Sydney has more than 30 ocean pools between Palm Beach and Cronulla. These are the ones we would send a visitor to first, each for a different reason.
How we chose: setting and views, whether you can swim proper laps, facilities and ease of access, and the history and character that make a pool more than a hole in the rocks. Every pool here is free except Bondi Icebergs and Wylie's Baths, which charge a small entry fee.
1. Bondi Icebergs Pool
Best for the view · Bondi Beach, 50 m, Ocean pool or baths
A 50 m lap pool at the south end of Bondi with waves crashing over the wall and the whole beach in front of you. Paid entry includes a sauna and hot showers. Go early, before the crowds, and avoid Thursdays.
2. Wylie's Baths
Best for swimming with the sea · Coogee, Ocean pool or baths
A tidal pool under the Coogee cliffs where the ocean flows straight in, with timber decks to sun yourself on. Opened in 1907 and run by a community trust for a small entry fee.
3. Mahon Pool
Best for drama · Maroubra, Rock pool
A 1930s pool set low into the rocks at Maroubra, where the sea pours over the wall at high tide. Calm mornings are for laps; big days are for watching.
4. Bronte Baths
Best all-rounder · Bronte, 30 m, Ocean pool or baths
Free, open since 1887, with a marked lap section, hot showers and Bronte Park behind it for a picnic. A short stop on the Bondi to Coogee walk.
5. North Narrabeen Rock Pool
Best for lap swimmers · North Narrabeen, 50 m, Rock pool
A 50 m lap pool split from a family pool by a timber boardwalk, at the mouth of Narrabeen Lagoon. Home to local swimming clubs since 1935.
6. Bilgola Rock Pool
Best for a quieter beach day · Bilgola Beach, 50 m, Rock pool
An eight-lane, 50 m pool with a concrete floor at a secluded beach between Newport and Avalon, with a cafe across the road.
7. McIver's Ladies Baths
Best for women · Coogee, Ocean pool or baths
Australia's last women-only seawater pool, in use since the 1870s, with a sunbaking terrace above the sea at Coogee.
8. Oak Park Ocean Pool
Best for young children · Cronulla, Ocean pool or baths
A sandy, gently sloping entry at Cronulla, so little ones can walk in rather than climb down a ladder, with a big lawn and barbecues behind.
9. Collaroy Rock Pool
Best for access · Collaroy, Rock pool
A ramp with handrails on both sides leads into an eight-lane, 50 m pool, with fully accessible toilets nearby.
10. Fairy Bower Rock Pool
Best stop on a walk · Manly, 20 m, Rock pool
A small triangular pool built by residents in 1929, halfway along the path from Manly to Shelly Beach, with the Sea Nymphs sculptures on its edge.