Beaches and surf

Beaches and surfing in NSW

If a world championship competition for the best beaches was held, New South Wales would have to be disqualified on grounds of unfair advantage. The State’s coastline stretches 1590km with a grand total of 892 beaches including Sydney’s famed harbour and ocean beaches and seven of Australia’s National Surfing Reserves.

With all that choice, you’re bound to find just the right beach for a surfing weekend, a surfing road trip or a fun-packed beach holiday with the kids. World-famous surf breaks attract keen surfers from around the globe but there are also plenty of beaches where you can learn to surf with an accredited surf school.

If you’d like to tick off the NSW beaches on the National Surfing Reserve list, you’ll find them on the North Coast at Angourie, near Yamba, at Crescent Head, north of Port Macquarie, at Lennox Head, north of Ballina (Near Byron Bay) and including the world-famous Lennox Point break.  Merewether Beach is one of Newcastle's iconic surfing beaches, with the reserve stretching two kilometres along the spectacular coastline.

On the South Coast is Killalea National Surfing Reserve with The Farm and Mystics beaches located within the Killalea State Park, near Shellharbour. The state park features 250 hectares of pristine coastal reserve with some of the best surfing beaches on the south coast.

In Sydney, Cronulla Beaches National Surfing Reserve is one of southern Sydney’s premier surf spots while Narrabeen National Surfing Reserve is a popular surfing beach on Sydney's northern coastline.