A hotspot for beginner surfers. This fully accessible beach has excellent facilities plus one of the city’s great art-deco monuments, the United Cinemas.

The consensus among the surfing community says Collaroy is the best place to learn how to get up on a board. Low swells make for easy-riding waves, and there’s plenty of cafes and eateries nearby to recalibrate at after a ho-hum session.

It also offers amenities nearby Narrabeen and Long Reef don’t, such as toilets, a playground for all abilities, and a water-ready wheelchair ramp providing access to the sand and surf. The picturesque ocean pool on the southern end is also fully accessible.

Collaroy is one of the few beaches in Sydney where you can trudge out of the surf and catch a blockbuster film moments later – the heritage-listed United Cinemas across the street is one of the greatest examples of art deco architecture in Sydney.