Cronulla

North Cronulla Beach

Cronulla is a beachside suburb in the Sutherland Shire in southeast Sydney.

Get in

Cronulla is the only Sydney beach on a train line and has a large amount of free parking along the foreshore. This makes it one of the most accessible of Sydney beaches.

By train

The  T4  line from Bondi Junction to Cronulla via Central Station. Trains arrives every 15 minutes and the trip takes around 55 minutes. If coming from Sydney Airport take the  T8  train from the airport to Wolli Creek and change to a Cronulla bound train.

• 1 Cronulla railway station. (updated Sep 2019)

By bus

The 962 links Cronulla to Menai and Padstow in Sydney's south west.

By car

It is a 45 minute drive by car from Sydney CBD, or 30 minutes from Sydney Airport. Continue to drive south past the airport along Botany Bay and continue to follow the signposted route to Cronulla. There is no charge for parking at the Cronulla beaches or anywhere in Cronulla. Parking time limits do apply in places so check before you leave you car because parking inspectors are quite prominent in the area.

By ferry

There are hourly ferries from Bundeena, across Port Hacking bay.

• 2 Cronulla Wharf. (updated Sep 2019)

By bike

See also: Cycling in New South Wales#Sydney

The cycle route from Homebush Bay to Kurnell passes near to Cronulla. It is a pleasant and largely off-road cycle from Botany Bay to the northern Cronulla beaches. From the cycleway along Captain Cook Drive, follow Elouera Road into Cronulla. There are some cycle facilities on this road. If you want a quieter route, or if you are in a hurry to get to the beach, turn first left off Elouera Rd, and follow the beach into Cronulla, or stop for a dip at Wanda.

Get around

Once you are in Cronulla, the shops, North and South Cronulla Beaches, and Gunnamatta Bay are within walking distance of the accommodation spots and the train station. The north end of Cronulla mall aligns with North Cronulla Beach, the centre (Surf Road) aligns with South Cronulla Beach. The far southern end of the mall, past the station, is Gunnamatta Bay.

Walking 1km along the beach esplanade northwards will get you to Eloura Beach and a further 1 km will get you to Wanda Beach. Walking southwards along the ocean will get you to Shelly Beach and then Bass and Flinders Point.

You can drive and park within Cronulla, but parking can get difficult during summer, especially if there is a surf carnival on, or on a sunny summer weekend, and especially at South Cronulla beach.

There are buses from Cronulla and Caringbah stations that service surrounding areas . They will get you closer to the Eleura or Wanda beach than the train does. The catch is that they run infrequently, every hour or so on weekdays, and every couple of hours on weekends. They also wander around the area rather than travelling directly, taking around half an hour for the trip.

Taxis are available at the station.

Bike hire is available at Chain Reaction Cycles on the Kingsway east of the mall. Cycles aren't allowed on the beachfront esplanade.

See

Wanda Beach, with Cronulla in the distance.

• 1 Cronulla Beach (short walk from the train station). There is no one Cronulla Beach, but rather South Cronulla and North Cronulla Beaches separated by a headland and connected by a waterfront walk. Both beaches have grassy park areas behind them suitable for picnics etc. South Cronulla is more protected, and tends not to have the stronger currents and waves of the more northern beaches.  
• 2 Eloura Beach and Wanda Beach (north and east of Cronulla beach). North Cronulla, Eloura and Wanda are all part of the same long stretch of sand. These beaches are further to walk, but often offer easier parking and less crowds. They also may be less sheltered than South Cronulla. The length of sand here is greater than any of the other Southern Sydney beaches. 

Bass and Flinders Point in Cronulla

• 3 Bass and Flinders Memorial (south along the beachfront esplanade from South Cronulla Beach). Bass and Flinders discovered the Port Hacking waterway around Cronulla. A memorial to them and explanation of their journey is on the headland near the entrance to Port Hacking. Nice views across the river and ocean from here. 
• 4 Gunnamatta Bay (southern side of Cronulla, the opposite side of the station to the ocean). Gunnamatta Bay is on the bay side of Cronulla. It has a large netted enclosure for swimming, and no waves. It has a large deep water section, where you can swim laps, etc. Although diving is a bad idea, the water is plenty deep enough to jump off the wharf, and there are plenty of kids doing just that on a summer weekend. A coffee shop, beach, and park. 
• 5 Darook Park (southern side of Cronulla, the opposite side of the station to the ocean). Darook Park is also on the bay side of Cronulla. 
• Sandhills (walk along the coastline to Wanda, and keep on the track around 15 minutes beyond.). 
• 6 Cronulla State Park (Cronulla Sand Dunes), Mitchell Rd. A coastal sand dune about 15,000 years old with a maximum elevation of around 37 m. (updated Aug 2021)
• 7 Captain Cook's Landing Place, Captain Cook Drive, Kurnell. Sunrise to Sunset. You can stand on the rock where Captain Cook first stepped ashore, starting the process of European settlement. The landing place is also now next to a large oil refinery. There is a monument walk here, including a Joseph Banks Memorial, and an interpretive visitors centre. The area is never crowded with visitors, and many Sydneysiders have never visited. There are usually plenty of available and well maintained electric barbecues and picnic tables by the water. Buses can be a couple of hours apart so check the times. There is a National Park Admission fee ($11/24hr) to drive into the Park. If you only want to visit the monuments and see the landing place you can easily park just by the beach outside the park and not incur any fee to walk along the monument track from the other end. Foot or bicycle access is always free. 

