Dee Why Beach

Always love a beach on the Northern Beaches that is not crowded and has a nice long stretch of sand. It’s my little secret during Summer when all the tourists, expats and locals are pushing and shoving their way on the beaches along the Eastern Suburbs.
There’s cafes alongside the beachfront promenade and the selection of juices and smoothies on offer is great especially during a hot Summer day.

I love this place so much. I fell in love with it the first time I went there. In the summer, my family and I always go for a walk after dinner. Nothing better then feeling that wind on your face is you try to burn off that dinner you had.
Not to mention, the also strip of cafes and restaurants there! There’s Italian, Australian, Asian, Brazilian, Japanese and Greek! Seriously, there’s nearly anything you can think of. Not to mention an ice cream bar (I always go for the Ferrero Rocher ice cream by the way) that you can hit up after dinner.
There’s plenty of parking and who doesn’t like the beach! Plus there’s the Dee Why lagoon too and if you’re in luck, it’ll look like a magical lake!
Come check out my favourite beach people, there’s only love for this place!

Is a nice beach, however it often gets a lot of seaweed.
I prefer north curl curl, which is jut around the corner.

I was briefly in Dee Why in 1999. I was on foot trying to find an address so I walked up and down a fairly main street trying to find the building. Almost immediately several large Pacific Islanders pulled over and confronted me. I explained that I was trying to find an address, they told me to just forget about it and beat it. I did. Seems like the locals might be kind of heavy handed? Since I’m from California they probably realized I was just a confused tourist as soon as I opened my mouth. To this day I have no idea what that was about and I don’t want to know. I just figure I had an «authentic» Dee Why experience.

Great beaches all along Sydney’s north suburbs. What’s special about this one?
It has everything. Two great tidal pools, a big playground, large grassy areas, and a huge long arching beach. Good for surfing or swimming.
What offsets it most from the other beaches I’ve seen in the area is the variety of dining establishments along the beachfront (across the road from the beach actually). Several coffee shops, a sushi restaurant, a great Italian restaurant, probably half a dozen other places to eat, relax, and enjoy the view.
Because it has everything it is popular and gets crowded. But it’s a big long beach, if you want to walk a bit and find some space.

Got a long-​haired surfer mate that lives right on the promenade, a veritable stone’s throw from the foam. Nay, less than a stone’s throw. Here, then, is a morning spent in his company courtesy of Dee Why.
Up at 5am. De-​zombify as much as is practical at that hour. At his place by half fivey. Say good morning to his attractive flattie as she wipes the sleep from her eyes and stretches like a cat. Wettie top on, pick up our sticks, trot over to the south end of the beach. Wait 5 mins while mate hits the crapper (nobody likes an aquabog). Wait 5 mins more. What is he doing in there. Pick our way across the rocks to the end of the point, time our jump between sets and spend an hour surfing classy right-​handers with a handful of like-​minded souls. Follow the swell and paddle across to the beach. Sun is up now, everything’s gold. Half the board riders in the drink disappear to get to work. It’s all ours for another precious hour.
Finishe with a giant brekkie — acai with seasonal fruit or full clacker with a side of potato rosti — at one of the dozen beachfront cafes, take your pick, throw down an Earl Grey, fist bump, chest bump, high five, draw the line at an ass slap, and start the day proper.
Perfsies brah. Yay Dee Why.

Dee Why Beach is an extensive 1.2m long stretch from the southern end which has the Ted Jackson reserve with a playround, picnic area, boardwalks and lookout platforms to the northern end which is Long Reef. There is one large ocean pool under the southern cliff.
Dee Why has parking available that is free for vehicles displaying Warringah Council parking stickers and pay ‘n’ display is available for those without. The cost for pay ‘n’ display parking is: Monday to Friday — $ 5 an hour or $ 8 all day Weekends — $ 25 all day. There are designated disabled car spaces available. For free parking I would suggest taking Oaks Avenue and driving up Monash Parade there are spaces that lead right up to Ozone Parade. If you are feeling energetic you can walk down as far as Ozone Parade.
Where you have the golden sand of Dee Why Beach on one side on the other you have the beautiful restaurants of bar of which each one deserves a single review of its own.

North of cliquey Curl Curl and south of sprawling Long Reef lies friendly Dee Why. The beach here is huuuuuuuuuuuge, meaning that even on the hottest summer day, you can always find your own little patch of sunshine. Weak swimmer beware though — the huge size of the beach means there are often unfriendly rips and currents, as well as the abundance of seaweed that often turns up on this part of the Peninsula.
Dee Why is popular with both locals and those from further afield for a number of reasons. It’s got an enclosed childrens playground with a million-​dollar view, a huge grass area ideal for a picnic on a summers eve, plus heaps of choice for food and drink along The Strand.
Unless you’re blessed enough to have a Warringah Council parking sticker, you’re gonna have to pay for parking. although I have heard unconfirmed rumours of rarely-​available street parking.

This has got to be one of my favourite beaches in Sydney. It has a great range of cafes and food joints along the strand. It has decent coffee (see my Bacino review
)
Best of all, this beach has a great fenced in kids playground for any little person who has too much energy to take home.
Parking can be a challenge, but if you keep trying at some of the side streets you can sometimes score free parking (very rare at Sydney beaches).