Anchored boats bob by the beach. Kids build sandcastles on the gentle shore as the ferry from Palm Beach moors up. Some paddle the Broken Bay horizon, others recline seaside with their afternoon Aperol as the sun lingers over Mt Ettalong. Whether you visit on foot, ferry, four wheels or two, you can rely on slowing things down in style at Ettalong Beach on the Central Coast. Favoured for decades as a charming, seaside village retreat for Sydneysiders, who hop on the Palm Beach ferry to reach Ettalong in just 30 minutes, or nip down the M1 in only an hour, this small Peninsula town never tires to attract holidaymakers. Yet, a visible creative influence combined with the rising appetite for slow travel has gifted Ettalong with a fresh wave of brunch spots, boutiques, classy bars and 5-star restaurants – all ready to explore from The Esplanade to Ocean View Road. For today’s conscious traveller, Ettalong offers a portion of nostalgia and innovation, with a welcome balance of charm and calm. Explore its modest golden beach and foreshore with gentle, child-friendly swells, marvel at impressive vistas of Bouddi National Park, Lion Island and Pearl Beach, then shop-hop its spectrum of small businesses.
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Cast your vote in the Top Tourism Town Awards category for under 5,000 residents
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Discover vintage boutique and homeware stores, vibrant cafes, Sicilian bakery Sasa, traditional Italian pizzeria La Fiamma, juice and salad kiosk Innerglow Goodness, ice-cream and smoothie bowl parlours, and the incredible cocktail menu at Bar Toto (which sits below intimate venue Cinema Paradiso).Mix this all up and you have a town that makes it easy to soak up the beachside lifestyle by day, and wind down in style by night.
Set the tone of your visit at Slowwell, part café, part bookshop, part wellbeing practice; a welcoming space designed to help you find calm amid the chaos. Expect slow brew coffee, beautiful curated books and camping accessories.v Mooch around Salmon & Co’s handmade homewares and native floral bouquets, then explore the vintage and vinyl boutique Tiki La La for hand-sourced retro treasures.
Punk-pink café Lords of Pour is right next door for a quality brew and brunch. Exploring kitsch centrepiece – The Galleria – feels like stepping into a Mediterranean maze, with Romanesque sculptures and murals, marble décor and a rotating range of local market vendors bursting out of shopfronts. Standing since 1979, this impressive building houses several artisan restaurants, including the award-winning, hatted restaurant, Safran, serving some of the finest modern Turkish cuisine in the state.
Day-trippers can connect by foot via The Esplanade to neighbouring Ocean Beach and Umina Beach. Just ensure you reserve one of the best seats in the house at The Box on the Water to catch that million dollar sunset over Broken Bay.
Whether you’re a creative soul seeking a morning of beachside brunching and browsing, or the adventurous sort after a day of paddling, swimming, fishing or SUPing, Ettalong is first choice for a taste of the charmingly calm Central Coast lifestyle.
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Exceptional eateries, scenic bike rides on the foreshore, and small boutiques dotted along your journey.
Ettalong is a fashionable seaside town locatedon The Peninsula; the southern gateway to the Central Coast.
Looking out across Broken Bay to the Bouddi Peninsula, LionIsland, Pearl Beach and Palm Beach in Northern Sydney, Ettalong is a friendly community offering a slower pace of life alongside avisibly rising wave of creativity.
Start your day with some of the finest coffee establishments onthe Central Coast, and wrap it up with some of the most colourful cocktail menus. By the end of this tour your thirst for the finer things will be quenched.
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