Can you swim in Sydney Harbour?

Swimming in Sydney Harbour is safe, with dozens of harbour beaches. Best bets for a swim in Sydney Harbour include Balmoral Beach on the North Shore and Milk Beach in Vaucluse.

Swimming in Sydney Harbour? Eek! For many, the word ‘harbour’ conjures up the image of a busy port. Swimming in Sydney Harbour runs the risk of being mowed down by a freighter, or becoming seriously ill courtesy of the polluted water, surely?

Sydney Harbour is not like this. Sure, there are plenty of boats and kayaking tours moving around, but the main port is at Botany Bay further south.

So can you swim in Sydney Harbour? Well, there are certain parts of Sydney Harbour that you can’t swim in, most notably Circular Quay and the Rocks. There’s too much ferry traffic to make that safe. But elsewhere, as you can see from the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge, the harbour is a wonderfully splintered, varied thing dotted with islands.

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Sydney Harbour Beaches

Many of Sydney Harbour’s craggy arms are flanked by national parkland. Green bushland comes right up to the water’s edge. Elsewhere, there are suburbs that are essentially little beach towns, ripe for a Sydney Harbour swim. Balmoral is a fine example of the latter. There’s North Shore suburbia to the rear, a couple of good places to eat and bush-covered headlands to the sides.

Balmoral Beach itself might not have the crashing surf of Bondi or Bronte on the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. But most cities would kill for a beach of such high quality amid the sailing yachts.

Other popular harbour beach suburbs include Watsons Bay and Rose Bay, although you need to watch out for seaplanes landing at the latter.

The loveliest Sydney Harbour beaches, however, are arguably the small, semi-hidden coves. These usually require a short walk before your Sydney Harbour swim.

The best Sydney Harbour beaches include Camp Cove near Watson’s Bay, family-friendly Parsley Bay and Milk Beach in Vaucluse. Get to the latter via the charming and underrated Hermitage Foreshore Walk from Rose Bay to Watsons Bay.

Swim in Sydney Harbour at Milk Beach in Vaucluse, Sydney — Milk Beach in Vaucluse, with its views of the city, is one of the best places to swim in Sydney Harbour. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Safe swimming beaches in Sydney

All of these, and dozens of other Sydney Harbour beaches, are safe for swimming. The water quality in Sydney Harbour may not be pristine, but it’s certainly more than good enough for swimming in.

The lack of surf at the Sydney Harbour beaches is what appeals to many. But if you’re still nervous about a swim in Sydney Harbour, there’s always the option of swimming next to Sydney Harbour.

Sydney Harbour swimming pools

Open air harbourside swimming pools are one of the great features of Sydney. Excellent Sydney Harbour pools include the Andrew Boy Charlton Pool near the Botanic Gardens and the North Sydney Olympic Pool in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge.