Bondi Beach Parking: Where to park at Bondi Beach
Discover the magic of Bondi Beach, but first, conquer the parking challenge! Dive into the ultimate GoGet guide on where to park at Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach is one of Sydney’s most popular Sydney destinations for Sydneysiders and tourists alike, especially in summer. Unfortunately, this means that parking can be tricky to find, especially on a hot summer’s day. Here’s our guide to the best Bondi parking options that available in the area, including street parking, metered parking, and local car parks in Bondi. It’s also got our top tips for finding the best parking spot.
If you’re keen to visit Bondi, you should try to use public transport. There are trains to Bondi Junction, and there are good bus services that connect you to Bondi Beach. If that isn’t an option, keeping scrolling down for our guide to Bondi Beach parking.
Share Parking with OSCAR
OSCAR Share Parking isn’t a parking spot but a parking app, and it’s one of the best ways to find a cheap parking spot near Bondi Beach. It’s also an awesome company that started in Bondi! It’s two founders, Lisa and Louise, were frustrated when they found it impossible to find Bondi Beach parking, but saw heaps of empty driveways.
OSCAR connects drivers with those empty driveways, and there are tonnes of users in Bondi, with parking from as little as a few dollars an hour!
Just download the app on iPhone or Android, then search for a parking spot that’s available for the time you need it. There’s no pre-booking involved, just open the app when you’re ready to find a park (have a passenger do that if you’re driving!). It’s a great way to avoid the stress of trying to find parking in Bondi and make the most of your day out!
Queen Elizabeth Drive Car Park
This is what most people see as the ‘main’ Bondi Beach parking. Operated by Waverley Council, Queen Elizabeth Drive Car Park runs along Bondi Beach, and is just seconds away from the sand. While it has 503 bays, it is very popular, so it can be hard to find a spot when the beach is busy. It’s also quite expensive, unless you have a Beach Parking Permit. If you’re a Waverley resident and a keen beachgoer you should definitely look into getting one of these!
The parking metres operate from 7am until 7pm. If you’re going to Bondi outside those hours, know that night swimming can be dangerous. LiveStrong has a good article on doing it safely.
Parking fees (as of October 2023) are as follows:
7am-7pm: $9.50 per hour
The car park is closed during the City 2 Surf charity race, and parking is limited to 4 hours. There’s parking for motorbikes and they take both coin and credit card payments, including American Express. Overall, the Queen Elizabeth Drive Car Park is one of the best Bondi Beach parking spots, but don’t rely on being able to find a spot.
Park Drive South Car Park
This Bondi car park is run by Waverly Council. It’s a bit further from the beach than Queen Elizabeth Drive, but only by a minute or two walk. It’s a great place to park at Bondi, but, like Queen Elizabeth Drive, it’s also very busy. It’s a short stay car park, so you’re limited to parking there for 4 hours.
The meters operate from 8am until 7pm, with fees (as of October 2023) as follows:
Parking in Summer (Sep-May)
8am-7pm: $9.50 per hour
Parking in Winter (June-August)
8am-7pm: $5.50 per hour
The Park Drive South car park at Bondi Beach is closed during City 2 Surf and takes coin and card payment, including American Express. Overall, the Park Drive South Bondi Beach parking lot is a great place to park for a few hours, is cheaper in winter, but is still fairly expensive.
Bondi Beach Parking Permit
A special mention should be made for the Bondi Beach Parking Permit, offered by Waverley council. If you’re need to park in the Queen Elizabeth Drive car Park on a regular basis, the pass allows you to have free access year round for a single car. It also lets you park at the Bronte Cutting car park at Bronte Beach.
The Bondi Beach Parking Permit is available to everyone, whether you live in the area or not, but it costs way more if don’t live in Waverley Council. As of October 2023, the annual price of the Bondi Beach Parking Permit is $1,970, or $177.50 if you’re a resident of Waverley Council. It doesn’t guarantee you a parking spot though, it’s still first come first served.
That could definitely be worthwhile if you’re parking at Bondi Beach very regularly, but it would have to be at least a couple of times a week. With a typical $8 round-trip bus fare, you’d be able to get to Bondi over 200 times on public transport for the same price! If you want more information on the Bondi Beach Parking Permit, the details are on this page.
