Things to do in Manly

Manly is the most visited Northern Beaches suburb for a reason, with so many things to do you could easily spend a couple of days making the most of the beachside suburb.

Take a picturesque 30 minute ferry ride across Sydney Harbour to Manly and disembark onto the palm-tree lined Corso, seven miles from Sydney and 1,000 miles from care!

Dive in to the clear, warm waters and discover a vibrant aquatic reserve, or sip on sunset drinks and watch the sun slip over the horizon. Before you begin to explore, make sure you call in at the Visitor Information Centre located at Manly Wharf, to collect your free map and guide of the area.

We’ve put together some of the best things to do while you are visiting Manly.

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Things to do

Kayak Manly Cove

Discover Manly Cove from a new angle and hire a kayak from the Manly Kayak Centre or Manly Sailing. If you are looking for the best locations, have a read of the secret spots that you can explore by kayak.  Explore the area on your own or join a tour for a 90 minute adventure with the team at Manly Kayak Centre.

Have a go at Stand up paddle boarding (SUP)

In Manly you are spoilt for choice with places to stand up paddleboard with both Manly Cove and Shelly Beach, being popular with locals.  Have a read of some of the best places to SUP on the Northern Beaches for local tips and tricks.

Hit up a local market

Markets are a great way to shop for local gifts and homewares in Manly. The weekend market, Manly Market Place runs from 10am to 5pm on the Corso and Sydney Road. There is a huge variety of goods on offer from eco-friendly items, artisan products, handcrafted jewellery, unique imports, vintage apparel and original art.

Every third Saturday of the month another market is run at the Manly Village School in the heart of Manly. They host around a hundred stalls, offering a huge variety of goods, including fresh produce and food to second-hand and boutique clothing. It’s a great market to enjoy perusing knick-knacks, vintage items or local crafts, before or after heading to the beach.

Hire a bike

Hire a bike from Manly Bikes and explore the Manly area on a scenic bike ride for either to North Head or cycle along the Manly Beach. You will cycle past some of the most iconic attractions in Manly, including Manly Beach, North Fort, North Head Sanctuary and Qstation as well as Collins Beach. Check out our list of the best bike routes on the Northern Beaches.

Go on a scenic walk

Manly is lucky to be home to some of the most amazing walks in Sydney and the end of the iconic Bondi to Manly walk. If you are looking for a leisurely stroll, we recommend you do the Manly to Shelly Beach walk or simply walk alongside the beach. For a more heart pumping walk try the stunning Manly to Spit walk or explore the North Head Sanctuary.

Read our Manly Walking Guide for more information in regards to walking times, location and lengths.

Learn to surf

Manly Beach is the perfect place to learn to surf with Manly Surf School operating group and private lessons daily.  The friendly instructors will show you all the basics and will have you up on your feet and surfing by the end of the 2 hour lesson.

Dive deep into Cabbage Tree Bay

Manly is lucky to be home to Cabbage Tree Bay, an aquatic reserve with over 150 different species of fish for you to discover. Including iconic species such as blue groupers, giant cuttlefish, wobbegongs and a resident green turtle. With the calm waters it is the perfect spot to snorkel or dive and you’ll be amazed what you will see.

Manly Wormhole

To find the Manly Wormhole turn left at the end of the Corso and take a stroll beside the beach. When you get to the end of the walkway at Queenscliff Beach, you will walk around the rockpool and climb the rocks to find the hidden tunnel. The impressive tunnel was carved out by fishermen over 100 years ago and is still a great spot to go visit! The best time to visit is in the morning, as the adjacent headland casts a shadow in the afternoon

Be careful at high tide and when there are large waves, as the rocks can be slippery!

Try Manly Waterworks

Manly Waterworks is Manly’s Water Park and is the perfect thing to do with kids. Open every day during school holidays and weekends the rest of the year.

Check out the historical Q station

The Q Station is a historical site located on North Head and was used to Quarantine passengers from 1830’s to 1984. They have 65 heritage buildings that have been repurposed as hotel accommodation, two restaurants, a café and museum. The grounds are free to explore, but if you want to get the full experience we recommend you book one of their amazing tours.

During the day they have a historical one hour Quarantine wander tour and a wildlife tour. In the evenings they have their spooky ghost tours. For more information check out times and availability on their website, qstation.com.au.

Experience the local Art Galleries

Manly Art Gallery & Museum is dedicated to showing artists from the Northern Beaches region. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm. Be sure to check the ‘What’s on’ page to see the current exhibitions.

Spend the day by the Beach

Manly Beach is one of Australia’s most famous beaches, best known for being the beach where the world’s first surfing contest was held in 1964. The iconic beach, a 1.5 kilometre stretch of golden sand, lined by magnificent Norfolk pines curves two kilometres from South Steyne to North Steyne and Queenscliff.

It also caters for those wanting to learn to surf and most days you will see schools of surfers launching into the rips, paddling hard to get onto that elusive wave.  Swimmers are, advised to swim between the yellow and red flags which are patrolled by lifeguards. At North Steyne, the middle part of the beach, you’ll find volleyball nets and surf board hire, as well as cafes and amenities.

You’re definitely spoilt for choice when it comes to Manly Beach. Whether you want to spread a towel out and enjoy the soft white sand, surf its waves or explore its underwater marine life, whilst snorkeling or diving, there’s something here for everyone.

Swim in one of the local rockpools

Manly is lucky that they have two rockpools, Queenscliff and Fairy Bower which are free for you to swim in.

The Queensclifff rockpool is a 50 metre rock pool at the northern end of Queenscliff Beach, tucked up against the cliffs on the headland.

Located along Marine Parade is the lovely Fairy Bower Pool. It is triangular in shape and the sculptures that sit along the rock edge are known as ‘The Sea Nymphs’ or ‘The Oceanides’, were created by Helen Leete. Built by local residents in 1929, Fairy Bower rockpool is one of a number of historic pools cut and blasted along the New South Wales coast as saltwater bathing became popular.

In winter go whale watching

If you are visiting between May and November, Manly has plenty of spots to see whales. For the most popular whale watching locations on the Northern Beaches read our list on top whale watching spots on the Northern Beaches.

How to get there

Manly is 14 km (8.7 miles) from Sydney’s CBD.

Travelling on public transport?

• Catch a Ferry from wharf 3 in Circular Quay
• Catch a  B1 bus from Wynyard and change at Spit Junction to a 144 bus

Further afield

Looking for more things to do nearby, get inspired with our blogs on things to do in Balgowlah, Freshwater and Seaforth.