Which boat is the Manly ferry? Two services cross from Circular Quay to Manly, from two different wharves, on two different timetables, and since the fast ferry joined the Opal network they cost exactly the same. Choosing between them is about the boat, the berth and the clock — not the fare.
F1: Transport for NSW PDF valid from 2 March 2026, cross-checked against the Transport for NSW Trip Planner for 29 September – 4 October 2026; Manly Fast Ferry: operator timetable cross-checked against the same planner; all read on 24 September 2026 Transport for NSW – F1 Manly timetable (PDF) · 2026-09-24
The difference starts before you board, with the wharf number. The F1 is Transport for NSW's Manly route, run by Sydney Ferries from Wharf 3 to Manly Wharf 1. Manly Fast Ferry is a private company running its own boats from Wharf 2 to Manly Wharf 2. They share a harbour, a destination and, now, a price — and almost nothing else.
The F1 takes 22 minutes on most sailings and 30 minutes on the large Freshwater-class boats, which the timetable marks FW. It runs from 05:30 on a weekday until 23:50, with an extra 00:20 on Friday and Saturday nights. The fast ferry takes 20 minutes, runs up to every 10 minutes in the weekday peaks, and finishes early: 20:20 is its last boat from the Quay. On weekends it does not start until 09:00.
The fare no longer separates them. Either boat is an ordinary Opal tap at the same $9.20 adult price. What does separate them this spring is reliability of information: Transport for NSW's own F1 PDF and its own Trip Planner disagree about the daytime F1 timetable, and the planner is also carrying an alert cancelling five Freshwater sailings each way for repairs.
Of the Circular Quay boats on this site, Manly is the only one that travels far enough to reach the 9+ km band. A little over 11 kilometres of water clears that threshold comfortably, which is why an adult pays $9.20 here while the shorter runs to Taronga Zoo and Watsons Bay stop at $7.35. Distance sets the price on this crossing — not the operator, and not the size of the boat.
The fast ferry no longer changes that. Manly Fast Ferry describes itself as an Opal network service charging the same single fare as the F1, and Transport for NSW's planner returns $9.20 for both. Tapping on at Wharf 2 is the same gesture as tapping on at Wharf 3.
| Adult | $ 9.20 |
| Child or Youth | $ 4.60 |
| Concession | $ 4.60 |
| Gold Senior or Pensioner (the whole day) | $ 2.50 |
| Adult | $ 7.35 |
| Concession | $ 3.67 |
| Monday to Thursday, per day | $ 19.30 |
| Friday to Sunday and public holidays, per day | $ 9.65 |
| Per week | $ 50 |
Opal ferry fares as published by Transport for NSW and read on 24 September 2026, cross-checked against the fares its Trip Planner returns for both services Transport for NSW – Adult Opal fares · 2026-09-24
From Circular Quay the boats run east down the harbour, past the Opera House and Bradleys Head, then turn north-east across the open water inside the Heads to Manly Cove — about 11.2 kilometres by the F1's own track. That last stretch is the reason for the big Freshwater ferries: the New South Wales Government says any replacement has to match their performance in big swells. The fast ferry covers the same water in 20 minutes; the Freshwaters take 30.
By day the F1 uses Wharf 3: the 22-minute boats from Side A, the 30-minute Freshwater sailings from Side B. On the late-evening runs Transport for NSW's planner moves it to Wharf 4. Manly Fast Ferry is next door on Wharf 2, which it returned to on 20 July 2026 after spending March to July on Wharf 6 during maintenance. Transport for NSW warns that Circular Quay berths can change at short notice and closes the F1 gates two minutes before departure, so read the indicator boards rather than going on habit.
The two services split at this end too: the F1 ties up at Wharf 1, the fast ferry at Wharf 2. Both are inside the same wharf complex on Manly Cove, so the choice of boat home can be made on the spot by looking at which departs first. Captain Cook's harbour loop calls at the same wharf complex on its way to Watsons Bay — see our Manly to Watsons Bay page for that one.
The PDF marks the big Freshwater-class sailings FW, and they take 30 minutes instead of 22. The New South Wales Government calls them iconic; for a commute they are simply eight minutes slower. Several of them are cancelled at present for repairs.
Manly Fast Ferry's last departure from Circular Quay is 20:20, every day. After that only the F1 runs, half-hourly, until 23:50 — or 00:20 on Friday and Saturday nights.
Transport for NSW closes the Manly Ferry gates two minutes before the scheduled departure. With boats leaving from different wharves, walking to the wrong one is the usual way to miss it.
Manly Fast Ferry has a licensed bar on board, but its staff cannot take cash. The fare is taken by tapping your Opal card or bank card at the wharf, as on the F1.
The fast ferry's first weekend boat from the Quay is 09:00. If you want to be in Manly for an early swim on a Saturday or Sunday, it has to be the F1.
That disagreement is why the F1 grid on this page has a gap. The PDF, valid from 2 March 2026 and still the only one Transport for NSW links to, puts the midday F1 departures at ten past, half past and ten to the hour, with a Freshwater every forty minutes. The planner, checked for dates from late September to mid-October, shows a boat every fifteen minutes plus a Freshwater once an hour. Both versions agree on the early mornings and the evenings, and those are the times printed above; for anything in between, the planner is the one that reflects alerts and changes on the day.
If Manly is one stop on a longer harbour day, the other boats from the same quay are close by: the F2 to Taronga Zoo leaves from Wharf 4 and the F9 round to Watsons Bay from Wharf 2, both in the cheaper 0–9 km band. Captain Cook Cruises also links Manly directly to Watsons Bay across the harbour mouth, but that one is outside the Opal fare system.
No. The F1 is Transport for NSW's route, run by Sydney Ferries from Circular Quay Wharf 3 to Manly Wharf 1. Manly Fast Ferry is a separate company sailing from Wharf 2 to Manly Wharf 2 in about 20 minutes. They now charge the same Opal fare, but they keep separate timetables.
Not any more. Manly Fast Ferry says it is an Opal network service with the same single-journey price as the F1, and Transport for NSW's planner returns $9.20 for an adult on both. Both trips count towards the daily and weekly Opal caps.
Distance. Manly is about 11 kilometres of water from the Quay, beyond the 9 km boundary between Opal's two ferry bands; Taronga Zoo and Watsons Bay both fall short of it.
Only a little. Manly Fast Ferry takes 20 minutes; most F1 sailings take 22, and the Freshwater-class sailings marked FW take 30. The F1 figures are the same in Transport for NSW's PDF and in its Trip Planner.
On the F1, 00:20 from Manly on weeknights, arriving at the Quay at 00:42, with a later 00:50 on Saturday night. On a Sunday the last F1 from Manly is 23:50. Manly Fast Ferry's last departure is 20:50 on weekdays and 21:10 at weekends.
Yes. On 24 September 2026 Transport for NSW was showing an alert cancelling the 10:50, 12:50, 14:50, 16:50 and 18:50 from Circular Quay and the 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30 and 19:30 from Manly because of ferry repairs, with no end date published.
Because Transport for NSW publishes two versions that do not match. Its F1 PDF and its Trip Planner agree on the early-morning and evening sailings, which we list, but not on the daytime ones. Rather than guess, we point you to the planner for those hours.
The F1. Manly Fast Ferry's first weekend departure from Circular Quay is 09:00, while the F1 is running well before that — though its exact first weekend sailing differs between the two official sources, so check the planner the night before.