# Bondi surf guide

Sydney's iconic city beach — crowded but consistent — with ocean pools and the Bondi-to-Coogee cliff walk.

- **Location:** Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (-33.8910, 151.2770)
- **Best season:** Mar – Aug (March, April, May, June, July, August)
- **Water:** 18–24°C (boardshorts (warmest) to 3/2 mm (coldest))
- **Waves:** Beach break
- **Suits:** Beginner, Intermediate surfers
- **Interactive map, stays and what's on:** https://swellcabin.com/town/bondi
- **Feed (new YouTube surf videos and Instagram posts from Bondi):** https://swellcabin.com/town/bondi?feed

## Live surf cams

- [North Bondi](https://northbondisurfclub.com/webcam/) (Sydney (Bondi)): North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, free

## Surf pools nearby

- [URBNSURF Sydney](https://urbnsurf.com/visit/sydney/), Sydney: 20 km away, Wavegarden Cove. 15 Hill Road, Sydney Olympic Park. Open 7 days in summer, shorter hours in winter; learn-to-surf lessons up to expert sessions.

## Surf spots

- **Sydney (Bondi)**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSE (offshore wind from the NNW), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-33.8932, 151.2781)
- **Bronte Beach**: Reef break, right-hander, all levels, faces E (offshore wind from the W), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-33.9036, 151.2682)
- **Sydney (Maroubra)**: Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides (-33.9482, 151.2580)

## What's on

Bondi's nights run Thursday to Sunday: the Beach Road Hotel is the hub (trivia, live bands, DJs and Sunday sessions), with live music at The Royal on Bondi Road and DJs upstairs at Ravesi's on weekends. Sunday afternoons bring free live music at Lamrock Café through summer. For bigger clubs, central Sydney is a bus ride away.

- **Monday:** Free pool competition at Beach Road Hotel
- **Tuesday:** Trivia night at Beach Road Hotel
- **Friday:** Live bands (indie, rock & covers) at Beach Road Hotel (20:00)
- **Saturday:** DJ dance party at Beach Road Hotel
- **Sunday:** Dusty Sundays: afternoon DJs at Beach Road Hotel; Live Music Sundays (sunset sessions) at Lamrock Café, Campbell Parade

Upcoming: 2026-11-27 The Black Seeds at Beach Road Hotel

_Updated 2026-11-02._

## Where to stay

898 places to stay within 10 km. Surf camps: Surf Camp Australia. Hostels: Wake Up, Bondi Backpackers, The Village Bondi Beach, Noah's Backpackers, Bondi Shores, Muse Living.

## FAQ

### When is the best time to surf in Bondi?

The best surf season in Bondi is Mar – Aug (March, April, May, June, July, August). The sea ranges from 18°C to 24°C over the year.

### Which months have the most good surf days in Bondi?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Bondi's best spot were good or better most often in May (76% of days, 27% great), July (75% of days, 17% great) and April (69% of days, 19% great), and least often in January (18%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

### Do I need a wetsuit in Bondi?

Water temperature in Bondi is 18–24°C: boardshorts (warmest) to 3/2 mm (coldest).

### Is Bondi good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Bondi suits beginner and intermediate surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Sydney (Bondi) and Bronte Beach.

### What are the surf spots in Bondi?

Bondi has 3 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Sydney (Bondi) (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSE (offshore wind from the NNW), best at all tides); Bronte Beach (Reef break, right-hander, all levels, faces E (offshore wind from the W), best at all tides); Sydney (Maroubra) (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides).

### Where should surfers stay in Bondi?

Swell Cabin lists 898 places to stay within 10 km of Bondi, including 1 surf camps such as Surf Camp Australia, 93 hostels, 141 guesthouses and homestays, 36 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

### What is the nightlife like in Bondi?

Bondi's nights run Thursday to Sunday: the Beach Road Hotel is the hub (trivia, live bands, DJs and Sunday sessions), with live music at The Royal on Bondi Road and DJs upstairs at Ravesi's on weekends. Sunday afternoons bring free live music at Lamrock Café through summer. For bigger clubs, central Sydney is a bus ride away. Regular nights: Monday: Free pool competition at Beach Road Hotel; Tuesday: Trivia night at Beach Road Hotel; Friday: Live bands (indie, rock & covers) at Beach Road Hotel; Saturday: DJ dance party at Beach Road Hotel; Sunday: Dusty Sundays: afternoon DJs at Beach Road Hotel.

### What is the surf forecast for Bondi this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Bondi and each of its 3 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/bondi: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway).

### When is the best tide to surf in Bondi?

It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Bondi weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times, predicted from the Fort Denison tide gauge (6 km away).

### Is the Bondi surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Bondi is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 37 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 48 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 100% of the time after correcting the wave model, which ran 6% low out there (100% before). Of the three wave models compared, ECMWF has been the closest to the satellites here. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-04.

### How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Bondi?

Trust in this page's data is low (48/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 3 spots fully verified, 3 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; 2 open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md).

### Is there a live surf cam in Bondi?

Yes: North Bondi (Sydney (Bondi)) on North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

### Is there a surf pool (wave pool) near Bondi?

Yes: URBNSURF Sydney in Sydney (20 km away, Wavegarden Cove, https://urbnsurf.com/visit/sydney/). A wave pool works when the sea is flat and is a good place to learn or train; check its website for sessions and seasons.

### Where can I take surf lessons in Bondi?

Surf schools in and around Bondi include Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club, Academy of Surfing Instructors, North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, Ding Dr and Australian Surf Tours.