Street Parking
If the parking lots are full, or if you’re not keen to park in one, you can hunt for a street parking spot. Don’t expect this to be easy, or cheap. Almost all of the streets near Bondi are metered, and are on the more expensive side of the cost of parking spectrum.
We can’t detail the parking restrictions of every street in Bondi, but we can offer a few tips if you plan on finding street parking at Bondi Beach.
Leave plenty of time to find a spot. Don’t count on being able to find something in 5 or 10 minutes. Especially if you need to make a deadline or it’s a sunny summer day, count on 30 minutes or more to find the time to park.
Check and double-check the parking signs. Sydney parking signs are notoriously complicated, and even local residents can get confused. Make sure you’re allowed to park in a spot for as long as you need, or you could find yourself with a sizable fine! Rangers around Bondi are pretty active so don’t bank on over-staying your parking time.
Set a timer on your phone. This is an easy trick to make sure you don’t park too long and risk a fine. Make sure you set it earlier than your parking expires so that you have time to get back to the car with whatever gear or people you have with you. Remember Bondi is pretty hilly so it can take longer to walk than you might think.
The Hub Shopping Centre
The Hub Shopping Centre car park is operated by Wilson Parking, and is available to non-shoppers to park in. It’s a short walk to the beach (about 5 minutes) and is open from 6am to midnight. Here are the rates dor drive-up parking (as of October 2023), though you cn get cheaper rates by pre-booking.
Monday to Friday:
0.0-1.0 hours – $0
1.0-1.5 hours – $8
1.5-2.0 hours – $16
2.0-3.0 hours – $24
3.0-4.0 hours – $30
4.0+ hours – $36
Weekends:
0.0-1.0 hours – $0
1.0-2 hours – $14
2.0-3.0 hours – $21
3.0-4.0 hours – $28
4.0+ hours – $35
Night special:
$10 Monday to Sunday, entry after 5pm and exit before midnight.
Pacific Bondi Car Park
The Pacific Bondi Car Park is another private car park operated by Wilson Parking in Bondi, and is the closest private car park to Bondi Beach itself. Located on Campbell Parade on Curlewis Street, it’s directly opposite Bondi Pavilion, and a two minute walk to the sand. It’s open 5.30am-12.30am.
Being in such a prime location, it’s not cheap – probably the most expensive of all the Bondi Beach parking options. It also gets very busy so you cannot guarantee you’ll find a parking bay. However, it offers 30 minutes free, as well as cheaper night and early bird pricing. Pricing (as of March 2023) is as follows:
Casual parking 7 days:
0.0-33 minutes – Free
33 minutes-1.0 hours – Online: $9, Drive-Up: $5
1.0-2.0 hours – Online: $16, Drive-Up: $18
2.0-3.0 hours – Online: $26, Drive-Up: $32
3.0-4.0 hours – Online: $34, Drive-Up: $45
4.0+ hours – Online: $44, Drive-Up: $60
Early Bird is no longer available, though you can pre-book Flexi Saver Parking from $15. This can only be done online.
Nights:
$9 ($6 if you book online), entry after 6pm and exit before midnight.
Can GoGet help you avoid parking in Bondi?
Unfortunately we can’t guarantee you a Bondi parking spot, though having GoGet’s in an area helps make parking easier for everyone.
GoGet is a car share company and helps those who don’t need a car, avoid having to own one. And even if car share is not for you, with every GoGet taking 10+ privately owned cars off the street, we’re helping make parking easier for everyone. Find out more about how GoGet frees up parking in local neighbourhoods.
We have over 2,000 cars and vans in Bondi and across Sydney available for hire by the hour or day. These car share cars are parked on streets and in car parks where members need them. There could be one at the end of your street! (Click here to find it) Best of all, most GoGet cars have their own dedicated parking spots when they’re not booked. That means the spot is ready and waiting for you when you return your GoGet car. It helps those who don’t need a car, avoid having to own one.
And not only do we help with parking congestion, GoGet can help avoid the costs and hassles associated with car ownership. Find out more here, or click the button below to sign up!
