The Best Sydney Pools & Baths In Each Part Of The City

Nestled on the edge of the city’s coastline and harbour are a beloved collection of Sydney pools and baths that have been enjoyed by casual bathers for generations.

Cut into the base of cliffs and rocks at the edge of nearly all of Sydney’s beaches are the city’s unique rock pools. There are 30 between Palm Beach and Cronulla and together with over 40 harbour pools, make Sydney a Mecca for swimming.

Construction of the pools began in the late 19th Century, partly to protect swimmers from drowning and shark attacks, but many were also a conciliatory gesture by councils because swimming at beaches in daylight hours was illegal until 1903 and landowners didn’t want swimmers on beaches near their properties. Many more were built by unemployed labour during the depression and have been classified by the National Trust.

Although they may belong to a different era, most are free of charge, have changing and shower facilities and are well-maintained. Swimmers are rediscovering their charm.

In Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs

Bronte Baths

Nestled into the side of the southern headland at Bronte Beach, the Bronte Baths attract everything from lap swimming grandmothers in floral bathing caps to skylarking adolescents and families. Alick Wickham, a Solomon Islander, astonished onlookers when he performed a “crawl" stroke there in 1901 – which later became freestyle.

Built in 1887, the pool is easily accessed via the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk and is always open, except during rough surf conditions. There’s a five-lane lap-swimming area with a maximum water depth of one to two metres and change rooms are available between 8:30am to 6pm.

The Bronte Baths, built in 1887, are nestled into the side of the southern headland at Bronte Beach. (Image: Destination NSW)

Location: Calga Place, Bronte
Opening hours: always open
Entrance fee: free

Bondi Icebergs

Built in 1887 at the southern end of Australia’s most famous beach, Bondi Icebergs comprises a 50-metre eight-lane Olympic-sized pool and a shallow 20-metre pool suitable for children. It’s also home to four amateur swimming clubs, the most notable being the Bondi Icebergs where full membership can only be attained by swimming three out of four Sundays every month from May to September for five years.

“We are the Bondi Icebergs, The toughest men they breed, Happy and contented, Cold water’s all we need, We’re not soaks or crooners, We just sing as we drink our beer, So bring out all your schooners, ‘cause the ‘Bergs are here." – Icebergs Anthem, written by Joe Wallace, 1940

Bondi Icebergs was built in 1887 at the southern end of Australia’s most famous beach. (Image: Destination NSW)

Location: 1 Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach
Opening hours: Mon to Wed & Friday 6am to 6:30pm, closed Thursdays, Sat to Sun 6:30am to 6:30pm
Entrance fee: Adult $9, Child (12 years & under) $6, Seniors $6, Family (2 adults & up to 3 children) $25

Wylie’s Baths, Coogee

Established by Henry Wylie, a champion long distance and underwater swimmer in 1907, Wylie’s Baths underwent extensive restoration in 1995-97 and was heritage-listed in 2003. Swimming there is like being in an aquarium; the walls and floor are covered in lichen and seaweed, and lap swimmers disturb schools of tiny colourful fish. The constant intrusion of white water at high tide is a challenge, as the pool merges so completely with the ocean it’s like swimming in a washing machine on spin cycle.

The heritage-listed Wylie’s Baths in Coogee. (Image: Ian Lever)

Location: 48 Neptune Street, Coogee
Opening times: Mon to Sun 7am–7pm (October to April) & Mon to Sun 7am–5pm (April to September)
Entrance fee: Adult $6, kids $3

McIvor’s Ladies Baths, Coogee

Just a stone’s throw from Wylie’s are McIvor’s Ladies Baths, dug into the existing rock shelf at the southern end of Coogee Beach. Built in 1876 and later operated by the McIvor family from 1901 to 1922 until the Randwick Ladies Amateur Swimming Club was formed and took over the lease. It’s been a women-and-children-only pool for almost 95 years, the only one of its kind in Australia with an exemption under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. The pool is short (just 20 metres) and the steep decline means it’s not easily accessible for everyone. But it’s a haven for many women who seek privacy while bathing.

