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Discover the best secret beaches in New South Wales with some of the most breathtaking landscapes in Australia. Get beyond Sydney and away from the usual NSW beach hotspots. Cool off at the best beaches in NSW without the crowds, with these lesser-known beach destinations!
We’ve explored a good stretch of the NSW coast as a family, and these are the beaches we’d point anyone towards — eight genuine hidden gems worth seeking out, and seven iconic beaches that have earned their reputation.
Whether you’re road tripping the Pacific Highway, escaping Sydney for a weekend or planning a longer coastal adventure, there’s something on this list for every type of beach lover.
Discover more of the best places to visit in NSW for your bucket list!
Quick Guide – Best NSW Beaches
- Best for families: Hyams Beach, Green Patch & Yamba
- Best for scenery: Blue Pool, Wategos & Ghosties Beach
- Best for activities: Bondi, Anna Bay &Store Beach
Want to see Australia at your own pace? These Australian road trip itineraries will inspire your self-drive holiday! And get the free printable beach packing list!
The Best Secret Beaches In New South Wales, Australia
Aussies love a beach getaway, and so do the millions of international visitors each year who come seeking Australia’s best beaches.
New South Wales boasts some of the most accessible and stunning coastlines in all of Australia, and they give our Queensland beaches a run for their money!
While everyone else is headed to Bondi Beach or hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite “Home And Away” actors at Palm Beach, why not venture off the beaten track to somewhere more secluded?
These beaches take you to some of the most beautiful places in New South Wales!
So here are some hidden gems for you to enjoy your next trip – in peace.
1. Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay.
Widely believed to have the whitest sand in Australia — fine enough that it squeaks underfoot — Hyams Beach sits between two national parks in Jervis Bay, around 180km south of Sydney.
The water is calm, clear and brilliant blue, making it one of the best swimming beaches in the state.
It’s excellent for families — the beach stretches almost 3km, so even on busy summer days you can find your own patch of sand. Snorkelling, fishing and coastal walks are all on offer, and there’s an on-site café, bathrooms and changing rooms.
For something even more secluded, nearby Murrays Beach in Booderee National Park is equally beautiful and quieter.
2. Green Patch Beach
Located within Booderee National Park about 3 hours south of Sydney, Green Patch Beach is one of the best family beaches in NSW.
The water is calm and turquoise — shallow enough for young kids to splash around safely — and the rock platforms are great for spotting fish, squid and octopus in the pools.
Wallabies and echidnas are regularly spotted on the nearby bush tracks, and Scottish Rocks — just a short walk away — is a brilliant snorkelling spot. BBQ and picnic facilities make it an easy full-day stop.
3. Store Beach, Manly
Right in the heart of Sydney, Store Beach is a beautiful hidden gem, only accessible with a boat, kayak or a stand-up paddleboard. These can be hired from nearby Manly Kayak hire, just near the Manly wharf.
Surrounded by bushland, this calm little cove is perfect for a relaxing day in the water.
It’s great for kids if you don’t mind doing most of the paddling yourself! And perfect if you don’t want to venture too far from the city.
If you’re feeling energetic, keep kayaking along to Collins Flat, or even further to Quarantine Beach, where you can grab a coffee and enjoy the views.
Take a Kayak tour to Store Beach, Quarantine Beach and Reef Beach, including picnic lunch, to see even more hidden gems in the area.
4. Anna Bay
Around 15 minutes from Newcastle, Anna Bay sits at the edge of the Stockton Bight sand dunes — the largest coastal sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere.
The dunes are the main event here, whether you explore them on a guided quad bike, camel or horse tour, or tackle them independently with a sandboard.
The beach itself is a great surf beach with a friendly local dolphin population, good year-round fishing and rock pools along the shore.
There’s a café overlooking the bay and plenty of farm gate stalls nearby for fresh produce if you’re putting together a beach picnic.
