Visit Summer Bay
in 2026

From Sydney to the Northern Beaches

Your Summer Bay adventure begins the moment you board the coach in Sydney's CBD. As the city skyline recedes in the rear windows and the road begins its northward climb toward the Spit Bridge and beyond, there's a palpable shift in atmosphere. The morning light catches the harbour, suburbia gives way to bushland-fringed inlets, and Sydney's famous Northern Beaches gradually reveal themselves — Manly, Dee Why, Collaroy, Narrabeen — each bay more beautiful than the last.

The drive itself is an attraction. Your guide will point out filming locations visible from the road, share anecdotes about the history of the Northern Beaches, and set the scene for what awaits at the end of the peninsula. You'll pass Manly Beach, Dee Why, the surf breaks of Narrabeen, Bilgola Lookout (where the first panoramic ocean views appear), and the secluded arc of Whale Beach before the road narrows onto the peninsula itself. By the time the coach rounds the final bend and Palm Beach spreads out below — two kilometres of gold between the Pacific and Pittwater — most guests admit they already feel as though they've stepped into another world.

Arriving at Palm Beach — The Real Summer Bay

The World's Most Famous Fictional Beach

By mid-morning, Palm Beach reveals itself in all its glory — a pristine stretch of white sand wedged between the rolling surf of the Pacific Ocean to the east and the glass-calm waters of Pittwater to the west. For first-time visitors there is an immediate, almost disorienting sense of familiarity. The headland, the surf club, the wide arc of beach — it's exactly as it appears on screen, except bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than a television set can ever fully convey.

Even for guests who have never watched an episode, Palm Beach is immediately captivating. One of Sydney's most exclusive and naturally beautiful coastal communities, it has been protected from overdevelopment and retains a relaxed, unhurried character that makes it feel like a genuine escape from city life.

Home and Away Filming Locations — Up Close

The guided section of your morning at Palm Beach takes you through all the key outdoor filming locations. The walk begins at the beach itself — the full sweep of it, stretching north toward the headland, with the Tasman Sea rolling in from the right and the sounds of actual seabirds overhead, not the stock sound effects you hear on television.

Standing in front of the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club — the building known worldwide as the Summer Bay Surf Club — is a genuine moment for fans. The building is exactly as it appears on screen: a modest, well-maintained surf club in the authentic tradition of Australian beach safety culture.

Just a short walk along the beachfront is the exterior of Alf's Bait Shop (officially the Barrenjoey Boathouse, which also doubles as the Summer Bay Diner exterior), one of the most beloved filming locations in the show's entire run. The shop front that has served as the exterior for Alf Stewart's iconic bait and fishing supply business since the very first episode in January 1988.

From Alf's, the tour continues south along the beachfront to the Palm Beach Rockpool at the southern end of the beach — a tidal ocean pool that fans will immediately recognise as one of the show's most dramatic locations. Characters have been shot here, nearly drowned here, confessed here, and confronted each other here in some of the series' most memorable scenes. Around the corner from the rockpool, a flat sandstone headland has functioned as Summer Bay's unofficial contemplation spot for troubled characters across three decades of storylines. Standing there, looking back along the full arc of Palm Beach toward Barrenjoey Lighthouse, is the closest thing to being inside the show that any visitor experience can offer.

Barrenjoey Lighthouse Walk

For those with the energy and inclination, the afternoon includes the option of walking up to the historic Barrenjoey Lighthouse at the tip of the headland. Built in 1881 from locally quarried sandstone, the lighthouse is a heritage-listed icon of the Northern Beaches and a significant filming location in its own right. The walk to the top takes approximately 20–25 minutes each way, gaining about 100 metres in elevation. The effort is rewarded with arguably the finest coastal panorama in greater Sydney.

Memories of Summer Bay

As the afternoon light softens and the coach journey back to Sydney begins, there's a particular quality to the conversation among guests — a kind of shared satisfaction that comes from having experienced something genuinely special. For lifelong fans of the show, visiting Palm Beach in person reframes the entire viewing experience. Episodes watched at home afterwards carry a different weight, a new dimension of reality.