Location: 145-149R Beach St, Coogee
Opening times: Monday to Sunday 7am to 7pm
Entrance fees: drop $2 in the bucket as you enter

Mahon Pool, Maroubra

Most rock and beach pools are situated to offer some protection from the sou’westerleys, but not Mahon; built in 1932, the 33-yard pool sits on a rock platform overlooking Lurline Bay and has been dubbed the “impossible" pool because it’s at the mercy of the waves which crash into it at high tide and can carry swimmers off course. The Sydney Swans regularly use the pool for recovery sessions.

Mahon Pool in Maroubra is so wild that it is known as the “impossible pool". (Image: Destination NSW)

Location: Marine Parade, Maroubra
Opening times: always open
Entrance fee: free

In Sydney Harbour

Dawn Fraser Baths, Balmain

The Victorian elegance of this corrugated iron and painted cream and green wooden pavilion tucked below Balmain’s sandstone cliffs makes it unique among Sydney’s harbour pools. Built in 1883, they were formerly called Elkington Park Baths but were renamed in honour of the Olympic champ, who lived nearby and learnt to swim there.

It is the oldest harbour pool in the southern hemisphere and was the home of Australia’s first swimming and water polo clubs. There’s a pontoon of diving blocks at one end which allows 50-metre laps. The heritage-listed pool reopened in September 2021 after an $8 million heritage refurbishment that included water polo lights, new boardwalks, solar panels and engineering works to lay new foundations and to raise the decking floor to combat the effect of rising sea levels.

The heritage-listed Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain is beloved for its Victorian elegance. (Image: Destination NSW)

Location: Elkington Park, Fitzroy Ave, Balmain
Opening times: Every day 7:15am-6:30pm
Entrance fee: Adult (17+) $6.90, child (5-16) $4.10, child under 5 free, senior $3.70, family of four (max two adults) $15.10. No booking required but time limit of one hour applies under current restrictions

MacCallum Pool, Cremorne

Located on the western side of Cremorne Point on Sydney’s North Shore with stunning views taking in the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, MacCallum Pool was originally a rock pool created by residents as a safe harbour swimming hole, then reconstructed in the 1920s above the high water mark. Although the historic 33-metre pool is small and narrow (just two lanes wide) it’s long enough for laps and is ringed by a wooden boardwalk with plenty of shaded spots to take in the sights of the harbour after a dip.

MacCallum Pool was originally a rock pool created by residents as a safe harbour swimming hole. (Image: Destination NSW)

Location: Behind 24 Milson Rd, Cremorne Point
Opening times: always open
Entrance fee: free

Marrinawi Cove, Barangaroo

For the first time in 50 years, a new harbour swimming spot has opened up on the west side of the Harbour Bridge. Marrinawi Cove, in one of Sydney’s hottest precincts Barangaroo, offers up gentle and clear waters and is surrounded by large rock steps on which swimmers can sit and sunbake.

Its proximity to the CBD is handy, yet the cove itself is surrounded by grass and trees with a great view across the harbour. The opening of Marrinawi Cove is thanks to clean-up efforts around this section of the harbour. Now, the site is clean and approved for swimming, with safety nets, signage and a shower all installed.

Location: Barangaroo Point Reserve, Barangaroo
Opening times: always open
Entrance fee: free

On Sydney’s Northern Beaches

Fairy Bower, Manly

Reached from the promenade linking Manly and Shelly beaches on the Cabbage Tree Bay Eco Sculpture Walk on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, this small but well-maintained pool hasn’t changed hugely since it was built by local residents in 1929. It’s a roughly triangular shape, with its longest side – about 30 metres – adjoining the promenade. Note the Sea Nymphs sculpture that sits on the pool’s outer edge and continue around to the next headland to find the 50-metre Freshwater Rock Pool, which opened in 1925 and was the first ocean pool built on the North Shore.

Fairy Bower rock pool in Manly is a small but idyllic pool to visit. (Image: Destination NSW)

Location: 5B Marine Parade, Manly
Opening times: always open
Entrance fee: free

North Narrabeen Rock Pool

Built during the depression, North Narrabeen is large by rock pool standards, but a 50-metre eight-lane swimming area has been sectioned off with a timber boardwalk in the southwest corner and there is also a wading pool for children. The sandy bottom means there are no lines to follow for laps. There are showers by the cliff on the poolside and changing rooms and toilets nearby. The pool is home to three amateur swimming clubs and also has a free learn-to-swim summer program for anyone aged six to 70.

