean pool. The first one I discovered is the iconic Icebergs pool in Bondi, and of course I thought it was amazing. Somehow, I also thought that it was quite rare and unique to find this type of pool by the water. I (very) quickly realised I was wrong. All you need is to walk 10 min south of Bondi and you’ll find another one, then another one, and so on. I mean, given how strong the waves sometimes are, it totally makes sense that they’ve built these types of structure to allow swimmers to do laps without having to risk their lives due to strong currents and surfers. Now that I’ve been in Australia for about 4 months, I’ve had the opportunity to visit a fair number of beaches. In this blog article, I want to share some of my favourite pools. I decided to focus only on those that are ocean facing, but note that there are some amazing pools in Sydney Harbour as well.
Sydney
A guide to the city’s best ocean pools
1 • Bondi Icebergs
You have certainly seen the below pictures many times before. Photos of this pool are used everywhere on the internet and in travel guides to promote Australian tourism. Trust me, as soon as I discovered this pool in real life, I immediately understood why it’s so popular! Bondi Beach is incredibly long and beautiful, and will most likely leave you speechless. I’d recommend visiting as early as possible as it tends to get really crowded during the day.
2 • North Curl Curl Rockpool
The beach in Curl Curl is quite long and most people who go there for a visit tend to skip the northern part of the beach, but that’s where you’ll find the amazing rockpool. It is quite separated from the rest of the beach which is why it is surrounded by rocks only.
3 • Fairy Bower Pool
This super cute pool is located in Manly, on the way to Shelly Beach. It is quite small in size therefore it’s not somewhere you can really swim, but its two tiny dancer statues have made it popular. It’s a great photo spot, especially during sunrise. Just a few steps away you’ll find Shelly Beach, which is usually a great place to swim because it’s not facing the ocean directly.
4 • Mona Vale Rockpool
This is probably the pool I was the most looking forward to taking photos of. It’s located in the middle of Mona Vale beach on some sort of rocky shore platform which gives it a stunning look from the sky at high tide. Like many beaches located in the Northern Beaches, you’ll mostly find local surfers and families hanging by the ocean. The little beach kiosk located near the parking lot serves delicious breakfasts.
5 • Shelly Beach Rockpool
Not to confuse with Shelly Beach in Manly, the one down in Cronulla has a big and beautiful rockpool situated right behind the beach pavilion. There’s another similar one located near the city’s main beach, but I find this one more beautiful! If you’re taking a trip down to Cronulla, I’d highly recommend walking around the peninsula in Salmon Haul Reserve. North Cronulla Beach is also an amazing spot for those who like to wake up early to see the sunrise.
6 • Dee Why Rockpool
At the very beginning of this super long white sand beach, which is a really popular surfing spot, you can find another big ocean pool. Because of its location in the water (it’s a bit further away from the shore) a lot of surfers actually walk to the edge of the pool and jump in the water from there instead of paddling from the beach.
7 • Geoff James Pool
This narrow pool is located in the tiny creek at Clovelly Beach. It’s part of the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk so it is impossible to miss if you’re doing the walk. Its waters are usually pretty calm and it’s a great spot for families.
8 • Giles Baths
This place is easy to miss because most people go straight to the beach when they arrive in Coogee after doing the coastal walk from Bondi. I really really like that place because it’s 100% natural and it’s not as touristic as other spots. They’ve built a beautiful staircase in the rocks, which allows you to easily get in the water.
9 • Bronte Baths
Last but not least is the pool in Bronte. I find its shape and colour very unique and I think it looks particularly beautiful from the sky. Like most places on the East Coast of Australia, it’s a great spot to go watch the sunrise.
If you’ve visited other pools that are not mentioned in this article, please let me know in the comments section. There are so many of them all along the coast and they all have a little something special. I’ll definitely be exploring more! 👇🏻