Sydney tide times

Sydney Harbour — Port Jackson — is 54 square kilometres of drowned river valley containing the city's two most famous structures (the bridge, 1932; the opera house, 1973), a working international port, dozens of sheltered beaches, and a ferry network that functions as genuine public transport rather than tourist attraction. The tidal waterway that cuts into the city's eastern suburbs is an amenity that most global capitals lack: Manly, Balmoral, Clontarf, Chinamans Beach, and Murray Rose Pool are all swimming beaches inside the harbour, reachable by ferry or a short bus ride from the CBD.

Tidal range at Sydney is 1.2 to 1.6 metres at springs — enough to matter for beach planning and harbour navigation. Fort Denison in the middle of the harbour has been the primary Sydney tide gauge since 1886. At low tide, the harbour's tidal flats expose and the sand banks at Balmoral and Chinamans are more extensive. For surf, the ocean beaches east of the Heads (Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Manly) use tidal state to manage bank conditions.

Bondi Beach is the headline: 1 kilometre of sand, an ocean pool at each end (Icebergs at the south, Bondi at the north), a consistent beach break that has produced waves since before the surf life-saving movement started there in 1906. The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk (6 km one way) links Bondi to Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly, and Coogee along ocean cliffs with views over the Tasman Sea — one of the most used walking routes in the country. Each beach on the route has an ocean pool, a surf club, and its own micro-character.

Manly, on the north side of the Heads, is a ferry ride from Circular Quay (about 30 minutes) — still considered the best value transport experience in Sydney. The beach is north-facing and catches northeast swell more directly than Bondi; the surf school density is highest here. The Manly Scenic Walkway (9 km) connects Manly to Spit Bridge along harbour foreshores and national park.

The ocean pools are a specifically Sydney institution. More than 100 rock pools are scattered along the ocean coast from Palm Beach in the north to Cronulla in the south; Bronte, Malabar, Mahon (Maroubra), and the Coogee Women's Baths are among the best known. The pools fill on each tide cycle and provide calm swimming against the ocean backdrop without the unpredictability of surf. Most are unattended and free.

Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height — model-derived, not from a local gauge. For authoritative Australian tide data, consult the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).