A road-inaccessible hamlet of about 30 residents (2021 Census, SAL10945) on the western shore of Pittwater, roughly 42 km north of the Sydney CBD, forming an enclave inside Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Known simply as 'Coasters', it comprises around fifty holiday houses set in the bush and beside the beach, dating partly from the original 1922–1924 settlement, with no road or land access — it is entirely dependent on the Palm Beach Ferry Service — giving it a secluded, nature-immersed, holiday-camp atmosphere rather than a typical suburb feel. Residents are overwhelmingly older (median age 66 at the 2021 Census) and holiday/part-time occupancy dominates the housing stock (gdp.com.au; burbfinder).
At a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern Beaches |
| Council (LGA) | Northern Beaches Council |
| Postcode | 2108 |
| Distance to Sydney CBD | The only route to the city is by water first: a ferry trip from Bennetts/Bonnie Doon wharf to Palm Beach Wharf (roughly 10–15 minutes… |
| Median house price | ~$2.1M (OnTheHouse median value for houses of $2,112,896 as at 30 April 2025 — a tracker estimate on a very thin market of ~58 properties) (mid-2026) |
| Typical rent | ~$350/week (median weekly rent per gdp.com.au census-based profile — very small sample; most stock is owner-occupied holiday homes) |
Transport
Boat access only: Coasters Retreat 'has no road or land access and is entirely dependent on transport via the Palm Beach Ferry Service'. The hamlet is serviced by two wharves — Bonnie Doon Wharf (built 1914 by Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park) and Bennetts Wharf (constructed 1944) — and Fantasea Cruising's Palm Beach Ferry services stop at Bennetts and Bonnie Doon wharves on their Pittwater runs from Palm Beach. Private boats and water taxis are the other access options, and there are no roads or vehicles in the settlement.
Schools
There are no schools of any kind in Coasters Retreat. With a permanent population of about 30 (2021 Census), no education facilities exist in the hamlet; any school-age children would travel by ferry and road to schools on the eastern shore of Pittwater (e.g. the Palm Beach/Avalon area), which lie outside this suburb.
Shopping & Amenities
None — Coasters Retreat has no shops, cafes or public facilities; its only infrastructure is its two wharves (Bonnie Doon, 1914; Bennetts, 1944), a rural fire brigade and electricity supply connected in 1967. The 50 holiday houses are self-contained, set in bush and beachfront blocks.
Parks & Outdoors
The outdoors is the suburb's entire draw: Coasters Retreat's beach and foreshore sit on the western shores of Pittwater 'looking northward toward the Basin', wrapped by Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park bushland. The Basin, adjoining the settlement, is rich in Aboriginal heritage — including the Basin Track Engraving Site petroglyphs and, on the headland north of Coasters Retreat, the Red Hands Cave — and a dolphin Aboriginal carving is on the foreshore at Coasters Retreat itself. Pittwater offers swimming, kayaking, sailing and fishing, and the national-park surrounds provide bushwalking; the area is reached by ferry or park tracks. The nearby communities of Currawong Beach and Great Mackerel Beach and the KCNP coastline are all part of the same bush-and-water Pittwater setting.
Property Market
The median house price in Coasters Retreat was around ~$2.1M (OnTheHouse median value for houses of $2,112,896 as at 30 April 2025 — a tracker estimate on a very thin market of ~58 properties) (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. EXTREMELY thin market — treat any figure with caution. Coasters Retreat has only about 50 houses and roughly 58 properties in total, most held as holiday/weekender homes, so sales volumes are tiny and medians are statistically unstable. OnTheHouse put the median house value at $2,112,896 as at 30 April 2025, reporting a 48.71% increase in median house value over the prior 5 years — an estimate derived from very few transactions. propertyvalue.com.au lists Coasters Retreat's median sale price, rent and yield as 'Unavailable'. Sales that do occur tend to be waterfront holiday homes — e.g. 29 Coasters Retreat, an architect-designed Pittwater-front residence sold via Domain. Demographics: population 30 at the 2021 Census (SAL10945), median age 66, density ~258 people/km² over an area of roughly 0.12 km², with holiday occupancy dominating (gdp.com.au; RedSuburbs; burbfinder). Expect long periods with no recorded sales at all; single-figure medians are indicative only.
New Developments
Minimal — development is frozen by geography: Coasters Retreat is an enclave within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park with no road or land access, so there is no new subdivision or large-scale development possible. The settlement's built form was set by the 1922–1924 land grants and later subdivision, when the two wharves were built (Bonnie Doon 1914, Bennetts 1944) and electricity was connected in 1967. Recent activity is limited to renovation and extension of the ~50 holiday houses, not new development.
Jobs & Local Economy
Effectively none locally — with a permanent population of about 30, overwhelmingly older (median age 66 at the 2021 Census), Coasters Retreat has no shops or businesses and therefore no local employment base (gdp.com.au; burbfinder). The only local activity is water-based — ferry services calling at the two wharves, private boating and holiday-home caretaking/letting. Working residents commute by ferry to Palm Beach and beyond.
Nearby Suburbs
Currawong Beach, Great Mackerel Beach, Palm Beach
Sources & method
Researched 5 September 2026 from named public sources — census and government records, transport authorities, council and planning documents — plus published sales data. Where sources disagree on a figure, the guide says so rather than picking one.
Sources cited in this guide:
Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
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