Sydney tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 14:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Australia/Sydney local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Sun 17 May (range 1.8m). Next neap on Fri 22 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Sydney Harbour — Port Jackson — is 54 square kilometres of drowned river valley containing the city's two most famous structures (the bridge, 1932; the opera house, 1973), a working international port, dozens of sheltered beaches, and a ferry network that functions as genuine public transport rather than tourist attraction. The tidal waterway that cuts into the city's eastern suburbs is an amenity that most global capitals lack: Manly, Balmoral, Clontarf, Chinamans Beach, and Murray Rose Pool are all swimming beaches inside the harbour, reachable by ferry or a short bus ride from the CBD. Tidal range at Sydney is 1.2 to 1.6 metres at springs — enough to matter for beach planning and harbour navigation. Fort Denison in the middle of the harbour has been the primary Sydney tide gauge since 1886. At low tide, the harbour's tidal flats expose and the sand banks at Balmoral and Chinamans are more extensive. For surf, the ocean beaches east of the Heads (Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Manly) use tidal state to manage bank conditions. Bondi Beach is the headline: 1 kilometre of sand, an ocean pool at each end (Icebergs at the south, Bondi at the north), a consistent beach break that has produced waves since before the surf life-saving movement started there in 1906. The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk (6 km one way) links Bondi to Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly, and Coogee along ocean cliffs with views over the Tasman Sea — one of the most used walking routes in the country. Each beach on the route has an ocean pool, a surf club, and its own micro-character. Manly, on the north side of the Heads, is a ferry ride from Circular Quay (about 30 minutes) — still considered the best value transport experience in Sydney. The beach is north-facing and catches northeast swell more directly than Bondi; the surf school density is highest here. The Manly Scenic Walkway (9 km) connects Manly to Spit Bridge along harbour foreshores and national park. The ocean pools are a specifically Sydney institution. More than 100 rock pools are scattered along the ocean coast from Palm Beach in the north to Cronulla in the south; Bronte, Malabar, Mahon (Maroubra), and the Coogee Women's Baths are among the best known. The pools fill on each tide cycle and provide calm swimming against the ocean backdrop without the unpredictability of surf. Most are unattended and free. Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height — model-derived, not from a local gauge. For authoritative Australian tide data, consult the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).