What is Neutral Bay like?

Hi

I have recently stumbled across some accommodation in Neutral Bay that me and my girlfriend are looking at booking for a month in Sydney in Jan 17 it is very reasonably priced so that is why we have stumbled upon Neutral Bay. I am just wondering what the area is like is it close enough to Sydney to still get the city experience? Is it quite accessible to get to Bondi, CBD Darling Harbour etc? And also just a vague overview of the area would be of great help and much appreciated

Thanks for your time

Yes it is handy for the CBD. Although it does get heavy traffic in rush hour, but like most places really. Not particularly handy for Bondi, that would be into the city and out again. It would be handier for Manly. I am not sure where to start in describing it visually, but it is somewhere I would be perfectly happy living in if I found the right property.

ETA: I just realised you only mean holiday accommodation, in that case nah it is not where I would base myself for a holiday.

Yes it is handy for the CBD. Although it does get heavy traffic in rush hour, but like most places really. Not particularly handy for Bondi, that would be into the city and out again. It would be handier for Manly. I am not sure where to start in describing it visually, but it is somewhere I would be perfectly happy living in if I found the right property.

 

ETA: I just realised you only mean holiday accommodation, in that case nah it is not where I would base myself for a holiday.

Thanks for that what would be your reason not to base it as a holiday base for the month? It is about $400-500 cheaper than around bondi etc that's the Main reason we've been looking at it to be honest

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P.s what is the closest beach to Neutral Bay ? We have been looking at property in Vaucluse would you say that is better located ?

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Thanks for that what would be your reason not to base it as a holiday base for the month? It is about $400-500 cheaper than around bondi etc that's the Main reason we've been looking at it to be honest

 

 

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No reason. It's a very good area. It's MUCH more convenient for the city than Bondi (tons of buses that take about 10 minutes, plus ferry if you're on that side of the harbour). It's a leafy attractive suburb. Lots of shops, cafes, restaurants and an excellent pub (the Oaks) up on Military Rd.

Closest beach is Balmoral which is a quite lovely harbour beach. Lots of buses to Manly for an ocean beach. Manly is a far better place than Bondi IMO, feels like a proper town, with all sorts of attractions.

P.s what is the closest beach to Neutral Bay ? We have been looking at property in Vaucluse would you say that is better located ?

 

 

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No. Vaucluse is an upmarket suburb on the heights above Bondi. It's quite lovely but transport connections are pretty ordinary

Here you are:

Neutral Bay is much closer to the city centre than Bondi (or Manly). If you look at the above map, all the buses going from the city to the Northern Beaches (the coast that runs north from Manly) and Manly etc go through Neutral Bay, mostly up Military Road (The one marked A8 on the map), so transport is great. It's also quite easy to walk to North Sydney to catch the train if you want, from most of the suburb. North Sydney is the area just to the left of Neutral Bay on the map, it's a commercial/officey area mostly but with a bit more life in the evenings these days

Beaches I've marked in Orange/yellow. Harbour beaches have flattish water and are fairly kid-friendly. All the beaches on the ocean side (the far side of Manly and north from there, and Bondi and south from there) are ocean beaches which are much more surfy. Depends what you want. As you can see, there are no surf beaches particularly close to the CBD, the nearest are Bondi (reachable by bus from the city, or train to Bondi Junction and bus from there) or Manly (bus from CBD, or ferry from Circular Quay). If you do want an ocean side experience, then do consider Manly as well as the Eastern Suburbs beaches (Bondi, Coogee)

In Neutral Bay suburb itself, Military Road runs along a ridgeline, with the rest of the suburb dropping down the hill towards the harbour from there. The shopping/restaurant area is around Military Rd, the streets away from this strip are pretty quiet and leafy. Lots of jacaranda trees just coming into bloom at this time of year. It's a much quieter type of place than Bondi, not sure what you want but there's plenty of life on Military Rd and as you can see it's very well connected.

Very typical Neutral Bay streetscape

Garden of the Oaks pub (hence the name)

Balmoral Beach

Manly beach (ocean side)

Manly town centre (the Corso - a pedestrian mall running from the ocean beach to the wharf on the harbour side)

Bondi beach, from above the Icebergs club

Sorry. Can't get map to work properly. But you can probably figure it out from Google

It's all very subjective, so you really need to take what people say here with that in mind, but there's lots going on in Neutral Bay and lots around there. It's all the stuff North Shore Pom said ^, and it's close to lots of other places too. So Mosman is the next suburb, and Military Road has a ton of cafes and restaurants. Pleases like Crows nest are quite nearby and Kirribilli, all nice suburbs. The Zoo is in that area, and you are close to Balmoral and Clontarf beaches (harbour beaches). It feels like the city, but less full on/business/grind than the CBD and places like Surry Hills.

It's not too far to the Spit bridge, and the other side of that is the start of the northern beaches area, so easy to get to Manly or any of those ocean beaches by car or bus. I can't imagine you'd be bored.

I guess if you want to be nearer Bondi, then just go live there or around that area. Many people say it can take up to 40 mins to get in and out of the city from Bondi, so it's not necessarily quick. It's not a massive deal getting over the harbour, but I would imagine if you lived on the North side you'd hang about there more often. For work commutes, distance doesn't always mean a longer commute. Places that look easy to get to can be a hassle (like Walsh bay, Harbour end of Pymont etc) - but there are tons of buses that go through Neutral Bay. you can jump on a bus to Wynyard and get a train if needed.

Darling harbour is easily reached by car as a road goes straight in off the bridge to that area and onto the inner west.

