Palm Beach Ferries
Connecting the Northern Beaches, Pittwater and the Central Coast since 1982
Our Palm Beach Ferry Service operates all day, every day. With seven departure locations, you can join us at a time and place that suits your itinerary. Our services are passenger ferries only, there is not currently a car ferry service connecting the Northern Beaches and Central Coast. View the Ferry Timetable.
Palm Beach to Ettalong via Wagstaffe
Fantasea Palm Beach Ferries provides this reliable highspeed, scenic service. With regular departures from Palm Beach wharf, travelling across four waterways, it is not only the fastest, but most enjoyable way to travel between the beaches and the central coast. We don’t mind if you bring your dog along for the ride (as long as it stays outside) and you can bring your bike for an extra $6.00.
Whilst we may be biased in saying that this is one of the most picturesque journeys in NSW, we recommend you take a seat outside to absorb the fresh air, landscapes, beaches, coastline and bush. You may even see the seals basking on the rocks under the light house!
-
- Barrenjoey Lighthouse
- Lion Island
- Lobster Beach
- Bouddi National Park
- Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
- Pearl and Umina Beaches
- Broken Bay, Brisbane Water, Pittwater
-
Palm Beach to Wagstaffe 20 minutes Wagstaffe to Ettalong 10 minutes Ettalong to Palm Beach 25 minutes -
Ettalong Wharf
Ferry Rd, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257Parking: Off-street parking is available along Booker Bay Rd and Murray St.
Wagstaffe Wharf
Mullhall St, Wagstaffe NSW 2257
Palm Beach Wharf
Barrenjoey Rd, Palm Beach NSW 2108
Parking:
Pittwater Park 74 spacesBarrenjoey Road, Palm Beach NSW 2108
Palm Beach Carpark 36 spaces
Ocean Road, Palm Beach NSW 2108
Palm Beach Ferry Wharf 50 spaces
Barrenjoey Road, Palm Beach NSW 2108
On street parking is also available in the surrounding streets
-
Palm Beach Adventure
My wife and I caught a ferry from Ettalong to Palm Beach for the morning. The ferry was on time, clean, and a very comfortable ride. Once you board the ferry and take your seat the deck hand will come around, take your payment, and issue you a ticket. This ferry doesn’t operate on the NSW public transport ‘Opal Card’ system. We caught the ferry on a public holiday and the line was quite long. Not sure how it is normally but I would recommend arriving early.
– Tripinator146 | Maitland, Australia
An Excellent Service – Essential for the Central Coast
We have availed ourselves of this service on many occasions. A relaxing 30 minute trip to Palm Beach is far better than the one and a half hour drive from the Central Coast.
The ferry is always on time, the crew members are efficient, helpful and friendly.
This service is well worth the money and I feel is “critical” to transport options between the Central Coast and the Palm Beach peninsula.
Dredging of the channel is a continual issue, and whilst ferry services have had to be cancelled at various times (but not very often) this is not the ferry company’s fault – local council and government inaction has its impact.
The cruise across Broken Bay with Lion’s Head the outstanding feature is a pleasurable experience.
– Phillip8789 | Terrigal, Australia
Great ferry service.
Fantasea ferries run some great services. We took the ferry from from Ettalong Beach to Palm Beach and it cost us less than what we would have paid in parking along in Palm Beach. The ferry trip from Ettalong Beach made for a lovely day out without 1 and 3 year olds. The boats were clean and looked well looked after. There was a toy box on board for children to play with during the journey – great idea.
– themurrayfamily | Sheffield, United Kingdom
Great ferry ride to Ettalong
great ferry ride, good views, friendly staff. Good timetable. We caught the 12noon ferry and had lunch at The Box takeaway Ettalong, fish and chips and a beer. Followed by a swim then back on the 2.30 pm ferry back to Palm Beach.
– 869philipa
Fantastic service
The staff at Fantasea cruises are very professional and extremely helpful. They were so happy and were friendly to customers. How they navigate so easily around those sandbars we Will never know. We had such a pleasant trip and will certainly be back again soon.
– AussieLemonMyrtle
Palm Beach to The Basin, Coasters Retreat
Bennets Wharf, Bonnie Doon, The Basin, Currawong Beach & Mackerel Beach
Step on board the iconic Palm Beach ferry Myra for a leisurely cruise on Pittwater. The first two stops Bennets Wharf and Bonnie Doon are the gateway to Coasters Retreat. They are closely followed by the is the most popular destination of all, The Basin; offering flat, grassy camping grounds and excellent picnic facilities. Protected by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and with deep water anchorage and protected swimming lagoon, the Basin is truly one of Sydney’s sun drenched, idyllic natural wonders. We then continue on our journey to a little hideaway called Currawong Beach. The fifth and final stop on the ferry route is the famous Mackerel Beach before returning to Palm Beach.
The ferry departs Palm Beach hourly seven days a week, join us to experience one of these amazing destinations first-hand or stay on-board the ferry and marvel at the Beauty of Pittwater and the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. The round-trip journey takes approximately 45 minutes, but once on-board you will be in no hurry to rush home.
-
Palm Beach to The Basin 20 minutes The Basin to Mackerel Beach 10 minutes Mackerel Beach to Palm Beach 15 minutes -
Bennets Wharf
Coasters Retreat NSW 2108
-
great day out
sail to the basin or currawong beach or mackerel beach. you can hike from each wharf to another or hike to the famous west head lookout from mackerel beach. it’s a bit of a climb
– TravelManiac333 | Sydney, Australia | Read this review on TripAdvisor
Basic Sightseeing
Got a ferry from the pier at Pittwater across to the basin. We did the roundtrip just to see what the little bays were like. It took about 45mins in total and the whole area is beautiful. If I ever get the chance again I would get off and walk around, unfortunately we were on our final day so a little pushed for time.
– clairedjnj | Newcastle, United Kingdom | Read this review on TripAdvisor
A service for the locals and tourists alike.
As we used to live on the western fore shores of Pittwater, I cannot say enough about this service. No matter what the weather they are reliable and helpful. A round trip from Palm Beach to Coasters Retreat, Mackerel Beach is a holiday in itself.
– Tanya W | Newport, Australia | Read this review on TripAdvisor
NOTE: Palm Beach Ferries is now cashless please be informed that we are only accepting credit/debit card transactions.
Palm Beach Ferries Menu
Get in touch
Toll Free: 1 800 326 822
A: 2/1112-1118 Barrenjoey Road, Palm Beach, NSW 2108
E: Palm.Beach@fantasea.com.au
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
Rated "Excellent" by 200+ Travellers!
"It was an absolutely great whale watching experience. We saw a lot of humpback whales and dolphins. Beautiful day. Staffs were very friendly. The boat was large, comfy and clean. It was really enjoyable and I'll definitely come back. :)"
– Yinzhi L. via TripAdvisor
"Amazing view of the lights without the crowds. The boat was clean and comfortable and not over crowded. Lots of room to move about and get photos. All the staff were friendly and pointed out things of interest. Highly recommended!"
– rickyandrobyn via TripAdvisor
"We had a great morning with the Fantasea crew and saw a lot of humpback whales, really amazing experience. The staff was friendly and the facilities very good. We would definitely go again!"
– Rebekka K. via TripAdvisor
"Great deal booked online and a really lovely 1 1/2 hrs cruising the harbour. We enjoyed the outdoor deck upstairs, but the inside area was just beautiful for those who preferred to be inside. Staff were lovely and overall experience was terrific. We were blessed with the weather... would highly recommend!"
– Kerrilyn H. via TripAdvisor