5. Blue Pool at Bermagui
The Blue Pool at Bermagui is one of NSW’s most photogenic spots — a naturally formed ocean pool nestled among dramatic cliffs on the Sapphire Coast, filled with fresh ocean water and named for the vivid blue sky reflections it creates. It looks almost too beautiful to be real.
There are two pools — a smaller, calmer one perfect for young kids and a larger one for swimming laps and open water swimming.
Visit at sunset for the best light. It’s a great whale watching spot in season too.
6. Wattamolla Beach
Only an hour south of Sydney in the Royal National Park, Wattamolla is three beaches in one — a sheltered ocean cove, a freshwater lagoon perfect for kids, and a slightly rougher surf beach for more adventurous swimmers.
There’s also a waterfall tucked around the back.
The beach is also part of the Coast Track, which runs up the coast through the National Park, so there are plenty of beautiful trails to explore.
Check out the nearby Wattamolla Dam, which has beautiful views across the bay, and try to spot some whales during Winter.
Enjoy a full day coastal hiking experience from Sydney through Royal National Park and see Wattamolla beach and lagoon.
7. Maitland Bay
Maitland Bay in Bouddi National Park on the Central Coast is around 90 minutes from Sydney and genuinely worth the effort.
The beach is only accessible via the 20-minute Maitland Bay Track, which winds through gullies and rainforest — the walk itself is half the experience.
Once you arrive, the bright green water is stunning, and at low tide, you can see the remains of the PS Maitland, a shipwreck from the late 1800s, visible at the water’s edge. Because of the walk in, it’s almost never crowded.
8. Mungo Beach
Around 3 hours north of Sydney, Mungo Beach is one of the longest beaches in NSW at over 16km.
It sits within Myall Lakes National Park and is about as far from crowded as a beach can get — you can walk for a long time without seeing another person.
The beach is known for its swell and is popular with surfers and fishers.
Swimming isn’t recommended unless conditions are calm, but it’s excellent for 4WD driving along the beach, exploring nearby lakes by kayak, and just finding a completely empty stretch of coastline to call your own.
9. Yamba, NSW North Coast
Yamba is one of our favourite beach stops on the NSW coast and one we keep coming back to. It’s the kind of place that feels genuinely unhurried — a beautiful coastal town that hasn’t lost its soul to tourism despite being one of the best beach destinations in the state.
The ocean pools are the highlight for us — we spent a good chunk of one visit exploring the rock pools with the girls, turning over rocks to see what creatures were hiding underneath.
Yamba Beach and Pippi Beach are both beautiful, with the kind of clean, uncrowded surf that’s increasingly hard to find on the east coast.
The headland walk between the two beaches has great coastal views and is easy enough for kids. Between May and October, there’s also a good chance of spotting humpback whales passing offshore.
It’s a genuinely lovely place to slow down for a day or two, or at nearby Woolgoolga, where you might spot the shipwreck if you’re lucky.
Best Beaches In NSW If You Don’t Mind The Crowds
There’s no shortage of amazing beaches in New South Wales, and whether you’re looking for a place to relax or an adventure-packed coastline, you’ll find a beach perfect for you. We shared the best secluded beaches in NSW, but what about those iconic bucket list beaches you can’t miss!
Here are just a few of the best beaches in NSW if you want even more:
10. Bondi Beach
Bondi is one of the most famous beaches in the world for good reason. The golden sand, the curve of the bay and the views from the headland are genuinely beautiful — and despite the crowds, it never quite loses its appeal.
We’ve been, and on a clear day, it’s hard not to be impressed although it wouldn’t be our first choice of where to go, just because of its popularity.
The beach itself is excellent for swimming and surfing, but don’t miss the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk — one of the best urban coastal walks in Australia, taking you along the clifftops past a series of ocean pools and quieter coves.
The Bondi Icebergs ocean pool is worth a visit too, particularly in the early morning before the crowds arrive.
11. Wategos Beach, Byron Bay
Wategos is the most beautiful beach in Byron Bay and significantly quieter than the main beach. It sits at the base of the Cape Byron headland, sheltered by the point, with crystal clear water and the lighthouse visible on the clifftop above.
