Bondi to Coogee Walk, Sydney: Best beaches and attractions

Sydney’s 8km Bondi to Coogee coastal walk includes sculpture at Bondi, surfers at Tamarama and ocean baths at Bronte. The walk continues through Waverley Cemetery, past snorkeller-friendly Clovelly and the underwater sculpture trail at Gordon’s Bay.

Complete guide: The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk is a long-standing Sydney favourite, and for very good reason.

The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk is approximately 8km long. It winds along the clifftops, then dips onto the beaches.

It’s easy enough to march along for two to three hours, but it’s a far finer experience if you make a day of it. Perhaps after an early morning surfing lesson at Bondi Beach? It’s easy enough to take public transport from a Sydney CBD hotel rather than staying in Bondi accommodation, however.

Bondi to Coogee Coastal walk: Bondi to Tamarama

This is particularly the case in October and November, when the route is brightened by Sculpture By The Sea. There’s a taster of this in the Hunter Sculpture Park at the top where Bondi Road carries round to the beach. One looks like a wooden pin through a box. Another a half circle castle turret. One is a little stick figure with arms in the air. Then there’s a squiggly silver thing. It’s fair to say abstraction wins the day here.

Down by the water’s edge is Bondi Icebergs, a celeb-friendly swimming club. People come to hang out as much as they do to take to the water. But from above, that pool sure looks magnificent.

The busiest stretch of the Sydney to Coogee walk is from Bondi Iceberg to Tamarama Beach round the corner. There are an lot of people clad in lycra, although very few of them seem to be jogging. Others are at one end of a lead, their dogs exerting far more energy than they do.

The people-watching is great, but don’t let it detract from how gorgeous the coastal scenery is. As a boardwalk heads over the rocks, the sea crashes onto them below. There are cave-esque overhangs at the side, pockmarked and smoothed by time and erosion. The smoothness of the lighter rock is remarkable. It looks almost deliberately sculpted.

Mark’s Park nature trail

Plants in these parts have to be fairly hardy, and a sign at Mark’s Park gives information on them. “You will notice how the salt-laden winds have pruned the plants along the coastline to different heights,” it reads. “In these conditions, plants must be tough enough to survive. The special features they have developed to survive the dry, exposed conditions include small, hard leaves to prevent water loss, shiny or hairy stems of leaves to reflect sunlight or waxy, fleshy leaves (like cactus) to conserve water.”

Between the plants are important nesting sites for birds and lizards, and lots of saplings are surrounded by green protective wrapping – presumably to stop them being eaten.

Beside the trail are little outdoor gym stations, offering sit-up benches, chin-up bars and wooden step-up blocks.

Bondi to Coogee Walk: Tamarama to Bronte

Next up is Tamarama Beach, popular with surfers. Tamarama is much smaller than its better-known neighbour around the headland. It also has a reputation of being somewhat more dangerous than Bondi, too. A sign says “no flag, no swim” – indicating that you should not get in the water if the lifeguard’s red and yellow flags aren’t flying.

Bronte Beach comes next, and it has long been regarded as the family beach. There’s a massive park behind the beach, with a playground and public barbecues. There are also ocean baths – something of an institution in Australia – cut into the coastline for those who don’t fancy taking on the surf.

Bondi to Coogee Coastal walk: Bronte to Clovelly

Beyond Bronte the walk temporarily ceases to hug the coast, passing through Waverley Cemetery. There are some massive family vaults here – most bearing Italian names – plus some gorgeously-carved angels and Christ figures. It’s clear that this is a prestigious place to be laid to rest, as the headland position overlooking the Tasman Sea would suggest.

Also boasting a prime position is the Clovelly Bowling Club. A sign outside says “coast walkers welcome”, and it’s a very casual affair. Most bowlers are barefoot, with beers at the side of the green.

It’s the next two bays, however, that are perhaps the most underrated on the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk.

Clovelly Beach looks ugly, largely due to the dubious decision to concrete it in on two sides, creating a long, relatively narrow channel rather than a delicately curving bay. This does, however, make it the best of the beaches for swimming outside of Sydney Harbour.

Bring a snorkel and mask to Clovelly. It may not quite be the Great Barrier Reef, but there are plenty of fish to ogle. Signs by the surf club explain what can be seen down there. The skipjack trevally is silver with a yellow stripe. The senator wrasse green with black and yellow stripes. The red morwong is salmony coloured. And the incredibly weird spiky beastie with leopard-esque spots turns out to be a three bar porcupine fish.

Bondi to Coogee Coastal walk: Clovelly to Coogee

The final stop before Coogee is arguably the loveliest of all, and that’s largely because there’s no beach to speak of at Gordons Bay. A few tin boats are stored up against the rocks, but sunbathers are notable by their absence. Instead, a few clusters of people hang out by the rock pools. Some will go to investigate the underwater sculpture trail, some will see what life they can find in the marine reserve below.

Others will just enjoy the simplicity of sitting by the sea, as nature intended, without a man-made alteration in sight.

Once in Coogee, the best place for a swim is Wylie’s Baths – an ocean pool fed by the tides.

Other great walks in Sydney include the Hermitage Foreshore Walk, Glebe Foreshore Walk, Parramatta River Walk, Federation Clifftop Walk and Bradleys Head to Chowder Bay Walk.

More reasons to venture away from Sydney Harbour

Street art tours in Newtown.

Should I stay at the beach in Sydney?

Frank Gehry architecture in Ultimo.

Riverboat Postman cruise on the Hawkesbury River.

Bilgola Beach on the Northern Beaches.