Avoca’s beach is a beautiful 1.7km stretch with a headland to the north and a rockpool at its southern end. A favourite for surfers of all ages, Avoca Beach is patrolled by the local Surf Life Saving Club, a cornerstone of this coastal community. Its popular kiosk doubles as meeting point before venturing onto the sand. There is a section of the beach where dogs are free to roam off-leash, and a grassed picnic area featuring BBQs, plus a fenced playground to entertain the kids.

Avoca Lake, also known as Avoca Lagoon, sits adjacent to the beach and offers one of the region’s key ecotourism experiences where you can paddle, kayak or canoe. Nearby at Heazlett Park you will find the monthly Avoca Beach Markets, which showcase the area’s supportive spirit and local creatives.

1. Catch a breathtaking Avoca sunrise

It’s worth the early start. Witness the blue hues above the horizon transform into a glowing Avoca sunrise before heading to grab your morning coffee. Beeline for the headland at the southern end of the beach – there’s a reason local landscape photographers flock to this spot for that patient, winning shot.

2. Explore beachside eats and treats

Quality coffee spots sit around every corner of Avoca. For casual, go straight to The Point Café, a local institution, located underneath the Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club. For French style bakery treats pop by Ludo’s Gourmet Kitchen, one of the Coast’s finest patisseries. And you can’t miss the bright yellow floral mural signalling Like Minds, a friendly community café with a fresh, sustainable menu and zero waste ethos. Owners Mel and Jimmy use their café’s modern space to grow veggies, host regular farmers markets, produce swaps and the work of local artists. Check out the larger-than-life botanical mural painted on their building by botanical artist Nastia Gladushchenko.

3. Learn to surf with the locals

With its vibrant surfing community and patrolled beach, Avoca is a great place to test your skills on the board. The beach itself is one of the most popular surfing spots on the Central Coast, next to Soldiers Beach and Shelly Beach, with excellent vantage points to spot surfing conditions and easy spectator viewing. Both Central Coast Surf Academy and Central Coast Surf School offer accredited surfing lessons here for all ranges of experience.  

4. Paddle the pristine waters of Avoca Lake

Take a watercraft out on the calm waters of Avoca Lake, with your choice of kayak, canoe, SUP or pedalboat. Aquafun Avoca Lake invites you to explore the area’s tranquil waterways with human power. As a business officially ECO Certified with Ecotourism Australia, you can be assured this is a quality, sustainable nature-based adventure that respects the local waterways too.

5. Meet the community at Avoca Beach Markets

Once a month, Heazlett Park Foreshore fills with a buffet of pitched tents housing a collection of local produce, art, homewares, fashion and food. The Avoca Beach Markets are not only a symbol of the community’s creative soul, but they’re a great place to pick up locally made gems and picnic on the green while live music plays. Catch the stalls and all the characters behind them on the fourth Sunday of each month.

6. Open-air cinema nights

One of the last original cinemas, Avoca Beach Picture Theatre has stood its ground by the beach since 1948, beginning on the front lawn of the Hunter family. Four generations later, the grand venue still shows arthouse films and hosts cultural events, but its winning attraction is the alfresco open-air cinema nights. With an outdoor café and winebar featuring local Six String Brewing Co. craft beers and organic wines, this is an ideal place to enjoy a session or two.

7. Dine out on fresh seafood cuisine

The cuisine available in the seaside village of Avoca is colourful for its size, offering Italian, Malaysian, Chinese and – of course – award-winning Aussie fish and chips at Avoca Beach Seafoods (with gluten-free batter options). Right on the beach you will also find the sustainable menu and million dollar views of Avoca Beach House. Located a little farther from the sand is alfresco dining at Saltwater Bar & Bistro, the restaurant of Avoca Beach Hotel. An evening by the coast calls for a table at tropical paradise Shady Palms, a new restaurant, function and events venue designed to feel like you’re living the island life, if only for an evening.
 

8. Spot wildlife in Bulbararing Reserve

Avoca is bordered by Bulbararing Lagoon, and its 3.5ha of remnant Coastal Narrabeen Moist Forest. This may not send thrills up your spine, but the little known nature trail and its native wildlife will awaken the explorer within! Access the reserve through a walkway between houses on Reynolds Road to hike amid tall eucalyptus trees and look for Boobook Owls, King Parrots, listen for Whipbirds and Bowerbirds, or catch glimpses of Brush-tail Possums and Eastern Water Dragons.

9. Kid’s rockpool adventures

As a favourite surfer beach, the waves can sometimes be intimidating at Avoca Beach. At the southern end of its shores sits a quaint rockpool, which is clean, safe and ideal for the little ones to paddle and splash about in. Parents can easily sit on the adjacent stairs to watch, grab a smoothie and snack at the kiosk beside the Surf Life Saving Club HQ - as long as they remain on standby to make sand sculptures.

10. Visit the Captain’s Lookout

Nearby at Copacabana you can visit the Captain Cook Lookout at the end of Del Monte Place. As one of the region’s finest headland viewpoints, on a clear day views extend from Norah Head to the skyscrapers of Sydney CBD. Once you’ve soaked up the scenery, the Copa centre is waiting along with fresh pastries from Burnt Honey Bakery.

Directly connected to Avoca is North Avoca, where the water conditions are for more confident surfers – stop by the colourful coffee joint The Boy and the Rose (same local owners as Erina’s Tame Fox Café) for a taste of the friendly neighbourhood. Kincumber is also just a few minutes’ drive away, offering a coffee warehouse, grocery stores, brewery and its own mountain to climb or cycle. Around one of Avoca’s headlands you will find the busy seaside village of Terrigal, a great place for dinner and drinks.