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Manly surf guide

Sydney's ferry-linked beach suburb, with peaks along Manly beach and the heavy Queenscliff Bombora.

Location

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (-33.7970, 151.2880)

Best season

Mar – Aug: March, April, May, June, July, August

Water temperature

18–24°C (boardshorts (warmest) to 3/2 mm (coldest))

Waves

Beach break, Reef break

Suits

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers

Live surf cams in Manly

• Curl Curl: Stewart House (Surfline), free

Surf pools near Manly

• URBNSURF Sydney, Sydney: 21 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.

All surf pools: surf pools worldwide.

Surf spots in Manly

• North/ South Steyne: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-33.7960, 151.2899)
• Sydney (Manly): Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW) (-33.7947, 151.2880)
• Winki Pop / Fairy Bower: Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces N (offshore wind from the S), best at low to mid tide (-33.7989, 151.2980)
• Queenscliff: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-33.7879, 151.2899)
• Curl Curl: Beach break, left-hander, advanced surfers, faces SE (offshore wind from the NW), best at all tides. Experts only. (-33.7706, 151.2971)
• Dee Why Point: Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW), best at mid tide (-33.7545, 151.2989)
• South Narrabeen: Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW), best at all tides (-33.7301, 151.3049)
• North Narrabeen: Point break, left-hander, advanced surfers, faces SE (offshore wind from the NW), best at all tides (-33.7053, 151.3081)
• Warriewood: Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces E (offshore wind from the W), best at low to mid tide (-33.6898, 151.3101)
• Mona Vale: Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides (-33.6840, 151.3114)
• Bungan: Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at low to mid tide (-33.6676, 151.3211)
• The Peak (Newport Beach): Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-33.6524, 151.3251)
• Bilgola Beach: Reef break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces SE (offshore wind from the NW), best at all tides (-33.6454, 151.3299)
• Little Avalon: Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces E (offshore wind from the W), best at mid tide (-33.6390, 151.3341)
• Avalon: Point break, left-hander, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-33.6361, 151.3339)

What's on in Manly

Manly has the Northern Beaches' liveliest evenings: pubs, small bars and restaurants along the Corso and the wharf, with live music at weekends and regular festivals (Manly Jazz in September). No current fixed weekly nights could be confirmed for November–December; the ferry takes you to central Sydney in 20 minutes.

Updated 2026-11-06.

Where to stay in Manly

232 places to stay within 10 km: 137 hotel, 30 guest house, 19 holiday rental, 14 hostel, 13 bed and breakfast, 12 resort, 3 motel, 2 apartment, 1 caravan site, 1 camp site. Compare them by distance to the nearest surf spot on the interactive map.

Hostels: Boardrider Backpacker & Budget Motel, Manly backpackers hostel, Stoke Beach House, Manly Beach Hut, Manly Bunkhouse, Sydney Collaroy Beachhouse YHA.

Cafés, food and surf shops

415 cafés and bakeries, 743 restaurants and bars, 17 surf schools and 33 surf shops nearby. Surf schools: Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia, Chix Surf School, North Steyne Surf Life Saving Club, Manly Surf School, Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club, Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club, Freshwater Beach Boot Camp & Surfing school, South Curl Curl Surf Lifesaving Club.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to surf in Manly?

The best surf season in Manly 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 Manly?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Manly's best spot were good or better most often in May (71% of days, 20% great), July (70% of days, 17% great) and April (67% of days, 17% great), and least often in December (9%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

Do I need a wetsuit in Manly?

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

Is Manly good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Manly suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include North/ South Steyne, Queenscliff, The Peak (Newport Beach) and Avalon.

What are the surf spots in Manly?

Manly has 15 surf spots on Swell Cabin: North/ South Steyne (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW), best at all tides); Sydney (Manly) (Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW)); Winki Pop / Fairy Bower (Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces N (offshore wind from the S), best at low to mid tide); Queenscliff (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides); Curl Curl (Beach break, left-hander, advanced surfers, faces SE (offshore wind from the NW), best at all tides); Dee Why Point (Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW), best at mid tide); South Narrabeen (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ENE (offshore wind from the WSW), best at all tides); North Narrabeen (Point break, left-hander, advanced surfers, faces SE (offshore wind from the NW), best at all tides); Warriewood (Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces E (offshore wind from the W), best at low to mid tide); Mona Vale (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides); Bungan (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at low to mid tide); The Peak (Newport Beach) (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides); Bilgola Beach (Reef break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces SE (offshore wind from the NW), best at all tides); Little Avalon (Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces E (offshore wind from the W), best at mid tide); Avalon (Point break, left-hander, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides).

Where should surfers stay in Manly?

Swell Cabin lists 232 places to stay within 10 km of Manly, 14 hostels, 30 guesthouses and homestays, 19 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

What is the nightlife like in Manly?

Manly has the Northern Beaches' liveliest evenings: pubs, small bars and restaurants along the Corso and the wharf, with live music at weekends and regular festivals (Manly Jazz in September). No current fixed weekly nights could be confirmed for November–December; the ferry takes you to central Sydney in 20 minutes.

What is the surf forecast for Manly this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Manly and each of its 15 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/manly: 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 Manly?

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 Manly 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 Sydney Port Jackson tide gauge (4 km away).

Is the Manly surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Manly is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 48 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 66 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 94% of the time after correcting the wave model, which ran 6% low out there (94% 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 Manly?

Trust in this page's data is low (44/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 15 spots fully verified, 14 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; 6 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 Manly?

Yes: Curl Curl on Stewart House (Surfline) (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

Is there a surf pool (wave pool) near Manly?

Yes: URBNSURF Sydney in Sydney (21 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 Manly?

Surf schools in and around Manly include Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia, Chix Surf School, North Steyne Surf Life Saving Club, Manly Surf School, Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club and Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club.

Nearby surf towns

• Bondi, Australia (best Mar – Aug)
• Cronulla, Australia (best Mar – Aug)
• Newcastle, Australia (best Mar – Aug)
• Crescent Head, Australia (best Mar – Aug)
• Yamba & Angourie, Australia (best Mar – Aug)
• Lennox Head, Australia (best Mar – Aug)

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