We mainly came for the Cape Byron walking track which passes right above the beach — the coastal views are spectacular and it’s an easy walk suitable for kids. Wategos itself is perfect for a swim at the end of the walk.
Little Wategos Beach, just around the point, is worth exploring too for rock pools and a quieter spot away from even Wategos’ modest crowds.
12. Ghosties Beach, Central Coast
Ghosties Beach on the Central Coast is one of NSW’s most dramatic and photogenic spots — sea caves carved into the sandstone cliffs that are genuinely spectacular, particularly at low tide when you can explore inside them.
It’s become well known on Instagram for good reason.
Access requires a short scramble down a track — check tide times before you go as the caves are best explored at low tide. It’s worth timing your visit right.
13. Pebbly Beach, Murramarang National Park
Pebbly Beach on the South Coast is famous for one thing above all else — the resident Eastern Grey kangaroos that come down to the beach to graze and sunbathe on the grassy headland.
It’s one of the few places in Australia where you can genuinely share a beach with kangaroos, and it’s as magical as it sounds.
The beach itself is beautiful and peaceful, backed by Murramarang National Park. There’s a campground right at the beach if you want to stay and make the most of the wildlife spotting in the early mornings and evenings.
14. Caves Beach, Central Coast
Caves Beach sits on the Swansea Peninsula between Lake Macquarie and the Pacific Ocean and is named for the network of sandstone caves you can explore along the shoreline.
It’s a great spot for swimming and surfing, and the cave exploration gives it something most Central Coast beaches lack — a genuine point of difference for curious kids.
The surrounding area has good walking trails and the lake on the other side of the peninsula gives families a calmer water option if the surf is up.
15. Seven Mile Beach, Gerroa
Seven Mile Beach in the Seven Mile Beach National Park near Gerroa is exactly what the name promises — an enormous, beautiful stretch of sand with the national park bushland as a backdrop.
It’s never crowded despite being only about 2 hours from Sydney.
For families with young kids it’s particularly good — the shallow mouth of the Crooked River at the southern end is perfect for toddlers to paddle in safely, while the main beach has gentle enough waves for older kids to swim and surf. Surf lessons, snorkelling and windsurfing are all available.
16. Manly Beach, Manly
Simon has spent quite a bit of time at Manly, and it’s easy to understand why it’s one of Sydney’s most loved beaches.
The combination of a great surf beach, a vibrant café and restaurant strip along The Corso, and the 12-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay make it one of the most accessible and enjoyable beach days you can have from the city.
The surf is consistent and there are several surf schools along the beach if you want to have a lesson.
For walkers, the Manly to Spit Bridge coastal walk is outstanding — 10km along the Middle Harbour foreshore with great harbour views throughout.
Whether you are a New South Wales local, planning an Aussie getaway or road trip through the state, you will love exploring the best NSW beaches and secret beach locations! And don’t miss a chance to visit the beautiful coastal town of Yamba.
If you’re visiting Sydney, be sure to check out these fun things to do in Sydney with kids and Sydney indoor activities in case you luck out with a rainy day!
Don’t miss any of the essential road trip stops between Sydney and Brisbane and get beyond the big cities and explore the best country towns in New South Wales.
Plan Your Trip
Here are a few things we always organise before travelling:
- Stay connected: We use Airalo eSIM
- Car hire: Compare options with DiscoverCars
- Travel insurance: Check SafetyWing or World2Cover via Klook
- Airport transfers: Book with Welcome Pickups
- Accommodation: Find the best deals here
- Tours: We always use GetYourGuide
This is one thing we never travel without
Travel insurance is one of those things you hope you never need — but it’s absolutely worth having, especially when travelling with kids. For flexible coverage, we’ve used SafetyWing, and World2Cover through Klook is another solid and affordable option.
For more of the best beaches in Australia:
Book accommodation in NSW to base yourself while you explore Sydney and its surroundings.
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