Little Manly is the small, sheltered beach around the corner from the Manly ferry, facing west into North Harbour with a netted swimming enclosure, a grassy reserve and free parking, and it is the gentlest shore dive on the peninsula. The bottom is a clean sandy slope with beds of seagrass covering much of the floor, the pylons and mesh of the shark net, and rocky edges along both sides of the cove; depth is 3 m at the net, 6–7 m in the middle and about 10 m off the point. Frog Dive rates it 'green' and describes gentle beach-path access and a good night dive with octopus, cuttlefish, morays, seahorses on the nets, flathead and rays.

The animals are those of the North Harbour reserve's seagrass and sand: White's seahorses and pipefish on the net and weed, small rays and stingarees on the sand, flathead, cuttlefish, octopus in every bottle and crevice, fan-bellied and pygmy leatherjackets, juvenile fish in the seagrass, nudibranchs on the pylons and, in autumn, tropical juveniles along the rocks. Moray eels live under the southern rocks toward the point. Dusk brings little penguins through the cove on their way to the North Head colony and the occasional fairy penguin fishing among divers is a Little Manly speciality.

It is inside the North Harbour Aquatic Reserve, so nothing may be taken. The cove is used by the Manly operators when Manly Cove is crowded or when a very calm, very easy site is needed for a first night dive or a nervous student, and it is a good place for photographers to spend an hour at 5 m. Boat traffic to the adjacent ramp and ferry wash are the only cautions.

Little Manly suits beginners, snorkellers and night divers, and pairs with the Gasworks point next door for a second dive.

From Manly Wharf walk 800 m south along East Esplanade and Stuart Street to Little Manly Beach (10 minutes), or drive to the free parking in Stuart Street and Little Manly Point Reserve (busy on summer weekends). A path leads from the road straight onto the sand; gear up on the grass, walk in beside the netted enclosure and swim out. The Little Manly boat ramp, where Pro Dive Manly and Sydney Dive Charters load their boats, is at the point 300 m further on.

Exit back onto the beach.

Facing west across North Harbour and tucked behind Little Manly Point, the cove is sheltered from ocean swell and the north-easter; a strong westerly or south-westerly wind puts a small chop on the beach but rarely stops a dive. Visibility 3–8 m, best on the flood tide in winter and poor after rain. Ferry wash from the Manly run and traffic to the boat ramp and Spring Cove moorings pass the mouth of the cove – stay close to shore and the net.

Summer weekends fill the enclosure with swimmers; early mornings and nights are best.

Enter beside the net and descend in 3 m. Follow the net panels and pylons for seahorses and pipefish, then work out over the seagrass and sand to 6–8 m, keeping the rocky southern edge of the cove on your right toward the point where octopus, morays and flathead live under the rocks (10 m at the outer edge). Return along the northern rocks and net and finish over the seagrass; surface near the beach.

Frog Dive – 'green level' guided shore and night dives (7 m average, 10 m max); Dive Centre Manly and Pro Dive Manly use it for courses and night dives when Manly Cove is crowded; Sydney Dive Charters shore option.