Port Macquarie has around 17 beaches within a short drive of the town centre. Shelly Beach is one of the smaller ones, but it consistently rates well and is positioned at the start of the town's coastal walk. This guide covers Shelly Beach and five other beaches in the area to help you plan which ones to visit.
Shelly Beach Port Macquarie
Shelly Beach Port Macquarie rates 4.8 stars across 102 reviews on BeachCheck. It sits just south of the town centre, bordered by the Sea Acres Rainforest Centre to the south, and is part of the 9-kilometre coastal walk that connects Port Macquarie's main beaches.
The beach is small and not patrolled. Parking is available off Pacific Drive, with public toilets on site. Because it is unpatrolled, it is better suited to calm days with low swell. On days with 1.5+ metre swell, the nearby Flynns Beach or Town Beach are safer options for swimming with kids.
Harry's Lookout, above the beach, gives a good view of conditions before you commit to going down. The lookout is accessible from the car park and takes about 5 minutes on foot.
The coastal walk from Shelly Beach north toward Town Beach and Flynn's Beach is an easy path with ocean views throughout. Most visitors do the section from Shelly Beach to Lighthouse Beach in around 2.5 hours.
View Shelly Beach on BeachCheck
Flynns Beach
Flynns Beach rates 4.7 stars across 567 reviews and is the most visited beach in Port Macquarie. It is patrolled, has a surf club, toilets, parking, and a kiosk. The beach is around 600 metres long and is the main family swimming beach in the area.
If you are visiting Port Macquarie with children and want a patrolled beach on the ocean side of town, Flynns is the default choice. It gets busy on summer weekends but the car park is large. The surf here is generally milder than Lighthouse Beach further south.
View Flynns Beach on BeachCheck
Lighthouse Beach
Lighthouse Beach rates 4.8 stars across 315 reviews, matching Shelly Beach's rating with significantly more reviewers. It is a long stretch of sand south of the town that ends at Tacking Point Lighthouse, one of the older lighthouses on the NSW coast (built 1879).
The beach is exposed and receives a cleaner swell than the more sheltered beaches closer to town. Surfers and bodyboarders tend to come here rather than Flynns. It is patrolled during peak season. The car park is at the northern end off Matthew Flinders Drive.
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Town Beach
Town Beach rates 4.7 stars across 179 reviews and sits closest to the Port Macquarie CBD. It is sheltered and calmer than the ocean-facing beaches, which makes it reliable for swimming even when ocean conditions are rough.
The beach is adjacent to the main shopping precinct and is easily walkable from accommodation in the town centre. There is a grassed foreshore and parking on William Street. Because it faces the Hastings River mouth rather than open ocean, it tends to have smaller waves and is good for younger children.
Oxley Beach
Oxley Beach rates 4.6 stars across 38 reviews. It is a short beach between Flynns and Shelly Beach, with toilets and parking. Not patrolled. It gets less traffic than Flynns and is a reasonable option if you want a quieter spot on the same stretch of coast.
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Practical Notes
- Patrolled beaches: Flynns Beach is the main patrolled beach for swimming. Newcastle Beach is patrolled at certain hours; check the BeachCheck listing for current patrol times.
- Coastal walk: Runs approximately 9 kilometres from Town Beach through to Lighthouse Beach. Shelly Beach is roughly 3 kilometres from Town Beach on this route.
- Not patrolled: Shelly Beach, Oxley Beach, Lighthouse Beach (outside peak season). Check conditions before swimming.
- Swell direction: Port Macquarie beaches face northeast to southeast. They pick up east and northeast swell, which arrives most consistently from October through April.
Find current conditions, surf quality, and crowd levels for all Port Macquarie beaches at BeachCheck.