Crescent Head surf might not be in the spolight like Noosa, Kirra, and others up the Oz east coast, but it’s epic stuff, with right-hander points to rival the best of them.
An introduction to Crescent Head surf
It’s odd but Crescent Head doesn’t seem to get the same fanfare as other waves along the Aussie east coast. Noosa and the Kirra Superbank are spurted out alongside Skeleton Bay and Ulus when listing off the finest waves on the globe. But, Crescent Head…where?
It shouldn’t be like that and the locals know it. They named their region, centered on a fantastic, powerful right-hander, a National Surfing Reserve back in 2008. It’s the gateway to about 20 miles or so of NSW shoreline that hold some jewels, especially to the south, which is a land of regular-footed points that rank good to epic through the SE swell season.
Crescent Head is the town at the middle of it all. They call it Creso and it’s small, sleepy, but pretty welcoming. Things are changing though. Some have dubbed it the next Byron Bay. There are even plans afoot for a fancy new surf hotel and stacks of café-bars.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in Australia
Crescent Head surf at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to Crescent Head surf?
Where is Crescent Head?
Crescent Head is located midway up the northern shoreline of New South Wales in eastern Australia. It’s roughly three quarters of the way between Coffs Harbour and Sydney, the state capital, which lies around 200 miles to the south. Like so much of this part of Oz, Crescent Head looks directly east into the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific, which means virtually consistent swells from the SE during winter, and even more from the E during summer.
How to get to Crescent Head?
Most people start this journey in Sydney. We’ll assume you’re already there…
- By car – The most direct way to get to Crescent Head from Sydney is by car. The drive is approximately 5-6 hours along the Pacific Highway (A1) and it offers beautiful coastal scenery. Please remember that driving conditions can change, so always check the road conditions before you depart.
- By bus – There are several coach companies such as Greyhound Australia that operate from Sydney to various destinations in New South Wales, including nearby Kempsey. From Kempsey, you can take a local bus or taxi to Crescent Head, which is about a 20-minute drive away.
- By train – You can also take a train from Sydney to Kempsey. NSW TrainLink operates this service. From Kempsey, you can take a taxi or a local bus to Crescent Head.
- By air – The closest regional airport to Crescent Head is Port Macquarie Airport. Several airlines offer flights from Sydney to Port Macquarie. From there, you could rent a car or take a taxi to Crescent Head, which is about a 45-minute drive away. You can search on Skyscanner for internal flights from Sydney to PM.
If we had to pick, we’d go with the car. There are so many epic surf breaks between Sydney and Crescent Head. With wheels, you’re free to explore them all as you see fit. Plus, cars aren’t too expensive here. We always use RentalCars.com for our car hires in Oz. They’re cheap and list all of the major brands…
Where to surf in Crescent Head?
We’ll start on the northern end of the main right-hander point here and work our way through to the breaks to the south of town…
Killick Beach
Killick Beach seems to go on forever north of Crescent Head itself. It’s like 15 miles of uninterrupted white sand backed by dune after dune. The whole run of this beach has peaks that work so long as there’s not too much in the SE swell channel, making it a great hunting ground during the summer months. It’s just a little tricky to get to is all.
Crescent Head Point
This is the wave that first drew the attention of folks looking to award that National Surfing Reserve pedigree to Crescent Head. It’s a classic NSW point that breaks off a poking rock that juts out east into the Tasman Sea. SE swells curl and curve around, forming wedges on the cobblestone reef that fringes the northern side of the peninsula.
On bigger days, the outside take-off zone is fast and ferocious, asking for lots of speed before giving up occasional slab-barrel sections. When it’s smaller, the rides are real nice, triangular frames that cater to longboarders, shortboarders, and everyone in between. It’s never as busy as the rights up at Noosa, say, but try to get in early because dawn surfs here with the sunrise are truly special.
Goolawah Beach/Back Beach
The locals call this one Back Beach but it’s marked on the map as Goolawah Beach because it runs into the Goolawah National Park on the south side of the town. Facing a little more due south than the beach north of Crescent Head, this one gets its fair share of pounding close outs when the swell is head-on and there’s little offshore from the west to temper things. But there are decent peaks up and down its length. However, the main reason you’d come this way is for…
Racecourse
A lot like Crescent Head Point but heavier and harder in the exact same swells, Racecourse forms on the headland at the southernmost end of Goolawah. It’s a high-performance shortboard mecca in the mid-winter, with long, thick shoulders on the right and shorter, sharper lefts that sometimes hollow out. The paddle isn’t easy but it’s a great wave.
Delicate-Nobby
The Delicate-Nobby is a thin finger of rock and reef that pokes out of the Goolawah beaches on the south side of Racecourse. It splits two stretch of sand that both have some fantastic waves at different times of the year. In the winter, go to the north side of the reef for peeling, curvy rights that break over the white-sand bottom. In the summer, good E and NE swells off distant hurricanes can help shape up wedgy lefts off the south side of the Nobby.
Hotels in Crescent Head
Crescent Head has been touted as the next Byron Bay. There’s honestly nowhere near enough hotels, bars, and hostels in the town for that just yet. But there are a few great choices that promise to get you real close to some of the key breaks mentioned above. Most are self-contained, self-catering pads that offer plenty of space and stunning sea views…
- Herb’s Hideaway, 11 Belmore Street – One of the best rental options in the town, Herb’s is an apartment with room for up to four guests, a super-cool, surf-themed lounge, and its own garden with a covered deck.
- Wallum Cottages – There’s a clutch of boltholes hidden away in the Goolawah rainforests south of Crescent Head. They’re close to the spots at Delicate-Nobby and Racecourse, surrounded by nature, and pretty darn spacious to boot.
Step-by-step guide to planning your [yoast_kw] trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the [yoast_kw]…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Get insuranceThis is kinda’ important. Not just for surf trips but for any trips. SafetyWing is great for nomad travelers. They offer rolling contracts that cover amateur surfing.
Step four (optional): Rent a car If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step four: Enjoy!
When to surf in Crescent Head?
The best waves at Crescent Head usually come with the winter swells, which typically run from May to August. The SE channel is dominant throughout that season all across the Oz east coast, helping to send big wrap-around sets into all the points and heads, Crecent included. Beginners will almost certainly prefer the summer months, which are smaller, with oodles of mush on the long beach breaks south of town, all the way to Goolawah and the Nobby.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
