Queenscliff Beach

Located in the suburb of Queenscliff, Queenscliff Beach – also known as Manly Beach – Queenscliff Beach and Queensie Beach – is an east-facing beach with light brown sand and nearby reefs.  This beach is the northern part of a larger beach named Manly Beach.  A creek named Manly Creek sometimes flows through this beach – once this creek passes the beach, it flows into the Pacific Ocean.  This beach should not to be confused with another Australian beach with a similar name called Queenscliff Beach, which is also called Queenscliff Beach Geelong and Queenscliff Beach Victoria – this other beach is located in the Australian state of Victoria.

Queenscliff Beach offers lifeguards on weekends and public holidays between the end of September and ANZAC Day.  In addition to lifeguards, the beach also has many other amenities including restrooms, showers, playgrounds, barbecues, a nearby promenade, volleyball nets, watersports equipment rental facilities, drinking water facilities, picnic tables, and concession stands.

Dogs are not allowed at this beach.

Queenscliff Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, swimming, surfing, bodysurfing, volleyball, biking, paddleboarding, bodyboarding, boating, windsurfing, kitesurfing, tidepooling, skimboarding, snorkeling, scuba diving, parasailing, wakeboarding, surf-skiing, kayaking, canoeing, and wildlife watching. 

Queenscliff Beach is known to have a surfing site that is locally called a “bombora” and this site offers powerful and thrilling surfing waves suitable for expert surfers.  If you are planning to swim, kayak, surf, bodysurf, or snorkel at Queenscliff Swimming Beach, we recommend being extremely careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and dangerous waves.

If you want to swim in calmer water, there is a rocky swimming pool in the northern part of Queenscliff Beach named Queenscliff Rockpool and this swimming pool offers a fun and safe swimming experience. 

There is a rocky tunnel at the northern end of the beach named Manly Wormhole – you can explore this tunnel at low tide and if you keep going north through this tunnel, you will reach another nearby beach named Freshwater Beach.  

If you like taking pictures with excellent views, Queenscliff Beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean, particularly during sunset.

Queenscliff Beach does not offer wheelchair access to visitors with disabilities.

Getting to Queenscliff Beach is easy – this beach is located at the intersection of three roads named Cameron Avenue, North Steyne, and Bridge Road. 

There are multiple free and paid street parking spaces here.

The suburb and the beach received their name – Queenscliff – after Queen Victoria of Great Britain.  In addition, Queenscliff Beach also hosts many fun events including many fun surfing competitions and a kids’ carnival.

There are many attractions near Queenscliff Beach.  If you like golf, Manly Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course that offers a fun and challenging golfing experience.  Manly Art Gallery & Museum that offers interesting exhibitions on Australian art and ceramics, along with exhibits on local history and Australian Beach culture – this gallery also offers fun cultural programs.  Manly Warringah War Memorial State Park – also called Manly Dam – is a waterfront state park that offers many fun activities including picnicking, hiking, biking, wildlife watching, swimming, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, water-skiing, and boating.  This state park is located near a historic dam named Manly Dam – this state park has many native plants and animals, along with remnants of Aboriginal camps.  Sydney Harbor National Park has many interesting cultural and natural landmarks including an old lighthouse, historic buildings, Aboriginal sites, small islands, headlands, and multiple beaches – this state park offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, and picnicking.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve is a wildlife reserve that offers many fun activities including swimming, snorkeling, wildlife watching, and photography.  This aquatic reserve has a vibrant marine biodiversity and you can see many kinds of animals here including turtles, groupers, and cuttlefish.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Queenscliff Beach.  Salty Rooster is known for serving excellent chicken burgers.  Pilu at Freshwater is an upscale restaurant that offers gourmet dishes inspired by Italy’s Sardinian cuisine including maialetto and tiramisu.  Hemingway’s Manly is a French bistro that offers amazing French-inspired dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including eggs, petit sale aux lentilles, ratatouille, and boeuf bourguignon.  The Pantry Manly offers many amazing dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including seafood, eggs, pancakes, pastas, lamb, and duck leg.  Pocket Pizza – also called Pocket Pizza Manly – is known for serving excellent pizzas and it also serves amazing pastas and antipasti.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, North Steyne Snack Shack offers amazing fish and chips, along with a variety of other dishes including burgers and hot chips.

If you are looking for a hotel near Queenscliff Beach, there are many great nearby options.  The 5-Star Manly Pacific Hotel offers many amenities including a hot tub,  a beach club, a sauna, a gym, a pool with a sundeck, multiple restaurants and bars.  Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star Q Station Sydney Harbor National Park that offers many amenities including multiple restaurants, a bar, rental facilities for bikes, kayaks, and paddleboards, a nearby museum, and multiple guest lounges.  The Sebel Sydney Manly Beach is another upscale 4-Star hotel that offers many amenities including two swimming pools and an adjacent restaurant.  A more affordable hotel is the 3.5-Star Hotel Steyne that was built in 1859 and offers many amenities including multiple restaurants and a lounge.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Stoke Beach House, Manly is a nearby Queenscliff Beach House hotel that offers many amenities including barbecues, a bar, a game room with a pool table, a lounge, a small home theater, a courtyard, rental facilities for bikes and surfboards, and communal kitchen.