A Better Beach

Later on the same day, we checked out another of Sydney's beaches, called Manly Beach. I liked this one much better.

For one thing, it's bigger:


Like Bondi, it also has secluded coves to hike to if you don't fancy a crowd scene:



While it's not actually any further from the city than Bondi (it's about as far north of the harbor entrance as Bondi is south), it feels more remote. The public-transportation route there from downtown is a beautiful 40-minute ferry ride. And while Bondi feels almost as urban as Santa Monica or Venice Beach, the Manly area feels more resort-y, more like Miami Beach, with a pedestrian walkway lined with surfwear stores and fish-and-chips shops:


We didn't actually get to go swimming -- the water temperature, according to a posted sign, was 73 degrees (similar to the Atlantic Ocean at Fire Island in midsummer) and the air was cooler than that. So I look forward to doing a proper beach trip next time I'm in Sydney.

But it will be at Manly, not Bondi.