What makes Salt & Trails different from other tours?

Salt & Trails is founder-led and entirely private. Every booking is exclusively yours — just your group, up to five guests. The day is shaped around you, not a fixed itinerary.

How much does a Salt & Trails day cost?

AUD $950 for a solo traveller, $1,600 for two, and $600 per person for additional guests (up to 5 guests total). All equipment included. This covers the Defender, guided surf or ocean pool session, mountain bike trail or bush walk, and long lunch.

How far in advance should I book?

Weekends book 2–4 weeks ahead. Weekdays are more available. Book as early as possible to secure your preferred date.

Is Salt & Trails suitable for someone who has never surfed?

Yes. No experience is necessary. The ocean component is guided and chosen around your ability and comfort. An ocean pool experience is available as an alternative to surfing.

Do you offer gift cards?

Yes. A full Salt & Trails day makes a considered gift. One-person ($950) and two-person ($1,600) gift cards are available at saltandtrails.com.

The Northern Beaches Day Journey

Shelly Beach with turquoise water in Manly Beach on Sydney's Northern Beaches

Some days you remember for years. Not because they were dramatic but because they were complete.

Classic Land Rover Defender used on Salt & Trails day journeys on Sydney's Northern Beaches

We move by classic Defender through a coastline worth slowing down for, shaping the day entirely around you. Ocean time, trails and a long lunch at a table worth sitting at.

Salt & Trails is designed to feel unhurried, active and deeply local.

The Day

Fairy Bower ocean pool at dawn in Manly Beach on Sydney's Northern Beaches

Morning — The Ocean

Meet at 9am at Cibaria Caffetteria, Manly Pacific Hotel. Head straight in, order a coffee, tea or hot chocolate, it's on us. A good moment to sit, meet properly and talk through the day before we head out.

The day begins at the water, a guided surf session at a beach selected for conditions and ability or a curated ocean pool experience at one or several of the Northern Beaches' iconic rockpools. Equipment provided. No experience necessary.

Something the ocean does to a morning that nothing else quite replicates. You'll feel it.

Staying elsewhere on the Northern Beaches? Get in touch and we'll work out what makes sense.

Seafood platter at Jonah's restaurant at Whale Beach on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Midday — The Table

Lunch is hosted at one of the Northern Beaches' most iconic venues, chosen for its food, its setting and the quality of an afternoon spent in it. A long, unhurried table. Good conversation. The kind of experience you still think about on the way home.

Person with a bicycle on a rocky trail with a scenic view of water and trees.

Afternoon — The Trails

After lunch the day shifts into the landscape. A guided mountain bike trail through eucalypt forest and banksia trees, or a coastal or bush walk, chosen around your fitness, your energy and how the afternoon feels. All equipment provided.

Moving through quiet bush has a way of clearing things. You arrive back different from how you left.

Aerial view of Sydney's Northern Beaches at dusk

Dusk — The Lookout

The day closes at a carefully chosen headland or coastal vantage point, somewhere with a long view and no particular agenda. Time to rest, take in the light and let the day land before the return journey.

BOOK YOUR DAY

How the day unfolds

9:00am: Meet at Cibaria Caffetteria, Manly Pacific Hotel. Coffee on us.
9:30am: The ocean. Surf session or ocean pool, chosen around conditions and you.
12:30pm: Lunch. Long and unhurried, at one of the Northern Beaches' most iconic venues.
3:30pm: The trails. Mountain bike, coastal or bush walk, chosen around your energy.
5:30pm: Dusk at a headland lookout. A long view. No agenda.
6:00pm: Return to Manly.

Times are approximate — the day breathes.

Aerial view of Mona Vale ocean pool on Sydney's Northern Beaches

Everything you need is taken care of:

Classic Land Rover Defender throughout

Guided surf session or ocean pool experience

Guided mountain bike trail or coastal/bush walk

All surf and bike equipment included

Poncho towel and post-swim changing facilities

Long lunch at a premium local venue

Personal hosting from start to finish

People walking along a dirt path with tall grass in the foreground

Private booking — exclusively yours

Guests: Solo travellers, couples, families and friends welcome. Up to 5 guests.

Duration: Full day, approximately 9 hours

Fitness: Active but paced, adaptable to your ability and energy

Price: AUD 950 solo · AUD 1,600 for two · AUD 600 each additional guest — all equipment included

Close-up of ocean waves crashing onto a sandy beach

This day is for you if...

You're visiting Sydney and want one day that goes beyond the obvious, a day that gives you a genuine taste of the Northern Beaches lifestyle. The water, the trails, the places locals go.

Or you live here already and you've been meaning to properly explore your own backyard for years. The singletracks behind Manly. The ocean pools at dawn. The long lunch at the kind of place that earns its reputation.

Or you're celebrating something, a birthday, an anniversary, a milestone and you want a day that feels intentional and alive.

Salt & Trails is designed for people who value movement, nature and good food. Curiosity required. Everything else provided.

BOOK YOUR DAY

The itinerary may evolve. The quality does not.

Salt & Trails is built for real coastal conditions. Surf changes. Weather moves. Every element is chosen on the day to deliver the best possible version of each experience. Nothing is locked in rigidly. If conditions are genuinely unsafe, we reschedule or refund in full. No grey areas.