Ah, Bondi, how we love you. For all your oddities and and inconsistencies, your disappointments and few disgraces, we do adore you. Bondi’s exuberant mix of high end de luxe glam side-by-side with scruffy faded grandeur is most appealling.
Natural beauty and kid-friendly outdoor activities will keep all families busy and engaged, whether splashing in the surf or walking the coastline enjoying the salty tang of the sea breezes.
Visit Bondi for a full day or half a day, or do as we did and stay for a couple of nights on a Bondi seaside staycation.
I remember being startled when I first visited Bondi as a new emigrant 30 years ago; where were the palm trees, I wondered? And why does the car park have the best views?
These days I truly appreciate that Bondi beach has remained low rise, and somewhat down to earth, at least in parts.
Bondi is not perfect at all, the car parking can be hard to find and is always expensive and the beach can be just too busy, so you need to pick your times. But Bondi is special and always will be, and it is compact enough to get to know well in a short time.
Here follows a list of outdoors things to do with kids in and around Bondi then suggestions for cafes and restaurants to visit, and some indoor ideas too. The article ends with a description of the delightful Adina Apartment Hotel where we stayed.
Bondi Beach
The smooth curve of Bondi Beach is about 1km long, backed by a promenade which is terrific to stroll along. There are grassy spaces behind the beach at each end, the famous Bondi Pavilion is in the middle of the beach with a fenced playground alongside it. At the north end of the beach is the shallow children’s wading pool, and at the south end is the superb Bondi Icebergs pool.
On the beach you will find flags to swim between at the north end at North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club and right in the middle, where Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, home of the famous Bondi Rescue TV series, is found .
If you are a visitor to Sydney, I cannot emphasise strongly enough how important it is to stay between the flags when you enter the water. You might see people splashing in the shallow waves outside the flags or even swimming but I strongly advise you NOT to join them. Bondi is a famous surf beach for the very good reason that it has waves and waves mean rips. You will be safe if you stay within the flags where surf guards will be watching your every move.
Bondi Beach Playground
This playground has the best sea views of all the hundreds of playgrounds in Sydney. The equipment is boat-themed and great for toddlers and preschoolers, even for primary aged children. The playground is completely enclosed, with space to BBQ and picnic beside it. There are cafes at the Pavilion to get takeway from, plus plenty across the road too. This is a top spot to enjoy the views whilst the children run wild.
Bondi Beach Playground
By Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive Bondi 2026
See more photos and read a full description of the playground at Bondi Beach here.
North Bondi Children’s Pool
This wading pool is not huge and is very shallow so you can’t have a swim here, but little kids will adore running around. Bring a bucket and spade and dig a few holes in the beach alongside, you might stay here for hours!
You’ll find this child-friendly pool at the very northern end of the beach.
Surfing Lessons at Bondi
The whole family can do surfing lessons at Bondi, children aged five and over are generally fine to start surfing adventures. Lets Go Surfing at Bondi offers 2-hour adults or kids group lessons, they also run private family lesson.
Weekend workshops are also on offer, but check the website to see what is current.
Website: Let’s Go Surfing website here
Phone: 02 9365-1800
Icebergs Pool
This highly Instagrammable rock pool has a 50m lap pool where serious swimmers and serious sunworshippers and general beautiful people posers are to be found. There is also a smaller pool where families can hang out and swim for fun. Be aware that there is no shade around the pool so wear heaps of sunscreen and use your hats, avoiding the middle of the day is best.
There is a small fee to enter Icebergs. Do check on the website to see what hours and days it is open as these do vary.
Read a detailed article about Icebergs here, there are heaps more photos there.
Family Walks Around Bondi
Bondi Beach Promenade
If you have a stroller or very young children then you will find a simple walk along the promenade that runs by the length of Bondi Beach an easy walk to enjoy.
On the promenade you will find the magnificent Bondi Graffiti Wall with many contemporary and challenging artworks by local artists.
Bondi Skate Park is also by the promenade, a top spot for teenagers and older primary-aged children.
Bondi to Coogee Coastal Path
The best known Bondi walk is that which runs along the coastline from Bondi to Coogee. This is a 6km walk one way, past stunning beaches and along soaring cliff tops. You can also walk just from Bondi to Bronte Beach and back, this is a 5km return expedition.
The walk is easy to find, just go to the south of Bondi Beach and follow other walkers along past Icebergs Pool. However, I do recommend buying the map produced by Sydney Coast Walks, it only costs $2.49 to download and it is very comprehensive. Do buy it if you plan to explore the whole length of the coastal path.
Sydney Coast Walks also has a long article about this walk here which you can read to help plan your walk.
South Head Heritage Trail at Watsons Bay
This is a terrific coastal walk around Sydney Harbour and soaring South Head, just a 5-10 minute drive away from Bondi Beach. Read all about this walk here.
