Royal National Park swim · Swim in Royal National Park
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
Swim in Royal National Park
Swim in Royal National Park
Wattamolla lagoon and surf beach is a popular safe swimming spot that you can drive to. It is a truly beautiful spot and the combination of lagoon and surf swimming between rugged cliffs is fantastic. However you will not be the first person to discover the location, and it is quite popular on summer weekends. At many times Wattamolla is simply a paradise lost, now with too many people, tourists, groups and crowds to truly relax. Try a weekday evening to have more space to yourself, arriving at 4PM during the summer still gives you 3 full hours to enjoy the beach. You will no doubt see people jumping from the cliffs into the lagoon below, and swinging from ropes and jumping. The lagoon is very variable depth, and people have had serious injuries jumping here, and needless to say the activity is not allowed. The surf beach is not patrolled, and is not really suitable for surfing, due to the cliffs to either side of the beach. Access Wattamolla by car. Follow the signs to the National Park from the Princes Hwy at Loftus. Continue straight ahead through Audley on Sir Bertram Stevens Drive until you get to the Wattamolla turn. Around 15 minutes drive from the Highway. Wattamolla is also around the halfway point on the Coast Walk from Otford to Bundeena.
Garie is a surf beach also accessible by road. It is patrolled on weekends in summer from 10AM. There is a kiosk selling ice-creams, coffee etc, weekends in summer.
North Era. North Era is patrolled Sundays in summer. You can camp there, right on the beach, with a permit. The shortest walk to car access is to Garrawarra Farm, around 30-45 minutes down the hill. Most people camping there are doing the coast walk from Bundeena to Otford.
Burning Palms. The quickest way to access Burning Palms by car is to park at Garrawarra Farm and walk down the hill to the beach. The walk will take around 30 minutes or so, but its a steep hill on the way back up. Alternatively you can walk from Otford along the coast walk in around 90 minutes. Burning Palms is patrolled on Sundays in summer. The short walk ensures that Burning Palms is always nice and uncrowded.
Werrong is a nudist beach, accessible in about 60 minutes walk from Otford.
Little and Big Marley are unpatrolled beaches, and can be subject to rips, so take care. There is a lagoon behind Big Marley, but its not as nice as Wattamolla and not really suitable for swimming. These beaches are only accessible by walking, and you can usually expect to have them to yourself.
There is no swimming in the river at Audley.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Royal National Park
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Royal National Park - updated Apr 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Royal National Park hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
Royal National Park Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
