The best Sydney beaches for snorkelling

Shelly Beach at Manly is the best snorkelling in Sydney for most people: sheltered, fairly shallow and inside a no-take marine reserve. Gordons Bay, next to Coogee, has a 600 m underwater nature trail. Clovelly is calm and patrolled all year. None of them except Clovelly has lifeguards.

Ranked on how sheltered the water is and how much there is to see, then on how close a bed is.

1. 

   1Shelly Beach

   Sheltered, fairly shallow, and inside the Cabbage Tree Bay no-take reserve since 2002: a good first snorkel. Manly’s beds are a 15-minute walk.

   The catch: No lifeguards.

   No beds here; closest is 15 min walk away in Manly. Where to stay →

2. 

   2Gordons Bay

   Calm water and a 600 m underwater nature trail, 8 minutes’ walk from Coogee’s north end.

   The catch: No lifeguards, and steps on the way down.

   No beds here; closest is 8 min walk away in Coogee. Where to stay →

3. 

   3Clovelly Beach

   Calm water in a narrow inlet, patrolled all year.

   The catch: Small, and busy on hot weekends.

   5 places to stay; closest 11 min walk from the sand. Where to stay →

4. 

   4Long Reef Beach

   An aquatic reserve since 1980, with a big rock platform.

   The catch: Rough water and strong rips; no shark net. For experienced swimmers only, on calm days.

   No beds here; closest is 27 min walk away in Dee Why. Where to stay →

Walks are walking times, door to sand, along the OpenStreetMap walking route at 4.8 km/h. Facts come from each beach’s own page, where they’re sourced; checked by 9 October 2026. Nobody paid to be listed.

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