The North Narrabeen Rock Pool was built on the Northern Beaches during the depression. (Image: DNSW)

Location: Narrabeen Park Parade, North Narrabeen
Opening times: always open
Entrance fee: free

Palm Beach Rock Pool

Located at the southern end of Palm Beach with sweeping views back to Barrenjoey Headland and its famous sandstone lighthouse and up towards the Central Coast, Palm Beach rock pool is just the right length, 50 metres, and has an amenities block. It’s a favourite training place for participants in the annual Palm Beach to Whale Beach swim.

Admire the view of Barrenjoey Headland from the Palm Beach Rock Pool. (Image: DNSW)

Location: 1 Rock Bath Rd, Palm Beach
Opening times: always open
Entrance fee: free

Discover the best things to do in Sydney

Welcome to the first instalment of Hotel Addict, a monthly column where I check into Australia’s best hotels, exploring not just the rooms, but the stories, service and settings that make each stay unforgettable and worth adding to your wishlist.

Hotel stays have quietly become my thing. Long before I became a travel journalist, I was booking staycations just for a change of scenery. Some had charm, some had character, some had neither. Once, I even stayed in a hotel directly opposite my own apartment – partly for the novelty, partly because I wanted to see my life from a different angle.

For me, hotels represent a kind of mystery – I find myself wanting to know what these buildings contain. Many of them are designed with intention: lighting, materials, scent and sounds that often reflect the city they sit in. Time seems to gently pause in these spaces, which have increasingly become the destination itself for modern travellers.

It only felt fitting for the first hotel in this series to be in my home city and at the hotel that’s been at the top of my list: Capella Sydney.

A sandstone heritage building and palm trees

Capella sits within an Edwardian Baroque‑style sandstone building.

An email with a hotel program from the “Culturist Team” lets me know this will be a luxurious stay. There’s a guided walk around the Botanic Gardens, a weaving workshop and a Sydney contemporary art tour – the kind of addition that signals a hotel that’s tuned into the finer details, and one that’s not surprising given that Capella’s ethos centres on delivering personalised, immersive experiences.

Capella opened in 2023 within a transformed Edwardian Baroque‑style sandstone building in Sydney’s CBD that was originally designed by renowned Scottish-Australian architect George McRae. I often walk past this building and once attended an event inside – I distinctly remember being surprised by how beautiful it was. Bar Studio, Make Architects, and stylist Simone Haag were engaged to sensitively adapt the building for contemporary luxury while honouring its past, in collaboration with Heritage NSW and the City of Sydney.

When I arrive, I’m greeted by three different staff members along the way to reception. There’s a lovely subtle scent, which I later learn combines notes of bergamot, green tea leaves, peony, freesia, vetiver and cedarwood. This hotel strikes such a beautiful balance between grandness and intimacy, with large floral bouquets, contemporary artworks, impressively high ceilings that give it an international feel and quieter nooks to unwind in. Each space is unique, but they’re all unified by a warm, textural and layered design.

Sydney has been deserving of a hotel of this calibre for quite some time, with many of the accommodations in the city looking and feeling dated.

A modern hotel reception with high ceilings

The design strikes the perfect balance between grandness and intimacy.

I have a treatment booked at the hotel’s Auriga Spa prior to check-in. The space is ultra-luxe, moodily lit and intimate, featuring timber joinery, green walls and a sleek design that’s so perfect it almost transports me to Japan. I opt for the Replenish Beauty and LED Facial – a strategic choice with a TV segment on the horizon, and a hopeful bid to look extra fresh for the camera.

The treatment begins with me sitting in the softest robe of my life, wearing slippers and sipping chamomile tea. I’m then whisked away to my private treatment room, which has its own bathroom, a large skylight and a small Japanese-style garden. The treatment is extremely relaxing and moves through cleansing, exfoliating, massaging (arm, head, neck and face) and LED Light Therapy. There’s so much attention to detail – even at the end, the facialist puts my slippers back on me, while I’m still lying down.

Spa treatment room with a massage bed, featuring timber walls and a serene Japanese-style garden visible through a window.

