Bridge the Travel Gap

A trip to Manly Beach and what it cost

We awoke to another glorious sunny day in Sydney. I have the proof with some sunburn. We purchased a daily metro pass for A$24 each which includes ferry rides. Our first stop was Circular Quay after leaving Bardwell Park at 9am. We were lucky to catch the 9.30am Manly ferry. The ferry ride gives you the opportunity to see Sydney from the sea with views of the bridge, Sydney Opera house and coastline. The ferry also bizarrely goes backwards for 30 minutes all the way to Manly. It is a short walk from the ferry terminal to Manly beach where we had brunch at The Pantry which has a great view of the beach.

Manly Scenic Walkway

We decided to do a shortened version of the Manly Scenic Walkway. We walked to Shelly Beach and then up a hill towards North Head. Because we were meeting someone in Sydney later that day we could not walk up to North Head and instead cut back to Little Manly Beach and the ferry terminal. North Head looked like it had some lovely tracks and I only wished we had more time to do the track. The track we took up from Shelley beach eventually becomes unpaved and there were a few puddles along the way. There also were some occasional nice views back towards Manly beach. If we did the walk again it would be with a bathing suit. There were several sandy beaches along the way that looked very inviting. We arrived at Manly at 10am and got a ferry back to Sydney around 2pm.

Food Glorious Food

On arrival at Manly we visited Tourist Information near the ferry terminal building. They recommended the Pantry which is one of the few restaurants on the beach. It is a bit pricey, however, the views along the beach are brilliant and the breakfast was delicious. I also had the best flat white coffee since our arrival in Australia.

Later in the day after a strenuous time shoe shopping for Debbie we decided to go to a food court for dinner just off Pitt Street. I had steamed dumplings and she had a chicken salad. The shoes she bought are called Fit Flops and are hard to find. She was a very happy bunny when she found the exact pair she wanted for the grand sum of A$120. I have excluded this from our daily cost in Sydney as they are a one-off.

Useful tips

An all day metro card includes all ferry rides. If you are staying longer than a day there are other options. I tried a new ginger beer today called Cascade and it was delicious. If you go to Manly beach take a bathing suit if the weather is hot. Although Manly is a surfing beach there are other beaches along the coast that are ideal for swimming.

Tomorrow is our last day in Sydney.

What did the day cost?

Metro tickets A$ 48.00
Accommodation Airbnb A$ 75.00
Brunch A$ 58.00
Dinner A$ 29.10
Drinks during the day A$ 16.00
Razors A$9.95
Total: A$ 236.05 = US$ 184.00