Duration: 1-2 hours
Price Guide: Nil
Last Reviewed:

Nice little coastal walk with plenty to do and see. There are swimming spots along the way, so bring your swimming gear if the weather is suitable. There are also a number of picnic spots along the way if you’d like to bring a packed lunch.

I caught a bus from Bondi Junction which took around 5-10 minutes. However, if you go to Central Station, you can get buses from outside the station.

The bus from Bondi will drop you right at the beach outside The Coogee Brasserie. Directly in front of you will be the beach.

Your first destination is Coogee Beach. Enclosed by cliffs on either side, this beach is quite small but definitely nice and cosy. To the left of the beach, on the cliffs, is a Bali Bombings Memorial and a good view of the beach. There are some shops and restaurants across the road from the beach, a nice grassy area for picnics and bbqs, and last but by no means least, the beach is really nice and the water is extremely inviting.

Make your way back to the promenade and continue along it south towards Maroubra. Once you get to the end of the beach, you will want to keep going past the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club (on your left). There is a children’s play area on your right if that’s of interest to your group.

After about 10 minutes of walking along this path you will come to the south head of Coogee Bay. There will be a large, open grassy area on your right hand side, directly in front of you will be an awesome view of the ocean and Coogee beach to your left. There are various benches facing the sea, or again you could use the grass for picnics etc. This would be good for photo opportunities.

Now you want to keep following the path with amazing sea views on your left (Plant lovers – According to the signs there are various rare plants along this part of the walk etc). You will hit a wooden walkway that will go under a canopy of trees (like something from Rivendell). After a while the pathway will cease and you will have to continue following the coast keeping on the yellow footpath that veers away from the road to the left.

There is an excellent view point on the left along this path which you may want to stop at.

If you stay on this path, you will come to a point where the path ends and you will be in a small cul de sac. Once the path ends, you will want to take the first right onto Palmer Street. At the end of Palmer Street, turn left onto Close St and then take the first right onto Cuzco Road. At the end of Cuzco Road turn left onto Malabar Road. Follow the main road south until you get to the first set of shops, keeping a look out for Torrington Road on your left. Turn left down Torrington Road, and keep walking to the end.

At the end of Torrington Road is a beautiful memorial park. There are rocks to your left that you can sit on, good grassy areas, good views, toilets, a small pool on the rocks and areas for bbqs etc. To your right you can see our final destination, Maroubra Beach, home to the infamous Bra Boys.

Once you are ready to move on, you just need to continue along the various pathways towards Maroubra (only about 5 – 10 minutes away from the memorial park).

Maroubra beach is longer and more open than Coogee, and there seemed to be more people there as well. There are opportunities to surf or skate as well as the usual beach activities. If you have time, I recommend following the beach round to the other side of the bay up onto the cliffs, as the views are amazing. Again there are shops and restaurants opposite the beach as well. If needed, you can catch the 395 bus from Maroubra to Central Station, which cost me $3.90.

Duration: 2-3 hours
Price Guide: Depends
Last Reviewed:

The cost of this guide is technically zero, however, how much you spend depends on how much you drink.

Prices indicated were correct at the time of publication.

Make your way to Central Station and head to the Bus Station outside the George Street exit.

You want to take the no. 378 bus from stop A (the journey will take around 10 minutes and costs $1.70). Ask the driver to stop on Oxford Street in Paddington. Keep your eyes out for The Light Brigade on your left, this is our first destination.

The Light Brigade has just been renovated, keeping with the popular Art Deco style. It hosts a fairly spacious drinking area, friendly staff, a cocktail bar, a wine bar and restaurant upstairs. Food is available for $11 per meal, which isn’t bad. There were still some building materials up when i went, due to renovations, but i can’t imagine they will be there for long.

As you come out of the Light Brigade turn right and continue down the road. You will pass an ANZ branch on your right. Just after the ANZ is The Paddington Arms.

The Paddington Arms has a modern-looking interior with bar-style tables, stools, subtle lighting and quiet music. Food is available from $8.50 and upwards and there is a good choice of cocktails for around $15.

As you come out of The Paddington Arms turn left, continue along the road past a set of traffic lights and turn left onto Elizabeth Street. Roughly 75m along Elizabeth Street, on the right, is The Grand National.

A simple bar/pub with a slightly less modern feel with separate eating and drinking areas. Reminds me of some English pubs, with simple decor, again mostly stools for seating, a couple of TVs for those who enjoy watching their sports and food is also available.

As you come out of The Grand National, turn right and continue along Elizabeth Street. After about 100m, The London Hotel will be on your right.

The London Hotel has a much more spacious environment with comfortable leather couches. Food is available from $12 per meal, there is a courtyard, games room and TVs.

Turn left as you exit The London Hotel, directly in front of you is William Street. Follow William Street until you reach the main road. To your left (on the corner) is the Paddington Inn.

Paddington Inn greeted me with amazing smells of tasty food. It had a relaxed atmosphere, with cozy leather couches and some funky colour schemes. There is a lounge and terrace upstairs, some crazy lighting, food and a small smoking area downstairs. Definitely finishing with my personal favourite.

There are more pubs etc in Paddington, which you’re more than welcome to experience the art of drinking in, however this is the end of my tour. If you follow the the directions back to the start of this tour you can get buses back to Central from here quite easily.

Duration: 2-3 hours
Price Guide: varies depending on how much you drink and eat
Last Reviewed:

Make your way to Central Station and head outside to the George Street bus stop A.

From the bus stop, take the 393 bus to Surry Hills. Ask the driver to stop for you at Cleveland Street and the Surry Hotel. This journey took approx 5-10 minutes. Once off the bus head into the Surry Hotel.

The Surry Hotel is a cosy pub with a bistro, outside smoking area, TV and sports, gaming room, food available from $9.00 and up. A nice pub to start the tour.

Head outside the Surry Hotel and cross the road to make your way down Cleveland Street. On the right hand side (at the first set of traffic lights down this road) is the Norfolk Hotel.

The Norfolk Hotel is again quite small, there were lots of TVs playing sports and a gaming room, seemingly more of a gambling pub. The hotel joins onto a bottle shop and snacks are available at the bar.

After you have finished at the Norfolk Hotel you want to continue making your way down Cleveland Street. The Crown Hotel is on the next set of traffic lights along this road.

The Crown Hotel is a large, spacious pub with refreshing decor. Food is available from $9.00 up. There is also a games room and a TV that was showing sports.

Once outside the Crown Hotel, turn left at the crossroads on to Crown Street. Make your way down Crown Street until you get to the first crossroads. Trinity Bar is on these crossroads.

Trinity Bar is about as close to an English pub that i have seen so far. There is a gaming room, food available and an outside sitting area. It has a library feel to it with lots of bookcases and old books that make up some of the decorations. I liked this pub a lot.

Continue along Crown Street, keeping your eyes out for the Clock Hotel on your right.

The Clock Hotel is a light and airy bar with more of a modern feel. It looks a bit more swanky than the the pubs i have seen so far. Food is available, but a little pricey and there are a couple of pool tables as well.

When you come out of the Clock Hotel, make your way back down Crown Street in the direction you came from. Keep a look out on the right for Devonshire Street. Turn right down Devonshire Street and continue along it. You will go past a park on your left-hand side. A little further than the park is the Shakespeare Hotel.

The Shakespeare Hotel is a really nice and cosy pub with an English theme and a good finisher for this tour. Happy hour is from 3pm to 6pm. Although the pub is a little on the small side, I definitely recommend it if you like English pubs. It is probably my favourite venue on this tour.