Sans Souci Suburb Review

Airy, seaside atmosphere with some great views and nice dining, although a little disconnected and price is a factor.

Summary: A seaside suburb with a “permanent holiday” feel, Sans Souci is sleepy enough to feel like an escape yet well equipped enough to not need to trek elsewhere for daily life. It’s walking distance to slices of beach with some panoramic waterfront views and boasts one of the best foreshore areas of any suburb in what’s still “inner” Sydney. Main roads are right nearby, but it’s awkwardly disconnected from the city via public transport and its popularity as a holiday home area means prices have continued to climb.

Key stats

For those who like their dose of Sydney life with a little less of a tense and hectic daily atmosphere, it’s easy to see how Sans Souci would be highly appealing. Sitting on a peninsula and encircled by the waters of the Georges River and Botany Bay, the lighter air and non-landlocked aspect of the suburb creates an inherently cheery feel.

This is despite Sans Souci still being reasonably central – the airport’s not far away, the Captain Cook Bridge provides an easy springboard to the Shire, and the city’s only just over half an hour drive. It’s amazing what some water and a bit of sand can do, but the effect is undeniable; this is a suburb with a “shorts and thongs” environment throughout most of the year.

It’s far from a backwater, too. Most beachside suburbs sacrifice greatly in terms of amenities, but while Sans Souci is far from “built up” it’s got a pretty good helping of little restaurants and retail as well as its Supabarn farmers market. The majority of these are clustered around its main strip on Rocky Point Road, but there’s also Coles and IGA right on the suburb’s border with Ramsgate as well.

It’s lacking in bigger-box retail, but its other miscellaneous local boutique stores and services cover a broad enough range (hairdressers, medical, etc) to be largely self-contained. Alternatively, hop on the bus and head over the bridge to the massive Miranda Westfield for larger scale shopping needs.

A Life Aquatic

Water and waterfront areas in general play the main role in Sans Souci’s appeal. It’s walking distance to some decent – if unspectacular – slices of beach and calm enough waters for a swim. It’s not a surfing environment, but great for a stroll.

Boating enthusiasts will also find a lot to like here, as it’s home to several sailing, boat and yacht clubs that are both a place to moor vessels and great for enjoying a drink with water views.

Waterfront plays a key role in Sans Souci’s appeal

As an outdoor-oriented suburb, it’s only fitting that Sans Souci has a number of great parks and reserves as well. While the greenery here is more of the “beachy-yellow-green” dryer style as opposed to the lush flora of other Sydney suburbs it’s still nice enough, and the combination of these park spaces with the water produces a really pleasant environment.

The main star of these is Cook Park in Sans Souci’s north east. This is a wonderful, expansive waterfront area that stretches a long way and provides great views out across the water to Botany Bay, Kurnell, and Port Botany. It’s decked out with quality playground equipment for the kids and good cycling tracks for riders, and its foreshore makes for a great walk to simply take a stroll and breathe in the coastal air.

Claydon Reserve on the opposite side offers more playground equipment, some sporting spaces and more nice views out to Kogarah Bay and is another great spot for a picnic.

“As an outdoor-oriented suburb, it’s only fitting that Sans Souci has a number of great parks and reserves as well.”

Sans Souci’s largely a residential suburb, and the style of its housing reflects its overall atmosphere. It’s mostly low-rise, a little older holiday-style houses although there are some palatial new constructions dotted throughout which are truly huge. These newer buildings are slowly taking place of knocked-down older brick models, so the suburb’s face is changing gradually.

Its waterfront aspect means that its property market is going to be pricier than average, although it’s not too far above Sydney standards. Expect to pay around $1.4 million for a 3 bedroom freestanding house, although many of its newer properties are far bigger with prices that scale up accordingly.

There’s not a ton of high-density apartment living on offer here. Most of what there is are in buildings which sit alongside Rocky Point Road meaning street noise is a bit of a factor, and prices are a little lower accordingly. $450 per week rent can net you a modest 2 bedroom apartment here.

Position and connectivity are going to be the other main point of contention when it comes to living in Sans Souci. It’s close to Sydney airport which is fine if that’s something you’re regularly going to use (although it brings a slight amount of plane noise with it), but it’s a bit of a mixed bag for getting elsewhere.

It’s close to main expressways, and that’s a good thing because driving is pretty much a necessity here if you’re looking to cover any kind of decent distance. Several busy thoroughfare roads including Sandringham and Rocky Point Roads see heavy amounts of traffic, and you’ll be seeing a lot of these frequently if living here. The Captain Cook Bridge is also almost eternally busy.

Sans Souci has some basic bus services that provide connectivity to Kogarah and Rockdale stations, but otherwise public transport is a pretty significant weakness.

There’s no train station, light rail or metro, so if you’re not the driving type then you’ll be stuck with some inconvenient city access, with having to “bus it” to Kogarah Station and then head into the city from there. That’s around a 50-ish minute one way trip into the CBD, which isn’t astronomical but it’s not great either.

For families, Sans Souci does okay. Its aforementioned public areas (and Leisure Centre/playground) are great for those with kids, and there’s a couple of good schools within the suburb to not have to look elsewhere for education. It’s quite safe and fares above-average for crime stats, and is a little warmer and more welcoming than some inner-Sydney suburbs.

One last quirk to bear in mind: Sans Souci’s sand-and-waterfront environment is pretty, but it also means that flies can be a bit of an annoyance factor in the warmer months.

The Verdict

Sans Souci’s a solid choice for those who want a little more breathing room and who like to take advantage of an outdoors lifestyle in Sydney without sacrificing too much distance from the city.

It’s great for cyclists and walkers, and kids who like spending their time in the local park during Daylight Savings will no doubt have a ball. Its foreshore areas are likewise very pretty, and it’s no doubt refreshing to be able to walk 5 minutes from your home and take in some kind of great sea view.

It’s got a good range of dining and some charming little back-street cafes, and for those who like their boating there’s few better suburbs to choose from in Sydney.

The requirement to be a driver makes it a bit of an awkward choice for those who work in the Sydney CBD, and thus it’s probably better suited either to families whose parents work elsewhere, or retirees who love the waterfront.

It’s not cheap, so it’s not the most ideal market to try and crack into for first-home-buyers unless you’re particularly cashed-up.

In all, Sans Souci is an ideal place to live or visit to just revel in nature and sunshine, and breathe in deeply.