Laura The Explaura

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You Must Do This When At Coogee

As I knew we would be limited in our overseas travel this year I made myself a pact that I would get my travel fix by going away somewhere at least once a month.

So for April, I planned a girl’s weekend with my sister in Coogee. I say I planned it but it was really just a go with the flow sort of weekend. We didn’t really have much on our list. We searched a few things to do in the Eastern Beaches and then based ourselves in Coogee as the central location.

We;

stayed at -

Coogee Bay Boutique Hotel. We stayed in the recently renovated Boutique part of the Hotel which has a balcony and ocean views. The service at the front desk was fantastic and they even offered us a 12 pm check out time as no one was going to be in our room the next day. Make sure to check out their website for the great deals they are offering if you are interested. You can stay in a Bay or Beach room but they are over the bar so you may experience some noise.

Other accommodation options we considered were the Blue Hotel, Bondi, the Dive Hotel, Coogee and the Clovelly Hotel.

ate at -

La Spiaggia. We didn’t book a table for dinner. We probably should have as it was busy but we only had to wait ten minutes before being seated inside out of the cold. We ordered one of their amazing woodfire vegetarian pizza’s and it was so good! For Sunday breakfast we bought yoghurt, fresh fruit and dates from Woolies and ate them on our balcony overlooking the beach. You know how hard I battle to find a good chai, well you can find delicious ones at Barzura which is a restaurant at the end of Coogee Beach.

went to -

Bare Island Fort, in La Perouse. Best to go on Sundays and book in for a tour at 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm or 3:30 pm otherwise the gates are closed and you can cross the bridge but you can’t go in. There are also walking tracks that are not that difficult around the corner along the National Park, to Cruwee Cove Beach and Henry Head Lighthouse. Beautiful rock cliff faces and blue water below.

Coogee Beach is good for hanging out. There is Giles Baths or McIver Baths if you are a swimmer on either end of the beach if the water is not too rough. It’s only a short beach walk but if you want to explore further go south along the path to South Coogee Stairs or walk north along the coastline to Clovelly Beach.

Bondi Beach is great for the beach, swimming, tanning, having a picnic or just chilling. Get your shopping fix at Bondi Junction about ten minutes drive from the beach.

The Rose Bay to Watson’s Bay walk was nice. We parked and started from Rose Bay and it took us approximately two hours to trek to Watsons Bay. If you start mid-morning you can make it to the end to get lunch and the ‘best fish and chips’ in Sydney from Doyle’s On The Wharf Take Away.  A great spot by the water to let the lactic acid settle in your muscles. We finished up walking up to the Hornby Lighthouse at then checked out the view from The Gap before catching the ferry back to Rose Bay.

must do in Coogee -

Get up for sunrise. Set your alarm prior to the sun rising and head out early. You will see a beautiful sunrise from Coogee Beach or head up the hill to Dolphin’s Point and watch it with the other people sitting on the cliff cross-legged, meditating as the sun rises over the water. It really is a beautiful spot for sunrise. Take your time and don’t rush into your day. Just stop and be mindful.

We had a smashing weekend. We were lucky with the weather, despite it being incredible windy and even though it was school holidays it was not particularly busy. It is a place you could easily come back to and explore more.

Have you spent much time around the Eastern beaches of Sydney? What do you love to do while you are there? We would love it if you joined the conversation and left a comment below.

For my getaway in March review of North Sydney, click here.