Manly Scenic Walkway is one of the many coastal walks you can find in New South Wales, Australia, in the surroundings of Sydney. With views of Sydney Bay, nature, lush greenery, and silence, it can be a welcomed escape from the bustling big city.
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I spent 2.5 months in Australia while studying for my master’s to do my research for my final thesis. Though my university was in Adelaide, I couldn’t pass on the chance to explore a bit more of the country, and Sydney was an obvious choice. I traveled there twice during my stay, and got a chance to go beyond your usual tourist attractions. Manly Scenic Walkway was one such experience, and let me tell you, it was a memorable one.
This is a throwback, but way back, to the good old times when I was still a student enjoying life and traveling with university scholarship money. But I’ll make sure to add some updated tips at the end of this article.
How NOT to do budget trips
You’re about to read a story of big, scary Australian spiders hanging from the trees, getting lost in the woods with no phone, and experiencing the thrill of being alone in the middle of nowhere, in the dark. Okay, I am probably making it sound scarier than it actually was. Spiders were not that big, and I didn’t spend so much time in the dark. But for a few long minutes out there I got just a tiny bit scared.
So, as I mentioned above, on one of my trips to Sydney, I decided to explore one of its famous coastal walks. And because I was on a budget, I packed my backpack, brought some lunch, and decided to walk from Milsons Point, right under Sydney Harbor Bridge, all the way to Manly. That’s around 13 kilometers if you walk in a straight line. Which I didn’t. I took detours, lost my way, and explored the coast around Balmoral. I even stopped for a second lunch since the one I had packed wasn’t enough.
The Manly scenic walkway alone is 10 kilometers long, starting from right under Spit Bridge. Add roughly 15 more kilometers that I walked from Milsons Point to Spit Bridge and there you go: a breezy 25K walk. More or less. It surely felt like more.
So after almost half a day of wandering along unknown roads, taking detours, and stopping to enjoy the view, I only started the Manly scenic walkway around 5 pm. It was the end of Australian summer, when days are already getting shorter. I still had 10 km to go and already had a low battery on my phone but I was confident. Maybe too confident.
The pros of getting lost
There’s nothing new about the fact that the greatest discoveries are made by mistake, and this also applies to travel. When you lose your way, you come across places that you never would have discovered otherwise.
This happened to me in these wanderings along the coast. I took turns wherever my intuition led me and saw amazing views of Sydney Bay: boats lightly floating on water and the blue of the sky reflected on the smooth surface of the ocean. I discovered a hidden garden with colorful flowers, magnificent trees, and a little house with wide windows, hidden among the trees.
At Balmoral Beach, I found one of the most peaceful sights I ever experienced. Maybe it wasn’t the place, just my state of mind. I was happy. I was doing what I love the most: wandering, eyes wide open, ready to take in the world’s beauty. On the edge of Rocky Point Island, I sat facing the bay and looking at the opening towards the ocean, where Middle Head reaches for Grotto Point, two stretches of land enclosing this little bay.
There were a few boats sailing around the bay, the water of an intense blue. I found myself filled with gratitude. From that moment on, whenever I think of a happy place, I go back there in my mind. This is my happy place. Unwillingly, after some time spent there in awe and silence, I decided to proceed with my journey.
I made my way towards Spit Bridge and encountered dozens of green parrots gathered around a window where they were getting fed. When I finally reached the bridge, I realized it was quite late. I had spent the whole day wandering around, not really following my plan. Oh, but was it worth it!
Manly Scenic Walkway
Manly Scenic Walkway is one of the most famous coastal walks around Sydney for good reason. The coastal views are stunning and the whole path is immersed in nature. I was lucky (or not) to have most of the walk to myself, with most people ending their hike by the time I started it. In the beginning, I crossed some people but as I kept climbing up and hiking deeper into the forest, there was no more trace of human beings.
At first, I took it slow. I was optimistic, there was still a lot of light, and I stopped often to enjoy the views and take pictures. At every turn, there was a new perspective, a new view that deserved to be captured. At times, I could peek through the branches of the trees to see a little patch of crystal clear waters. Other times, I found viewpoints that opened onto small bays, with boats lazily floating on the water. The nature along the coastal walk was wild and pure. The silence was only broken by my steps and occasionally by the wind blowing through the leaves.
The path kept leading me up, the sky going from light blue to purple and darker blue. I had already noticed spiders hanging from the trees. Not extremely big spiders, just big enough for a face-to-face encounter to be unpleasant, to put it mildly. The tree branches were getting lower as the path went up, and I started walking bent, afraid of bumping into a spider. I started wondering when the path would start going back down toward the coast and my final destination.