If you don't have any massive ties, kids to get into schools etc, then you could try it, and move if it's not right after a while. That's not uncommon around here. People I know seem to have lived here and there. Like most places there will be pros and cons. It's a desirable suburb, and that's reflected in the rent and real estate prices (but that's pretty much a Sydney wide thing anyway)

http://www.homely.com.au/neutral-bay-north-sydney-sydney-greater-new-south-wales

PS - Just noticed you were looking for a 4 week holiday place, as i only read original post after I wrote the post above. It might still work. It's groovy enough, and you can get around.

Maybe if you just want to do the 'Sydney thing' I'd go for Manly or Bondi (or Coogee, Bronte etc - Eastern Burbs beach places) - find a bit of extra cash, get right where you want to be and enjoy it. Sydney is great, but some places are just suburbs. If you want to make the most of it, just go for the 'best rated' places that you think will be what you are looking for.

I would happily base myself in Neutral Bay for a month. It's well connected - local buses, trains from Milson's Point, the ferry or you could walk/cycle over the bridge if feeling enthusiastic. There are lovely walking trails around the foreshore (Tarongo Zoo, Bradley's Head, Chowder Bay, Balmoral Beach). Lots of cafes, nice shops etc.

Perhaps if you are looking for party central, it's not the right place, but for pleasant activities, using as a base for exploring, I'd go for it.

It's not near Bondi but you can still visit, and you might like it - or you might be happy that you chose Neutral Bay instead

It's not near Bondi but you can still visit, and you might like it - or you might be happy that you chose Neutral Bay instead

Personally I'd vote for Neutral Bay. :wubclub: Bondi is vastly over rated IMO - and the beaches nearer Neutral Bay previously mentioned, such as Manly and Balmoral, are much nicer.

Personally I'd vote for Neutral Bay. :wubclub: Bondi is vastly over rated IMO - and the beaches nearer Neutral Bay previously mentioned, such as Manly and Balmoral, are much nicer.

Agree, I don't like Bondi either, but I had to visit it, to realise that I didn't like it!

I'd definitely choose Neutral Bay over Bondi! We lived in Neutral Bay for a year when we migrated before going over to Perth. Balmoral is a very nice little beach. As well as being close to Taronga Zoo and numerous cafes the old-time art deco cinema in Cremorne is worth a visit.

Thanks for that what would be your reason not to base it as a holiday base for the month? It is about $400-500 cheaper than around bondi etc that's the Main reason we've been looking at it to be honest

 

 

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I would happily live in Neutral Bay. For a holiday my personal preference would be to stay in the CBD, no reason why you should, it would just be my personal choice to be able to walk to all the city centre sights. I would not even consider staying near Bondi, I would stay in Neutral Bay rather than Bondi if that was the choice.

Yes, Balmoral is sweet. A great spot, plenty of places to hang. Lots of people get married there. Lovely chip shop too, and places to eat.

When you are at Balmoral you can see the Manly ferry go past. Just do a google search for balmoral beach sydney and look at the images. Pretty ace.

In fairness to the OP, if they're young then there's the Bondi/Coogee backpacker scene to consider. But there's plenty of that in the CBD or Manly as well

Guys thank you so much for all of your info I appreciate your time and effort it has helped a lot I think we have decided on Neutral Bay now after reading your info cant wait to get ourselves over there now

Ive done Bondi as tourist, and its got the name that people talk about but its only about 6/10 as beaches go for me. But, I live in Newcastle and we have 26 miles of beaches and bays here so I'm spoilt.

FWIW Bondi is a very nice beach. They all are mostly, the ocean beaches here. We've not been to a bad one from Palm Beach to Cronulla - Some are nicer than others, but they are all very good.

I have a minor loathing for Dee Why but that's more about me than the place

I have a minor loathing for Dee Why but that's more about me than the place

Ah I quiet like it. It's a bit of 'urban' up on the NB - I guess Dee Why/Brookvale is the economic heart of the region really. As the beaches go, they are all kind of similar! Nice, clean, big waves, surfers, and rips you can drown in.

Shelly beach is my favourite chilled beach up this way. Lovely

For me, Dee Why is windswept, has annoying, expensive parking, is pretty steeply sloping and therefore crashy surf, has a crap, busy, knackered rockpool and is generally too busy. The only saving grace is the cafes/restaurants etc on the strip behind

For everything else there's somewhere much nicer IMO. If you want a range of eateries etc then Newport, Avalon, Manly all much nicer. If you want a rockpool then virtually anywhere is nicer. There are a couple of others with crap parking as well (Bilgola) or annoyingly busy (Freshie) but then they're both much, much lovelier environments

I like Warriewood the most. The walk down the cliff puts off enough lazy arses that it's nice and quiet, sand is lovely and it's a deep beach so loads of room, sandbar keeps the worst of the surf off for kids, easy free parking, dead easy to get to from up here........

Nice. We live in Newport now, so it's only 5 mins away. Those Northern beaches larking permits are handy too!

The only downside is that it takes forever to get to the city, and even longer to get over the Mona Vale road to the North shore (which I do every morning to take my kids to school in Killara!). Traffic is the pits...

Kids will be moving schools in January!

Nice. We live in Newport now, so it's only 5 mins away. Those Northern beaches larking permits are handy too!

 

The only downside is that it takes forever to get to the city, and even longer to get over the Mona Vale road to the North shore (which I do every morning to take my kids to school in Killara!). Traffic is the pits...

 

Kids will be moving schools in January!

Who was was the poster that said you could do it in 25 min tops and I got shot down saying it would take longer ! , loved living in mona vale 2 min walk from the house to warriewood beach a good coffee at the cafe there as well , but 100% don't miss the traffic it's the pits as you said especially with all building work at frenchs forest and top of wakehurst parkway.

The parking charges are a real rip off, all free up here in Newcastle and port Stephens and better beaches !