Most convenient beach for Western Sydney?

December 29, 2014 11:06 PM

We went to the beach today (Coogee) and it was awesome. But tolls, parking fees, the stress of driving through busy Sydney and having to drive at all after a long day of sun and swimming really sucked. So I am trying to figure out if there is any beach within about an hour of public transport from here (carlingford) and I can't really see any. But I figure metafilter knows better tricks than google maps, right?

I don't care much what the beach is like, but sand rather than gravel, swimability and a little bit of surf would be my ideal.

I can drive to Eastwood station or any others within about a ten or fifteen minute drive of there if it streamlines things. I'm happy to walk for up to half an hour between stations or at either end. I wouldn't count that towards my one hour travel limit because I enjoy walking.

At the moment the best options I can see are about an hour twenty with three changes, mostly on buses (which I disprefer because I can't read on them without feeling sick), or a longer trip of about two hours on ferries all the way from rydalmere to Manley via circular quay which I would totally do at least once because yay ferries, but is probably not a regular weekend thing because boo four hours plus of travel.

If there is no good public transport quicker than an hour twenty, I'll probably just drive despite the hassles, because I can drive to most of the famous Sydney beaches in 40 minutes or less.

I'd consider river beaches too, if such a thing is closer and actually nice for swimming.

PS let's have a metafilter meet up at the beach!

posted by lollusc to Travel & Transportation around Sydney, Australia (10 answers total)

Cronulla is the only beach I'm aware of that is directly accessible by train. You could drive to Granville station and change trains at Redfern for a 1-hour 26-minute journey. Alternatively, from Redfern you could take the train to Bondi Junction and then the bus to Bondi Beach or another Eastern Suburbs bay. If you decide to drive, it might be less hassle to take the M2 and then head out to the Northern Beaches rather than fighting your way through the city.
posted by embrangled at 11:38 PM on December 29, 2014

Response by poster: It doesn't have to be directly accessible by train. I don't mind a bit of bus travel, just I'd rather not have the majority of the trip be by bus.like, maybe not more than about 20 minutes or so of bus would be great.
posted by lollusc at 11:53 PM on December 29, 2014

I'm not far from you. We drive to Narabeen or go up to the central coast. Takes about the same amount of time. I know lots of people get the train to St Leonard's then bus it to Manly.

Have you been to Greenwich baths? Beautiful.
posted by stellathon at 1:46 AM on December 30, 2014

Response by poster: Hmm, it looks like here to St Leonard's is an hour, and then another hour from there to Manly. I don't think that's an option for us, But Greenwich baths seems totally doable in just over an hour from Eastwood, so thanks for that suggestion!
posted by lollusc at 2:04 AM on December 30, 2014

Greenwich is fantastic and has a cafe and toys and my babies love it. Meet up!!
posted by taff at 2:22 AM on December 30, 2014

My old company had an office in carlingford and we stayed at a hotel in manly beach. Basically took 2 trains (since I hate the bus) to circular quay and then the ferry to the beach. The trains were about 45-50 minutes or less if we got a ride to Epping or Olympic park. Ferrys are pretty regular and about 20 minutes. Our usual commute was around 90-100 minutes and very pleasant I might add.
posted by chasles at 4:03 AM on December 30, 2014

Manly's my local, if you go there I will definitely meetup. Plus, you can take the ferry! Best public transport ever.
posted by Jubey at 5:27 AM on December 30, 2014

Hmm, it looks like here to St Leonard's is an hour

Is that via Epping? Going to St Leonards that way from Eastwood is barely half an hour...
posted by smoke at 2:48 PM on December 30, 2014

Firstly, let me mention 131500.com.au if you're not aware of it.

It looks as though you can get from Eastwood station to Bondi Junction station in about 50 minutes, and from there, you can catch a bus or walk to many of the Eastern Suburbs' best beaches. I would avoid Bondi and Coogee (unless you particularly want to go back there) and consider the quieter beaches like Bronte, Clovelly and Tamarama.

I grew up in Bronte, so I can tell you that you can definitely walk there from Bondi Junction in about half an hour. The walk back will be up a huge hill, though, so you might want to get a bus at least part of the way. They go pretty regularly all day.

Another thing you could do is drive to the suburb of Bronte, park up near Waverley Cemetery, and walk through the cemetery and across the cliffs to the beach. It's about ten-fifteen minutes and surprisingly peaceful.
posted by Georgina at 4:38 PM on December 30, 2014

When I visited Sydney, I was lucky enough to randomly take the ferry to Manly while exploring, and it was wonderful. Something about taking the ferry there, and then walking across through the town, stopping at a little grocery for picnic makings on the way, was such a *civilized* way to go to the beach. On the way back, the ferry is nice and relaxing and has wifi. Also the path down along the shore from the beach to the cliffs is terrific. I was only in Sydney for a week but I went over to Manly twice.

This was probably not helpful -- it's not like I have any local knowledge -- but thanks for reminding me of that while I sit by the fire on the other side of the world!
posted by joeyh at 8:19 PM on December 30, 2014