The Northern Beaches offers a range of accommodation – from upmarket hotels and boutique home stays to motels, bed and breakfasts and backpackers. While the bulk of the hotel accommodation is at Manly, there are a number of boutique hotels, beach rental holiday homes and backpackers dotted along the peninsula. For details, check out travel websites such as -
www.totaltravel.com.au and tourist information sites such as Sydney’s Northern Beaches Visitors Association at www.sydneybeaches.com.au and Manly Visitors Centre www.manlytourism.com (02 9977 1088), or local government sites Pittwater Council at www.pittwaterlga.com.au (02 9970 1111), or Manly Council at www.manly.nsw.gov.au (02 9976 1500).
Sydney is renowned around the world for its exceptional food – and that reputation is certainly upheld on the Northern Beaches. Dee Why and Manly both boast excellent seafront restaurants, with a number of superb restaurants with water views also located at Manly Wharf, Freshwater Beach, Cottage Point, Avalon Beach, Whale Beach and Palm Beach. For relaxed dining and entertainment, why not try one of the many service clubs along the peninsula (ultra-modern Dee Why RSL comes complete with evening floor shows, and a 10-pin bowling alley; while the smaller Collaroy Services Club looks directly on to the beach). There are many pubs to choose from – with the waterfront-based Newport Arms, the Harbord Hotel at Freshwater Beach and the Brookvale Hotel at Brookvale among the better-known ones. Clubs and pubs offer regular entertainment – check the local Manly Daily Newspaper for details. There are cinemas at Manly, Brookvale, Warriewood and Collaroy.
The Northern Beaches – or more specifically, Manly, was earmarked for a beachside tourist destination soon after the colonial settlers arrived in Sydney. However, it wasn’t until 1854 – more than 60 years after Captain Arthur Phillip visited and named Manly (in recognition of a group of ‘manly’ Guringai Aboriginals who waded out to his ship) - that the first ‘day trippers’ began making their way by ferry to the Northern Beaches. Legal daytime bathing at Manly Beach wasn’t allowed until 1903. The replacement of the old wooden punt over Middle Harbour with the first Spit Bridge in 1924 saw a significant increase in tourists to the area. Today, more than 6 million visitors a year from all over the world regularly enjoy the ‘beach, bush, and bay experience’ that is Sydney’s beautiful Northern Beaches.
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