Explore / Australia · New South Wales
Sydney.
Now
· updated 10 hours ago1.8m northeast swell at 7 seconds peaks Thursday dawn under strong north-northeast wind, dropping to 1.3m by evening as wind eases light northwest. Friday holds steady at 1.2m with glassy south-southwest wind, before a building 1.1-1.7m east-northeast swell with strong south influence arrives Saturday under light north-northeast wind, increasing to moderate southwest by evening. Sunday eases to 1.5m with glassy south wind, while Monday drops to 1.2m as moderate west wind builds. Tuesday sees a fresh pulse building sharply to 3.1m east-northeast swell at 6-9 seconds under light northwest wind, becoming blown-out south by evening — this marks the week’s peak. Wednesday holds at 3.3m south swell with strong east-northeast influence at 8-10 seconds under blown-out south wind, easing to 2
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About Sydney
Sydney has two surf coasts split by the harbour. The Northern Beaches run 30 km north from Manly to Palm Beach: a string of east-facing beaches and one sand-bottom peak at North Narrabeen, just inside the lagoon mouth. The Eastern Beaches run south through Bondi, Tamarama, Maroubra, and end at Cronulla, with Shark Island slab a paddle offshore. Manly hosted the first World Championships in 1964, and the Sydney Surf Pro has run on the WSL Challenger Series since 2020, settled at North Narrabeen since 2024.
June through August is most consistent. Tasman Sea lows feed long-period south to south-east swell, 12 to 20 s, that wakes the whole coast. Summer adds Coral Sea cyclone pulses from the east through north-east, shorter and quicker to fade. A working day is 1.5 to 3 m. The clean wind is west to south-west, offshore at the east-facing beaches. The north-east sea breeze fills most summer afternoons. The southerly buster, an abrupt south change with 40-knot gusts, hits roughly 32 times a year, mostly spring and summer. Dawn beats both winds.
Water sits at 18 to 19 °C in September, 23 to 24 °C in February. A 3/2 covers winter, boardies and a rashie do summer. Crowds are the headline hazard. Bondi is the most photographed lineup in the country, full of beginners on rented foamies. Maroubra is a local stronghold and not the place to drop in. Tamarama runs the highest rescue rate per bather of any patrolled NSW beach; the rips there move fast. After heavy rain, expect stormwater plumes, and skip the urban beaches for a day. When a southerly buster hits, tuck into the south corners of Dee Why or North Narrabeen. When the sea breeze blows out the rest, Bondi faces enough south to stay rideable.