​Day trip to Manly, Sydney

We woke up bright and early this Sunday morning to catch a tram at Townhall Station to Circular Quay for the 8.10am ferry to Manly.

On Sundays, it is a flat A$2.50 for all-day travel using Opal card (if you tap on and off correctly), so it will save you a bit of money if you plan your day trips on Sundays because the normal ferry ride to Manly is A$7 one-way (Opal card is not valid for the fast ferry).

Since we thought the rest of the world might be thinking the same thing, we thought that it might be a good idea to have an early start, and have our breakfast before visiting the Manly Weekend Market, which starts at 10am.

Each Manly ferry could take around 1000 passengers but the ferry was relatively empty this morning (probably less than 100 passengers), and we got ourselves seated at the front bow and had an awesome view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge as the ferry left Wharf 3.

Sydney Opera House

Harbour Bridge

We stayed outdoors for close to 15 minutes before it became too cold for us but the 30-minute ferry ride was very scenic!

We took a short walk from the Manly Wharf to The Pantry Manly passing by a shopping street. After a lovely breakfast while admiring the gorgeous view, we went for a short stroll along the Manly beach.

It was a gorgeous morning with clear blue skies, and there were quite a few people surfing despite the cold. Many were playing beach volleyball too! There were water refill stops placed strategically along the walking path, which was great because everyone needed lots of water.

The weekend Manly Market Place had temporarily shifted to the Southern beach front, so it became a market with a view! There were lesser number of stalls, but they were selling similar items that we had seen in other markets previously.

There was also a small Manly Fresh Produce Market (every Wednesday and Saturday 8am to 2pm), selling freshly baked bread, coffee, as well as raw vegetables and fruits. This was held between 2 rows of shops.

We decided to take the 12noon ferry back to the city, as we also wanted to check out the weekend market at The Rocks. This time, it was warm enough for us to stay outdoors throughout. It was sunny and breezy, and was a very pleasant ride with a lovely view!

As we left the ferry, we were thankful that we made the correct decision to go early, there were at least 800 passengers going to Manly on the next ferry, and Wharf 3 was jam-packed with people, with more trying to get in/topping up their Opal cards.