Do

• Surfing. Is available at all the Cronulla ocean beaches. Surfboard hire is available at Wanda Beach and at Cronulla Surf School located at North Cronulla 
• Swimming. You can choose to swim in the surf, or the rock pools at the ocean beaches, or in the calm waters of the bay. 
• Walking. Along the esplanade. Head south from North or South Cronulla beaches, you can walk from an hour or so along this paved waterfront path. 
• Sunbathing. Just lying on the beach doing nothing 
• 1 Snorkeling (Shelly Park). There are some beautiful reefs in the Cronulla with most in the South. If you follow the coast line of Cronulla you'll come across 2 parks the first one is called Shelly Beach and the next Oak Park. These are awesome places to go and see the reefs of Cronulla and if you;re even more adventurous you could go across to Bundeena, which has a vast area of reef which most of the time you'll have to yourself. :). 
• Scuba diving. 

• Pro Drive Cronulla (On Cronulla St, just towards the mall from the station). Offers dives and introductory courses around Cronulla 

• Movies and Books. If reading is your thing there is a modern and comfortable library on the mall, with lots of space for lounging around with a book. . There are also a movie cinemas accessible from the northern end of Cronulla Mall (located on the Kingsway next to McDonalds), showing all the latest flicks. You will always get a seat. 

Buy

Cronulla Mall

1 Cronulla Mall runs between Cronulla Station and the Kingsway. It is an outdoor pedestrian precinct bordered by shops and cafes. It has a beachware stores, other fashion stores, as well as supermarkets, bakeries, and take away food.

Eat

Cronulla Mall is filled with take-away places, alfresco cafes, and restaurants with just about every kind of food. Good for lunch, coffee or a cheap meal, or an evening meal. North Cronulla Beach has a selection of restaurants just in front of the beach, good for dinner, or breakfast by the waves. South Cronulla Beach has a selection of cafes, fish and chips and ice-cream, great to eat in the park or on the rock wall with your feet in the sand. All the beaches have kiosks open when the beach is busy if you don't want to move your towel.

Coffee & quick snacks

• 1 Grind, 14-16/2 Surf Rd (Surf Lane, just off Surf Road in South Cronulla), ☏ +61 403 844 533. Daily 5:30AM–5PM. Local institution, good coffee, with queues out the door in the mornings. Also among the most expensive take away espresso in town. They usually have an extra special grind available, for an extra price. 
• 2 Nulla Nulla Cafe, 75 Cronulla St (the station end of Cronulla Mall), ☏ +61 2 9544 3239. An eat-in coffee shop. It is a great place to go for a good coffee and food. Expect to pay restaurant prices. 

Take-away

• 3 Montein Tong, 8/2 Surf Rd, ☏ +61 2 9523 5163, eat@montienthai.com.au. Tu–Su 11AM–3:30PM, 5–10PM (closed M). A Thai takeaway and eat-in restaurant. This Thai place is always busy, has been there forever, and serves reasonably priced food. If you don't like the Thai here, then you have an issue with the taste buds of a generation of Cronulla locals. (updated Aug 2023)
• Tarkan's. A great Turkish pide and kebab shop open from 11AM to 1PM F-Su and 11AM-10PM every other day. A favourite after a late night. Located across from the Post Office on Cronulla Mall. You will not miss it, it is bright pink. (updated Aug 2023)

Eat-in (Budget)

