How do you get home when there is no road to your street? For the people of Scotland Island and the bays opposite on Pittwater, the answer is a small private ferry from Church Point, running a loop of wharves that changes with the hour, the school calendar and who has rung ahead.
Timetable valid from 1 January 2026 as published by Transport for NSW (route CHCP), checked against the operator's own timetable on 13 October 2026; the two agree on every time shown here Transport for NSW – CHCP Church Point Ferry timetable, valid from 1 January 2026 · 2026-10-13
Is there any other way to reach Scotland Island? Not by public transport. When IPART reviewed private ferry fares in 2025, it concluded that residents of the island have no public transport alternative apart from water taxis, and heard that the wharf at Church Point has little room left for private boats. That makes the Church Point Ferry Service less a scenic trip than a lifeline: a third of the passengers who answered IPART's survey use it more than five times a week, and the boats also deliver the morning papers and the afternoon post to the wharves.
So which boat do you need? At weekends it is easy: a ferry leaves Church Point every hour on the half-hour from 08:30 to 18:30, calls at the four Scotland Island wharves (Bells, Carols, Eastern and Tennis), then crosses to the western shore (Halls Wharf in Morning Bay, then Lovett and South Elvina), and returns via Bells about forty minutes later. On weekdays the pattern is busier and less regular, with the first departure at 06:30 and the last at 19:25, runs that go to the western bays before the island, school-day trips to Newport Wharf and evening stops served only on request.
The fare? An adult single is $12.30 in 2026, paid on board; Opal cards are not valid here.
Passengers pay the crew during the trip, by EFTPOS card, cash or cheque; Opal cards are not accepted. The adult single of $12.30 is the maximum IPART allows on this route from 1 January 2026, a figure that appears both in the operator's list and in IPART's final report. Everything else in the table is the operator's own figure, without a second source.
Offshore residents are treated differently. Pensioner and senior residents of Scotland Island and the western foreshores travel free, and eligible Gold Opal holders who live there can ask the operator about subsidised travel to the mainland.
| Adult | $ 12.30 |
| Concession, or child over 5 (operator's list) | $ 6.20 |
| Child under 5 | Free |
| Senior or pensioner resident of the island or western foreshores | Free |
| Adult round trip | $ 20 |
| Concession or child round trip | $ 12 |
| Adult 13-trip ticket | $ 78 |
| Concession or child 13-trip ticket | $ 59 |
| Green Ticket, 13 trips with $1 for carbon offsets | $ 79 |
Operator's 2026 fares, read on 13 October 2026; the adult single matches IPART's maximum fare for 2026 Church Point Ferry Service – Fares (2026) · 2026-10-13
Scotland Island sits in the southern arm of Pittwater, a few hundred metres off Church Point, with Elvina Bay, Lovett Bay and Morning Bay on the western shore behind it, the fringe of Ku-ring-gai Chase, a national park. Further north on the same waterway, the Basin service out of Palm Beach serves the other roadless communities of the western shore, from Coasters Retreat to Mackerel Beach. Both are private ferries working under Transport for NSW contracts rather than Opal services.
The mainland end, off Pittwater Road beside Thomas Stephens Reserve. The council lists pay-and-display parking and toilets here and describes it as the principal wharf for commuters living on the island and along the western shore; it currently has no tie-up bays for private dinghies to offer, only a waiting list.
The island wharf closest to Church Point and the first call on most loops. Carols, Eastern and Tennis wharves follow around the island's shore; Halls (for Morning Bay), Lovett and South Elvina wharves are on the national-park side of Pittwater.
Each wharf has a flag to show the Ferry Master you want picking up. From Lovett, Elvina or Halls outside peak times, also phone ahead on 0408 296 997.
If the Ferry Master does not pick up, the boat is probably in a radio shadow or berthing. The operator suggests ringing back in five minutes.
Published times are the earliest the boat will leave. Get to the wharf with five minutes to spare, and allow for wind, tide and a busy run of stops.
There is pay-and-display parking beside the commuter wharf. Northern Beaches Council has no tie-up bays left there for private tenders and keeps a waiting list.
Extra runs to Newport Wharf and alternative afternoon loops operate on school days only, so a school-holiday weekday looks different from a term-time one.
The loop is one service, not several. Transport for NSW lists it as route CHCP, Church Point to Elvina Bay (Loop Service), and its 2026 timetable codes each trip: S for school days, H for school holidays and R for wharves served only when you ask. The operator's own grid uses the same times with an asterisk for request stops, and both tell passengers bound for or leaving from a request wharf to call the Ferry Master or tell the crew when paying. Bells Wharf, the nearest island landing to Church Point, about five minutes away, is where most trips both start and end their island calls.
Fares are not the operator's alone to decide. IPART sets a maximum fare for the route, and its November 2025 final report lifted the adult ceiling by inflation to $12.30 (it had been $12.00), noting that the operator already offers return and 13-trip discounts, that pensioner tickets and student travel are fully subsidised, and that the service receives a viability payment. The same report allowed for a full backup ferry on this route because of its operational needs.
On weekdays the first departure from Church Point is 06:30; a 06:20 boat also leaves Bells Wharf for Church Point. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays start with the 08:20 from Bells, and Church Point's first departure is 08:30.
The final weekday departure from Church Point is 19:25. Weekend and public-holiday service ends with the 18:30, which completes the loop and gets back to Church Point at 19:05.
Some wharves are only served if someone asks. Ring the Ferry Master on 0408 296 997 to be picked up, or tell the crew where you want to get off when you pay. Use the flag on the wharf as well.
It cannot: the state's route page marks the Church Point Ferry as a private service where Opal is not accepted. Fares go to the crew, by card, cash or cheque; an adult single is $12.30 in 2026.
Church Point; Bells, Carols, Eastern and Tennis wharves on Scotland Island; Halls Wharf (Morning Bay), Lovett Wharf and South Elvina Wharf across on the western foreshore; and Newport Wharf on some school-day trips.
Next to the commuter wharf off Pittwater Road, where Northern Beaches Council provides pay-and-display parking. Spaces fill with residents' cars, so allow time.
No. The operator carries pensioner and senior residents of Scotland Island and the western foreshores free, with an all-day ticket.