Palm Beach is a suburb in Sydney, the top most Northern Sydney beach. The greater Palm Beach area is made up of two beaches Palm Beach (the south part of the beach) and Barrenjoey Beach (the north part of the beach).
Sitting on Barrenjoey Beach or Palm Beach you can look out to the sea and just make out the outline of the Central Coast. If you’re there from May to November you may even get to see some whales.
How to get to Palm Beach
To get to either beach you’ll most likely travel the same way (along Barrenjoey Road). Just aim for Beach Road because then you can decide to go left (past Dunes Restuarant) to go to the North end of the beach or right (along Ocean Road) to the South end.
Palm Beach is one of our most favourite beaches in Sydney, all 3 kilometres of it. It is absolutely beautiful and wide enough to fit thousands and thousands of people. I don’t know why but every trip to Palm Beach feels like holiday.
With its magnificent translucent water and soft clean sand it is a gorgeous beach to visit. The sand just goes on and on. If you live in Sydney and haven’t been to Palm Beach, what are you doing!?! Go this weekend or the next.
The Problems with Palm Beach
Yes, there is one slight problem in that it is the filming location of Home and Away which does make it an Australian tourist attraction but its okay you can use this to your advantage and hope on the L90 from the City if you’re keen to see it for yourself.
Oh and the other slight little issue – it can take up an hour to get there from the City. It’s 41 kilometres from the City.
Barrenjoey Beach
Barrenjoey Beach is the more natural of the two beaches, it has a wide stretch of beach with crushing waves and a picturesque lighthouse on the headland.
There are life guards in a small area of the beach and as it can be quite wild swimming with big waves, rips and tides I would strongly suggest that you stay within the Life Guard flags.
If you’re keen to spend some time out at Palm Beach and make a whole day of it, you can have a BBQ or picnic on the grass adjacent to the beach. Barrenjoey Beach is best for this as the grass between the sand and the road is wide. You should have enough space for a family soccer game – and there is lots of shade to keep the little ones from getting burnt.
Palm Beach
Of the two beaches, Palm Beach is better for family swimming. The water is calmer, the beach is flatter and easier to walk along and there is an ocean pool.
The ocean pool, while 35m long, does have a deep end and shallow end so the little ones can enjoy it too. It’s not too far away from where you can sit on the beach so you won’t have to walk across the hot sand long.
There is parking which is directly on the beach but on the weekend and in season it is full from mid-morning so if you want a parking you are going to have to get there early.
There are showers and public toilets.
Governor Phillip Park and Barrenjoey Lighthouse
On the other side of the Palm Beach headland is Governor Phillip Park. If you’re keen on accessing the Lighthouse or wanting a good meal this is where you want to go.
For the walk – prepare to take a 30 minute walk which requires a moderate level of fitness (no I haven’t gone because I dont know how my kids would handle it). You can take a 30 minutes guided tour if you visit on a Sunday between 11am and 3pm. You will have to pay of the tour but its only $5 for adults and $2 for kids.
For a meal – visit The Boathouse. Their hamburgers and breakfasts are awesome. They also happen to make a great baby chino. Just make sure to keep an eye on your little one because there is water access that doesn’t have a guard rail.
♦
For more Sydney beaches to visit try one of the following: