Review: Manly Ferry from Manly Beach to Circular Quay, Sydney

This Manly Ferry from Manly Beach to Circular Quay, Sydney Review is from our recent trip to Sydney, Australia. For the prior Australia-related posts, including Etihad First Apartment to Sydney and Qantas First Class to Melbourne, please see:

Manly Beach

Before we made our way to the Manly Ferry, we briefly visited Manly Beach. It was a lot more crowded than Palm Beach, so I'm very glad that we spent most of our beach time at Palm Beach.

Still, none of us ever say no to digging our toes into the sand by the ocean:

Do watch out for jellyfish, since we saw a number of them on the beach and it's not fun to get stung:

Manly Ferry Schedule and Ticket Cost

The Manly Ferry operates every 30 minutes and the journey also takes 30 minutes, with the first ferry departing Circular Quay at 5:30am Monday to Friday (7:05am Saturday and Sunday) and the last ferry just after midnight, at 00:20.

On the return from Manly, the first ferry to Circular Quay departs 6:10am Monday to Friday (6:35am Saturday and Sunday) and the last at 00:55am.

Ferry tickets are reasonably priced; at time of writing, a one way adult ticket is AUD $7.60 and a child is AUD $3.80. There's no discount for a roundtrip, it's just double the amount of a one way.

Manly Ferry Seating and Experience

One thing to note is that as large as the ferry is, there is somewhat limited seating on the outdoor decks, which are the most popular for viewing the water and, as you get closer to Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. So if you're focused on getting a good seat, you'll want to be in line right after a boat has left, to maximize your chance of getting a good seat.

We got there just before the ferry departed in the early evening, around 5pm, so as you can see, most seats were already taken:

Here's a view of Manly as we were departing:

And about 20 minutes later, we had our first glimpse of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney skyline:

Here's a quick video of our approach to Sydney Habour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House:

And soon, we had some closer shots of the Opera House and the Tower Bridge:

The Verdict

I'm glad Peter Bailey dropped us off at Manly Beach and we took the ferry back to Circular Quay, which is very convenient if you're staying in The Rocks area of Sydney, whether at The Park Hyatt Sydney, Shangri-La Sydney or Four Seasons Sydney. Yes, it's a crowded beach and crowded ferry, but still very scenic. Just try to also explore the northern beaches for a less crowded beach experience (and no jellyfish).

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