First 30 minutes
Welcome & preparation
Meet your guide, unwrap your new mask and snorkel, and learn the basics on the sand. Wetsuits, fins, life jackets and flotation are fitted to anyone who wants them.
Shelly Beach · Manly · Sydney
Discover Sydney underwater.
Premium guided snorkeling in the calm, protected water of Cabbage Tree Bay — with your own brand-new mask and snorkel to keep.
Saturdays, Sundays & NSW public holidays
A full hour in the water
New mask & snorkel — yours to keep
Tour groups are our specialty
The Experience
Two hours, managed from the moment your group arrives.
One booking covers everything — equipment, briefing, guiding and beach time. Guests just bring swimwear and a towel; tour leaders don't organise a thing.
The middle hour
Guided snorkel
A full hour in the water — not twenty minutes. Your guide leads the group across the reef, naming the blue gropers, cuttlefish, rays and everything else you meet along the way.
Final 30 minutes
Beach time
Warm up, swap stories and flick through the photos. Depending on your package: a beach barbecue, drinks, group photographs and time to simply enjoy Shelly Beach.
Regulars of the bay
Eastern blue groper
Giant cuttlefish
Fiddler rays
Schooling yellowtail
Octopus
Weedy seadragons
Hygiene, done properly
Your snorkel is yours.
We don't hand you a snorkel that hundreds of other tourists have used before you. Every guest receives a brand-new mask and snorkel — yours for the experience, and yours to take home to remember Manly by.
- Sealed and new for every guestUnwrapped in front of you at the briefing — never rented, never reused.
- No shared mouthpieces, everThe one piece of equipment that matters most is the one we never recycle.
- A genuine souvenir of SydneyTake it home, and take it on every holiday after this one.
Packages & Pricing
Three ways to do it properly.
All prices per person in Australian dollars, for the full two-hour experience. Group and net rates for tour operators on request.
Essential Snorkel
The guided classic
$100 per person
- 30-minute welcome, fitting & safety briefing
- One full hour of guided snorkeling
- Marine-life and reef identification throughout
- Life jackets and flotation as needed
- New mask & snorkel — yours to keep
Premium Snorkel
Warmer, easier, photographed
$150 per person
- Everything in Essential, plus:
- Wetsuit and thermal comfort package
- Enhanced equipment throughout
- Photography and/or video of your group
- Extra in-water support for beginners
Platinum Manly
The complete Manly experience
$200 per person
- Everything in Premium, plus:
- Beach barbecue and drinks afterwards
- Underwater photo & video package included
- Group photographs on the beach
- Digital media delivered after the tour
Surface dry suits are available on selected bookings — ideal for guests who would rather keep their clothes dry, feel the cold easily, or prefer more coverage in the water. Ask when booking, or see Safety & Equipment.
Tour Operators & Groups
Bring the whole bus. We run the rest.
Snorkeling Manly is built around organised groups, not walk-ups. One email reserves your date — and from coach set-down to the final group photo, the experience is professionally managed.
Group & net pricing
Contracted rates or commission arrangements for inbound operators, DMCs, agents and resellers.
Private & exclusive sessions
Your group only, timed to fit your Sydney itinerary — including dates outside our public weekend schedule.
Multilingual support
Japanese and Korean assistance and translated safety briefings available on request, with more languages to come.
Custom packages
Barbecue, photography, video and celebration add-ons built around your group and your budget.
Large-group logistics
Staggered water entries, additional guides and all equipment staged and sized before your coach arrives.
Advance reservations
Weekend and public-holiday dates held for the season, so your brochure can promise what we deliver.
Who we work with
International tour operators
Inbound operators & DMCs
Cruise & travel groups
Hotels & concierges
Schools & student groups
Corporate groups
Private guides
Enquire
Tell us your group size, preferred dates, language needs and the package you have in mind.
Confirm
We reply within one business day with net pricing, and hold your date while you confirm numbers.
Arrive
Your group steps off the bus and into a fully managed experience — equipment fitted, guides ready, photos delivered.
Group enquiries
Send a Group Enquiry
fish@manlysnorkelling.com.au · Replies within one business day.
1営業日以内にご返信いたします。 · 영업일 기준 1일 이내에 회신드립니다.
Operator resources: Rate card (print-ready) · Safety briefing — English · 日本語 · 한국어
Safety & Equipment
Built for people who aren't strong swimmers.
Most of our guests have never snorkelled. Some barely swim. The whole experience is designed so they're comfortable anyway — calm protected water, shore entry, and a guide beside them the whole time.
- Australian-standard life jackets and buoyancy aids
- Swimming noodles and surface flotation for anyone who wants them
- Wetsuits for warmth — surface dry suits on selected bookings
- Professional guides in the water with your group
- Calm shore entry — no boats, no deep-water starts
The final call is always our guide's. If conditions or confidence aren't right on the day, we'll say so — and make sure there's still a great beach experience.
The Location
A protected bay made for first-timers.
Shelly Beach sits inside Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve — a no-take marine sanctuary at the quiet end of Manly. Sheltered from the ocean swell, it offers easy shore entry, calm clear water, and more fish than anywhere else this close to the city.
By ferry
Circular Quay to Manly, then a flat 15-minute walk along Marine Parade to the beach.
By coach
Group set-down and pick-up in Manly by arrangement — we meet your group at the bus.
Make a day of it
Combine with Manly Beach, the Corso and the coastal walk for a full Sydney beach-day itinerary.
FAQ
Questions we hear on the sand.
I'm not a strong swimmer — can I still join?
Usually, yes. Life jackets, buoyancy aids and swimming noodles keep you comfortably on the surface, the water is calm and shallow near the entry, and a guide stays close. Our guide makes the final call on the day based on conditions and your comfort.
I've never snorkelled before. Is that a problem?
Not at all — most of our guests are first-timers. The first 30 minutes is dedicated to fitting your equipment and practising the basics before you enter the water, and your guide stays with the group for the entire hour.
What do I need to bring?
Swimwear, a towel and sunscreen. Everything else — your new mask and snorkel, fins, wetsuit, flotation — is provided as part of your package.
Is the water cold?
Sydney water ranges from about 17°C in winter to 24°C in late summer. Premium and Platinum packages include wetsuits, and surface dry suits are available on selected bookings for guests who feel the cold or prefer to stay dry.
What will we actually see?
Cabbage Tree Bay is a protected no-take reserve, so it's unusually full of life: eastern blue gropers, giant cuttlefish, fiddler rays, schools of yellowtail, octopus and — if you're lucky — a weedy seadragon. Your guide identifies what you're seeing as you go.
What happens if the weather turns?
If our guides judge conditions unsuitable, we'll offer your group an alternative time or a full refund. Safety decisions are always ours to make, and we make them early enough for your itinerary to adapt.
Do you speak my language?
Tours run in English today, and Japanese and Korean assistance and translated safety materials are available for group bookings on request. Full Japanese and Korean versions of this site are on the way.
How do tour groups book?
Email fish@manlysnorkelling.com.au with your group size, dates and language needs. We reply within one business day with group pricing and hold your date. Operators are encouraged to reserve weekend and holiday dates well in advance.
Book / Group Enquiry
Book, or just ask us anything.
Individuals & families
Book directly at the published rates for Saturdays, Sundays and NSW public holidays, when group capacity allows.
Enquire to BookTour operators & groups
Net rates, commissions, private sessions and season-long date reservations. This is the channel we're built for.
Group EnquiryOnline booking is coming. Until then, fish@manlysnorkelling.com.au is answered within one business day.