Where to swim at Bondi Beach

A day at Bondi isn't complete without getting in the water, and you've really got three ways to do it: the open beach, the famous Icebergs ocean pool cut into the southern rocks, or the calm children's pool up at the north end. Here's how I'd choose between them, and how to stay safe once you're in.

Calmest swim

North Bondi & the children's pool

Ocean pool

Bondi Icebergs (50 m)

On the beach

Free · swim between the flags

Water temp

≈ 18°C today

Swimming on the beach

The beach is free, open to everyone and patrolled by professional lifeguards year-round. The one rule that matters most: swim between the red-and-yellow flags, where the lifeguards have judged the water safest and are keeping watch. The northern end is usually the calmer, more sheltered stretch - my pick for a relaxed dip or a swim with the kids. The southern end, over near the Icebergs, draws stronger swimmers and surfers, and it's where Bondi's notorious "Backpackers'" rip runs, so it's not the place to wade in if you're unsure of yourself.

Bondi Icebergs ocean pool

The Icebergs is the postcard shot - a 50-metre ocean pool cut into the rocks at the southern headland, washed and refilled by the waves that break over its edge, with a shallower pool alongside for little ones. There have been public baths on this rock shelf since the 1880s, and the Icebergs Swimming Club has been swimming through winter here since 1929. The pool is open to everyone, not just members; there's a sauna to thaw out in and the Crabbe Hole café tucked below for a coffee afterwards. Because it sits right on the ocean it closes for its regular clean and whenever big swells roll through, so check the Icebergs website for opening hours before you make a special trip. If you are after lap swimming as training rather than a dip, the pool sits in the same building as a gym - our fitness guide to Bondi covers what else is around here, and which places take a casual visit.

Two free alternatives most visitors walk straight past: Ross Jones Memorial Pool - the little rock pool tucked directly below Icebergs - and the North Bondi children’s pool at the far northern corner. Both are calm, enclosed and cost nothing, which makes them the honest answer for nervous swimmers and small kids who want salt water without waves. And if you’d rather just wade: ankle-to-waist deep between the flags is a perfectly legitimate way to enjoy Bondi - keep your feet planted, never turn your back on the waves, and step out when the sets get bigger.

Calm water for young kids: North Bondi

If you've got small children, head to the north end. The North Bondi Children's Pool - built in 1947 and still known to some locals as the Mermaid's Pool - is a shallow, sheltered seawater pool tucked between the sand and the rocks, by far the most relaxed place at Bondi to let little ones splash without the shore break. Right beside it sits Wally Weekes Pool, a separate tidal rock pool that's lovely at high tide but drains to barely a puddle at low, so time that one with the tide.

A swim just up the coast

If you fancy a change of scene, the clifftop path south runs about 2.5 km to Bronte, which has a free ocean pool of its own set into the rocks - one of my favourite swims in the whole city, and an easy 45-minute walk with the sea beside you the entire way.