Lost in the dark
Then the descent began, and after some time, I reached a small rocky beach. This is where I freaked out in realizing there was no path going forward. There was the path I came from, a couple of houses on the hill at the back of the beach, and water. The only source of light at this point was coming from the windows of the houses on the hill. My phone was dead by this point, so my one option to ask for help was one of those houses. I didn’t want to walk back through the forest, and I knew I was close to the end of the trail.
Without a flashlight, I was improvising with the flash of my camera, trying to find a path among the trees. I finally found a board half-hidden by the trees with the trail map, indicating the continuation of the trail. I looked around, but I couldn’t see the path anywhere.
After moments of panicking at the idea of having to hike back and considering knocking on the door of one of the houses on the hill, I realized something. Maybe the high tide was covering the path going forward. So I started walking in the water and climbing on unstable, slippery rocks. As it turns out, I was right, and after a couple of minutes, I found the trail going forward.
A few more minutes later, I found myself out of the forest and into the suburbs near Manly. It was nighttime, and I was tired of walking. But I was happy. I took the ferry back to Sydney, and while sailing at high speed past the Opera House and into Circular Quay, I felt alive and grateful.
Allow yourself to get lost
My little adventure rewarded me with some amazing views and probably made me just a little wiser when it comes to planning ahead. Still, it wouldn’t have been the same if I had planned everything and diligently followed my plan.
So my whole point with this story is: get lost! Plan ahead, but then allow yourself the freedom to wander and follow your heart and your eyes. Don’t just stick to the main road; take side streets, explore hidden alleys (maybe not during the night), and don’t be afraid of losing your way. You will find it back. Be wise and cautious, but not too cautious. Find adventure in little things, like a walk along the coast or a small journey not far from home. And ditch Google Maps for a while. You don’t want to take the shortest way. You want to discover the most beautiful one.
My coastal walk may not have been a super exciting adventure, filled with action. But I lived it like an adventure. I took my time to explore the places that drew me in, which called to me somehow from a distance. I allowed myself to deviate from the path, and this has guided me to discovering new places and experiencing unexpected feelings. And I found myself a happy place, one I can always go back to in my memory when I want to feel that peace again. These memories are what make life worth living at its fullest. At least for me.
A few tips
If you want to walk the Manly Scenic Walk, remember it’s 10 kilometers long. So maybe plan just a little. Enough so you don’t end up exploring hidden paths in the ocean at night, unable to see where to place your feet, with no source of light, and no clue where you are going.
The coastal walk begins next to Spit Bridge, in Mosman. If you don’t want to wander around like I did to get there, you can catch bus 172X or 173X from Wynyard Station, not far from Circular Quay. The bus ride takes roughly 20 minutes. From Spit Bridge, set aside at least 4 hours to walk to Manly. And from Manly, you can catch a ferry to get back to Circular Quay, so you can also enjoy the views of Sydney Bay from the water. If you end up doing this in the evening, the views are magical.
You can also read more about the Manly scenic walkway on the official NSW National Parks website. The dedicated section has useful information and tips for your walk. Had I read this before, I would have probably been more prepared. But then again, it wouldn’t have been so adventurous.
Sydney has many gorgeous coastal walks. Another one I enjoyed was Bondi to Coogee. I’ll have a post on that soon. If you want to be the first to know when that post and many others go live, sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter. It’s just two emails per month with the latest blog updates and what I’ve been up to.
Travel Resources
I’ll end this with an overview of my go-to travel planning apps and websites:
| Website/App | Category | Description | Book Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking.com | Accommodation | My favorite website for great accommodations for different budgets. | Find a Place |
| Kiwi.com | Flights | My new favorite platform for finding affordable flights. | Find Flights |
| 12Go | Transportation | Widespread App across Asia, with options in Australia. | Transportation |
| SafetyWing | Insurance | One of the best travel medical insurances for frequent travelers. | Get Insured |
| Viator | Activities | A great platform to book activities and adventures globally. | Find Activities |
| GetYourGuide | Activities | My go-to platform for tours and experiences with lots of options. | Experiences |
| GuruWalk | Walking tours | A great platform to book free walking tours in major cities. | Book a tour |
| DiscoverCars | Car rental | My go-to platform for car rental anywhere in the world. | Rent a Car |
| Airalo | eSIM | My favorite app for digital SIM cards when traveling abroad. | Get an eSIM |
| Saily | eSIM | A great alternative to Airalo, with cheaper plans in some destinations. | Get an eSIM |
| Xe | Currency | A currency converter showing real-time rates. Website or app. | Get Xe App |
| Maps.me | Navigation | My favorite navigation app for hiking trails and remote areas. | Get Maps |
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