Bondi to Watsons Bay: Federation Cliff Path
You can walk the 9km from Bondi to Watsons Bay all along the ocean side until you get to South Head and then along the Harbour. The best 5km of this walk, from Dover Heights to Watsons Bay, is called the Federation Cliff Path.
We have not done this walk ourselves, so read all about it over here on the Walk My World website.
Kid-Friendly Bondi Cafes + Restaurants
We have had some favourite Bondi kid-friendly cafes for a while now, but found a few new ones on this trip too.
In Hall Street, where we were staying, we had dinner at:
Bills Bondi Beach
79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach
Phone: 61 2 8412 0700
Bill Granger’s eponymous restaurants are a Sydney institution, known for their relaxed atmosphere and fresh, modern Australian cuisine.
China Diner
75-79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach
Phone: 02 9130 2333
This large and popular restaurant serves Modern Asian food in a distinctly 1930s Shangai-inspired venue.
We loved having breakfast and coffees at Cali Press at 2/16 Hall Street, Bondi Beach. Cali Press serves wholefood, organic dishes, including terrific breakfast bowls, plus coffee and freshly squeezed organic juices. A great start to the day!
Find the Cali Press website here
After an early morning winter swim with an old friend, I absolutely wolfed down this breakfast of Blueberry Ricotta Hotcakes at Harry’s, 2/136 Wairoa Avenue, North Bondi. It was superb and filled the gap. Harry’s serves fresh, Australian breakfasts and lunches and is a local fave for Bondi residents.
Our fave lunch was at Heart Cafe at 95 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach. Heart Cafe is a social enterprise cafe from The Wayside Chapel, serving fresh, local and wholesome meals whilst training and employing people who are on their way from unemployment to full-time work. A cauliflower and cheese soup there was totally scrumptious and I loved the look and the warm woolly blankets, knitted with love.
The most family-friendly cafe in Bondi is further away in North Bondi, the inimitable Shuk is at 2 Mitchell Street. The food is Israeli, Middle Easter and Mediterranean inspired, there’s an awesome small garden with plenty of toys for the kids to play with too.
My friend Paula who runs the terrific websites Sydney Expert and Australia Your Way recommends Rocker and Speedos Cafe at North Bondi. She adds that North Bondi RSL is good for a value meal on the balcony.
Other recommendations from family foodie friends are Bondi Trattoria at 34 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach and Moo Gourmet Burgers at 70A Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach.
Bondi Shops + Shopping
Bondi Wash at 76 Gould St, Bondi is wonderful for all your scent, shampoo, spray and cleaning needs.
Gertrude + Alice at 46 Hall Street sells new and second hand books served with coffee and love.
Commune Bondi at Shop 1, 96 Glenayr Avenue, Bondi is terrific for browsing funky furniture, homewares and fashion.
Op Shops: check out Hall Stret for the local Vinnies and U-Turn Recycled fashion.
Campbell Parade and Gould Street: stroll along these streets for high end boutiques, wholefood shops and surf shops.
Westfield Bondi Junction: teenagers will adore hopping onto a bus and spending hours at this enormous and rather upmarket shopping centre
The Adina Apartment Hotel Bondi
If you are looking for a very kid-friendly place to stay in Bondi, do look at the Adina, for its location as much as its comfort and style.
You can walk to the beach in five minutes from the Adina and it is surrounded by cafes, restaurants and cool shops.
Apartment hotels are always so handy for families and the kitchen facilities in each apartment here are good. The one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments also have washing machines and tumble driers – essential when at the beach.
We had a one-bedroom apartment connected to a studio apartment and that worked really well for us with two teenagers. If you have one child then you can use the sofa bed in the one bedroom apartments.
Adina Apartment Hotel Bondi
69-73 Hall Street, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026
- Washing machine and drier in the one- and two-bedroom apartments
- Kitchen with large fridge, two ring stove, dishwasher and microwaves
- Bath and shower
- The pool is open-air but covered, it is heated to 24°C and there’s a warm spa pool alongside
- The pool seating outdoors is nice and so is the large relaxed and stylish lobby
- Bikes can be used at no cost
- There’s a gelato shop right next door!
- Bills is on the left and China Diner to the right
- Ther is a small IGA supermarket and a bottleshop directly across the road, to the left is a Harris Farm
- Borrow stripy beach towels from reception for pool and beach
So that’s Bondi! Do you know of other good places to visit there with children? Please do leave a message in the comments, it’s always great to share.
We were kindly offered a media rate to stay at the Adina Apartment Hotel Bondi, which made our stay a wee bit cheaper than the usual rates. Thank you TFE Hotels, much appreciated.