• 4 JD's Bar & Grill Cronulla, 7/1 Cronulla St, ☏ +61 2 9523 3341. $10 steaks each and every night and a variety of other foods with a great pub atmosphere definitely a place to go with a group of friends. 
• 5 Zinc Bar, 1 McDonald St, ☏ +61 2 9527 9111. M–Th noon–10PM; F Sa noon–11:30PM; Su noon–10:30PM. Located right at the end of the Kingsway in the North Cronulla Strip of restaurants, they have $13 steaks and a wide variety of food and drinks, in a vibrant atmosphere. (updated Aug 2023)

Eat-in (Mid-range)

• Hog's Breath Cafe a steak house located by North Cronulla Beach a little further down from Zink bar and up from Sealevel, a family favourite not quite as expensive as Summer Salt or Sealevel but can be hefty if taking a large family.
• 6 Little Italy, 99 Gerrale St (out the front of Cronulla RSL near South Cronulla Beach by the roundabout), ☏ +61 2 9527 7107, info@littleitalycronulla.com.au. A great Italian restaurant with a large variety of pizza's and many Italian dishes, it also does take-away and home deliveries. 

Eat-in (Splurge)

Cronulla has some of the premium restaurants in the region, with seafood the speciality.

• 7 Sealevel, 2 Kingsway (right on North Cronulla Beach), ☏ +61 2 9523 8888. Seafood restaurant. Book ahead, as it tends to be popular. 
• 8 The Nuns' Pool, 103 Ewos Parade (across the road from Shelly Beach), ☏ +61 2 9523 3395. Modern styling, and popular for weekend breakfast. Certainly one of the more expensive breakfasts in Cronulla though. Great views of the water. Try the Affagato on a summer's day for the perfect ice cream and coffee mix. $25–40 for mains. Breakfast, Lunch, and functions. (updated Sep 2023)
• Summer Salt, Mitchell Road, Cronulla, in Eloura Surf Life Saving Club. Cronulla's most expensive and elegant restaurant. Full degustation menu available, but still does kids meals! $30-$40 for mains. Weeknight specials. 

Drink

• 1 Northies Bar and Restaurant. One of the most famous drinking holes in Sydney.Northies is famous for its great atmostphere and great location. Cronulla loves to drink and you will see locals (and ring-ins) out on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays (day and night) at Cronulla's favorite drinking spot. Very popular and crowded spot located directly across from North Cronulla Beach. On other weeknights, it is actually a nice spot for dinner and a casual drink not too far for the beach. The restaurant is reasonable, and has kids meals. Sit inside to escape the cigarette smoke. (updated May 2015)
• 2 Cronulla RSL (located at South Cronulla beach), 38 Gerrale Street. An RSL with a great sports bar and cocktail room, it also host a pokie room and has a nice view of the beach. 
• 3 Fusions Nightclub, 1/84-86 Cronulla Street. Although no where as good as a night club in the city, fusions can be quiet handy. It is across from Gloria Jeans on Cronulla Mall and costs $10 for entry after 9PM. 
• 4 Sharkies Leagues Club, 461 Captain Cook Drive. If you are looking for more of a club atmosphere, or just a place you can gamble away all your money and drink at a reasonable price then this is it. Hosting a huge pokie room and television area if you're keen on watching the Rugby League. It is the club of the local Cronulla Sharks football team. This venue is in Woolooware, around 3 km from Cronulla, and around a 1-km walk from Woolooware station. (updated Aug 2023)

Sleep

• 1 Rydges Cronulla Sydney, 20-26 The Kingsway (Located on the Kingsway opposite Cronulla Beach just down from the mall). Certainly not a luxury hotel, but has the basics. Try to get an ocean view room if you can. Often has Internet only specials on their web page. from $220, Saturday night much more. (updated Sep 2023)
• 2 Quest Apartments and Hotel. Located across the road from the beach, these apartments offer a self-catering option for those wishing to experience a home away from home. The standard of accommodation offered is high and the service is great. 
• 3 Cronulla Motor Inn, 85 Kingsway. Located on the Kingsway right as you enter Cronulla on the left hand side, it has a big sign out the front - if you are looking, it is hard to miss. 16 rooms and 1 apartment. from $154. (updated Sep 2023)

Connect

Cronulla library has free Wi-Fi for 4 hours per day during opening hours. Some coffee-shops also offer free Wi-Fi.

Go next

A ferry leaves from Cronulla every hour to Bundeena on the edge of Royal National Park. Bundeena has its own bay beaches which are quieter than Cronulla, and a small selection of restaurants, take away places and coffee. Catch the ferry from the ferry wharf on the Gunnamatta Bay side of the railway behind the station. Don't miss the last ferry back. The timetable is on the wharf.

Routes via Sydney/Cronulla

Bondi Junction ← Sutherland ←

W (then N)  T4  E

→ END