Divers heading for Bare Island.

©Monique Perrin/Lonely Planet


About 50m offshore at La Perouse is the strange Bare Island, a decaying, grass-tussocked concrete fort built in 1885 to discourage a feared Russian invasion. A 45-minute guided tour is the only way to access the island, which is connected to the mainland by a wooden bridge.

Transportation

  • bus: L94, 391, 393, 394

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sydney attractions

1. La Perouse Museum

0.24 MILES

Housed inside the old cable station (1882), this museum has numerous relics from French explorer La Pérouse’s many expeditions, an interesting Aboriginal…

2. Congwong Beach

0.29 MILES

Arguably the most beautiful beach in Kamay Botany Bay National Park, serene Congwong faces the bay rather than the open ocean, making it great for…

3. Little Congwong Beach

0.38 MILES

A short walk (or swim) from Congwong Beach will land you at Little Congwong, a secluded, unofficially clothing-optional beach.

4. Kamay Botany Bay National Park

1.01 MILES

This national park straddles both heads of Botany Bay, 15km south of Sydney Harbour, enclosing 458 hectares of coastal bushland. Visitors come here to…

5. Maroubra Beach

3.32 MILES

The last major beach before you hit Botany Bay, ‘the Bra’ is Bondi’s match in the waves department, but its suburban location provides immunity from Bondi…

6. Coogee Beach

5.16 MILES

Bondi without the glitz and the poseurs, Coogee (locals pronounce the 'oo' as in the word ‘took’) has a deep sweep of sand, historic ocean baths and…

7. Dolphin Point

5.25 MILES

This grassy tract at Coogee Beach’s northern end has superb ocean views and the Giles Baths ocean pool. A sobering shrine commemorates the 2002 Bali…

8. Clovelly Beach

5.76 MILES

It might seem odd, but this concrete-edged ocean channel is a great place to swim, sunbathe and snorkel. It’s safe for the kids, and despite the swell…

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