Bermagui's Blue Pool is the postcard of the Sapphire Coast: a 50 m saltwater pool set into the rocks at the foot of the cliffs, glowing blue, green and turquoise as the light shifts. It's free, open all year, and worth the long drive and the steep stairs for anyone who loves a swim with drama.
Key facts
- Type
- Ocean pool or baths
- Length
- 50 m
- Good to know
- Kids area
- Facilities and access
- Shallow wading pool for kids beside it
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- No
- Parking
- Car park on Scenic Drive
- Best time to go
- Mornings, mid to high tide on a calm day
- Town
- Bermagui, NSW
What it's like
Walk down and the colour hits you first. The pool sits in a rocky cove below the cliffs, fed by the sea, long enough for proper laps, with a shallow wading pool beside it for toddlers. Long before the pool there was a natural swimming hole here, the Blue Hole. In 1936 local man Bill Dickinson proposed enlarging it, and the saltwater pool took shape over the following years; a pump added in the 1990s helps keep the level up between tides.
When to go
Mornings are calm and quiet, and by late morning in summer the holidaymakers arrive. Higher tides refresh the water, while big seas can wash over the outer wall.
Getting there and facilities
The car park and amenities block are on Scenic Drive, Bermagui, with toilets, change rooms and showers. From there a long, steep flight of stairs drops to the pool, which makes it hard going for anyone with limited mobility. Bermagui is about five and a half hours' drive south of Sydney and about three and a half from Canberra.
Good to know
There are no lifeguards. The rocks around the edge are slippery and the stairs steep, so take care with small children.