A treatment at Auriga Spa might be the best way I’ve ever started a hotel stay. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

While this treatment certainly hasn’t had a Benjamin Button effect, my sister seems to think I’m glowing, so I walk away happy, or at the very least, zen.

Auriga Spa has a sauna, steam room, ice fountain and a beautiful indoor heated swimming pool. There’s also “experiential showers” – new to me, but essentially it combines water flowing from different places, changing temperatures, mood lighting, gentle sounds, and a subtle lemongrass scent.

You could easily spend the better part of a day at the spa and pool, even if you’re not a guest.

The indoor heated swimming pool with glass ceiling at Capella Sydney.

Guests outside the hotel can use the spa and swimming pool. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

I’m escorted to my room, drunk on relaxation, but I make sure to take note of how noisy the hallways are – answer: dead quiet. My room is 50 square metres, which is huge by hotel standards, but particularly for one in the CBD. It feels like a high-end apartment with floorboards, a freestanding bath and a seating/dining area. My eyes are immediately drawn to the line-up of macarons waiting for me on the dining table.

I’m thrilled to see the mini bar armoire includes a small wine fridge stocked with Minuty Prestige Côtes de Provence, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Handpicked Wines Pinot Noir, and Moët Grand Vintage. Not that I plan on using it (I simply could not justify the prices) – but it’s a nice extra that makes the room feel that much more luxurious. The drinks lineup reads like a who’s-who of local favourites – Young Henrys, Maybe Sammy cocktails, Four Pillars gin and Archie Rose gin. Snacks include Tyrell’s chips, Pringles, Natural Confectionery lollies, and a Carman’s oat bar.

Some small touches I appreciate that some hotels don’t offer: the option to choose your housekeeping time, an iron that actually works well, a Bluetooth speaker, the beloved wine fridge, aluminium water bottles and a bathroom without a glass door or screen that awkwardly exposes you. The one downside is that some of these rooms don’t offer much in the way of a view.

A modern hotel room with a monochrome paletter.

I stayed in a Premier Room which was elegant and relaxing. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

4:30pm is Swill Hour – a daily tradition that nods to the historical “six o’clock swill” in Australia. This one-hour event takes place in the Living Room and invites guests to gather and enjoy each other’s company with a signature cocktail in hand. This afternoon’s tipple is a Eucalyptus Gimlet, a clever, herbaceous little cocktail, by the multi-award-winning Maybe Sammy Team, served on coasters depicting drawings of the historic building. The canapé of the day is a tomato and stracciatella tart. I noticed several staff members chatting with guests like old friends, asking how their adventures earlier in the day went – clearly remembering previous conversations from earlier visits.

Dinner is booked for 6:30pm in Aperture – arguably the most beautiful area of the accommodation. It’s decorated with Australian flora and features a kinetic sculpture hanging from the roof that opens like flowers, with softly changing lights. Tyler, who is serving us, clearly admires the Capella brand, speaking enthusiastically about the other international properties he’s been to and sharing how he sometimes brings his five-year-old daughter here to use the pool.

Interior of Aperture at Capella Sydney, featuring lush greenery and a striking ceiling-mounted sculpture.

The scale of Aperture gives it an international feel.

I kick things off with a basil melon margarita – a winning recommendation – before tucking into the best prawn toast I’ve ever had. For mains it’s crispy Ōra King salmon and spaghetti with mud crab.

When I arrive back at my room, there’s a vegan leather journal on my bed with a note that says: “The ritual of journaling allows us to pause, reflect and focus.” This is part of the turndown service, and my slippers are neatly lined up next to my bed. Will I journal? No. Do I think it’s a nice touch? Yes.

Brasserie 1930 at Capella Sydney, where Art Deco elegance meets contemporary Australian cuisine.

Brasserie 1930 boasts Art Deco elegance.

The next morning, I make the predictable choice of smashed avo for breakfast at the on-site restaurant, Brasserie 1930. There’s also a buffet brimming with all the usual suspects.

Afterwards, I head to the pool to relax for a few hours before the 11am checkout. Despite my earlier resolve not to journal, I find myself reflecting nonetheless – an irony not lost on me – on my 21st hotel stay in Sydney. I write this with growing assurance that great hotels don’t just provide a place to stay; they create memorable moments, thanks in large part to fantastic staff. Kudos to the hiring manager.

Next stop: The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart!

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