Caves Beach offers the chance to explore a huge sea cave as well as lots of cracks and slots that are incredibly picturesque. They also happen to be really easy to access, so as long as you get the tides right even little kids will have a ball here.
In fact they’ll probably have even more fun than you as they will be able to get inside some of the tinier caves and crevices! It’s a wonderful place for photography and the beach is gorgeous too. In short this is one of the Central Coast’s must see destinations.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Caves Beach.
Caves Beach sea caves
Know before you go
The most important thing to consider before visiting Caves Beach is the tide and swell. The area is best explored during low tide and preferably a slight swell.
You don’t need an especially low tide like you do at some of the other Central Coast sea caves, but exploring an hour or so either side of low tide will ensure that you have a safe relaxed visit.
When we visited, we stayed over an hour after low tide and it was still well out, so it was hard to believe that the tide would come up anywhere near the caves - but the little tidal pools proved that it does. We also happened to have a very low tide (0.4m) so that was probably also part of it.
Whilst you may be ok exploring on a mid tide, there’s really no point chancing it if you’re coming solely for the caves, as you want to be able to have a leisurely explore without thinking about the waves at all.
You can check the tides for Caves Beach here.
Where to park for closest access to the sea caves
There are a couple of places you can park to access the caves and both are a very short walk. The closest point is the car park that is just off Caves Beach Road and opposite Bligh Avenue. From here it is a 150m walk to the first cave, and involves around five staircases.
The second starting point is from the car park next to the Surf Life Savers Club, which is a couple of minutes further away, but it’s totally flat. If visiting on a weekend it might be more a case of where you can grab a parking space.
Both car parks are free at time of writing.
Exploring the caves, what not to miss
Starting from the cliffs at the southern end of caves beach, we’ll take you through each cave you come across in order. They are very easy to access providing you get the tides right. From the first cave to the last easy access cave, it’s just a 100m walk each way.
Cave one
The first cave is the largest and most impressive and it’s likely one you’ve seen many times before in photos. It has a huge opening and the sand extends right back into the cave.
There are some lovely colourful bits of rock, but mainly it’s about the size and swirling pattens on the cliff walls.
I had ambitions of coming here at sunrise as the huge opening would provide the perfect framing for some beautiful photos, but we’ve never actually made it here in time. If you do, you won’t be disappointed.
As well as the main body of the cave there are several little entry and exit points beyond the huge overhang.
A couple are tiny and best suited for kids, but two lead out towards the next set of caves and are a lot of fun to walk through. Whilst neither are on the scale of the slot at nearby Ghosties Beach, they have a similar vibe.
It’s a fantastic cave and hard to believe that it’s only a 150m easy stroll from the nearest car park.
Entry/exit one
Entry/exit two
Cave two
In-between caves one and two there is a tiny slit in the rock which will be delightful for little ones who can fit in the slot and go where the adults can’t follow (it doesn’t go too far back, but enough to feel like a hidey-hole).
The second cave (and all of the rest of the caves) are on a smaller scale than the first, but still fun to have a poke around in.
Cave two has a main cave and slot beside it. You can walk a few steps into the slot before it gets a bit tight.
Cave three
Cave three is another one that’s in two parts. With a small main cave and a tiny kid size one beside it. The main cave provides more great framing of the beach from inside, although it’s not as impressive as the first cave.
I loved the way the entry for the smaller cave looked, with a small opening and crazy patterns in the rock surrounding it.
Cave four
Cave four doesn’t look like much from the outside, in fact we didn’t see anyone else go in, but it’s actually my second favourite after the main cave.
It’s a tall narrow slot which goes far enough back that you need to turn your torch on after the first few steps.
However, it’s when you turn around and walk out again that it really looks special. The rock walls feel like a slot canyon and it’s really beautiful. It makes for some lovely photos and you definitely wouldn’t expect that if looking from the outside.
Just be careful when walking in bare foot as there are some rocks and also shells to watch out for.
The caves beyond
After cave four there are several tiny little overhangs but nothing that could be considered a cave. You’ll quickly come to the end of the rock platform and then there is deeper water.
Beside the cliff edge there is a nice ledge which is a good spot to sit and watch the waves roll in and out of the rocks.
We could see that there was at least one cave beyond the deeper water. We wanted to take a look and the water was not very deep, mainly at knee height, (again we had a really low tide) but even though we only had a slight swell, the waves that rolled in could be pretty strong.
The chance of being knocked into the rocks looked quite high so we didn’t venture further.
If you happened to have a really calm day you might be able to go further and there may be more than the one cave you can see from the rocks, but exploring this area would require significantly better conditions than the rest of the caves.
If you do get lucky with the tide and swell it would be better to look at this section first and explore the main caves on the way back to give yourself maximum time at the trickier area on the lowest tide.
Exploring the beach
As well as the sea caves, you’ve of course got the gorgeous beach. The northern end (opposite end to the sea caves) is quieter. The beach is patrolled from the September/October school holidays through to April. Patrol times are Monday-Sunday, 8.30am-5pm and the Surf Life Saving Club volunteers patrol on Sunday 8.30am-5pm.
In terms of facilities at the beach there are toilets, showers, BBQs and a picnic area.
The best time to visit Caves Beach
Caves Beach is understandably hugely popular and it can get incredibly busy on weekends. Even on a weekday we shared the caves with a lot of other people - although more so the main cave than the ones further along.
The best time to visit is midweek and if visiting on a weekend and you want a bit of serenity, wait for when very early morning (sunrise would be beautiful) lines up with low tide.
That will be your best chance of exploring without the crowds and definitely the best time for photography.
We found that even if people weren’t always around in the main cave for example, they all left clothes, bags, shoes etc all over the cave so photography was difficult. If you can stomach an early alarm call you won’t regret it.
Getting to Caves Beach
Caves Beach is located in Swansea on the Central Coast. It’s roughly a 1 hour 45 minute drive from Sydney CBD and 35 minutes from Newcastle.
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