Australia is known as one of the best surfing spots in the world, hosting major pro championships on the Gold Coast and Bells Beach.
While these breaks grab the headlines, New South Wales locals prefer the more laidback atmosphere of the Cronulla Coast, just outside Sydney.
The Cronulla Beaches National Surfing Reserve features seven neighboring beaches: Sandshoes, Greenhills, Shark Island, North Cronulla, Cronulla Point, Voodoo, and Merries Reef. Local surfing royalty Mark Occhilupo, Kirk Flintoff, Andrew Lester, and Steven Warren cut their eye teeth on these waves, which have been delighting generations of surfers since 1914.
If you’re comfortable on a board you’ll fit right in, but if you’re a novice you shouldn’t let that stop you. Cronulla Surf School is the longest running surf school in Sydney. Its instructors will teach you everything you need to start hanging ten. The school also offers surfboard and bodyboard hire, a great option for tourists. The region is also home to the Cronulla Surfing Academy, a school that offers instruction for surfers of all levels. All gear, including wetsuits and surfboards, is supplied so all you need to worry about is learning.
Cronulla’s beaches are the area’s main attractions, but this Sydney suburb has enough to encourage you to stick around once you’ve stepped away from the sand. Local sidewalk cafes and fish and chips shops can satisfy your hunger pangs, or you can shop up a storm in the Cronulla Plaza. If you’d prefer to continue communing with nature, make sure you take in the views on The Esplanade coastal walk.
Cronulla has plenty of accommodation options, from the up-market Rydges and Quest Serviced Apartments to the more basic Seabreeze Bed and Breakfast and Cronulla Beach YHA. But if you’d prefer to stay in the big smoke, the beaches are an easy walk from Cronulla train station.
