Where to stay in Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie is the biggest town on the Mid North Coast, and its hub. It sits where the Hastings River meets the Tasman Sea, with a run of beaches stepping south from the town centre to a lighthouse on the headland. It is a real town, not a village: full shops and services, a hospital, an airport and plenty to do, wrapped around some of the most accessible beaches on the coast. If you want sand and surf with everything else close at hand, this is the place to base yourself.

Founded in 1821 as a convict settlement, it grew into the regional centre for the whole Hastings, and today it draws families, surfers, walkers, retirees and caravanners in roughly equal measure. The headline act is the beaches, eight of them in a row, each with its own character, joined end to end by one of the best coastal walks in the state.

Why stay in Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie suits travellers who want the beach plus everything else. You can surf or swim at a patrolled beach in the morning, walk a stretch of coast past rainforest and lookouts, take a river cruise or hire a kayak, and still have a choice of cafes, restaurants and shops for the evening. It is central to the Mid North Coast too, so the smaller towns north and south, and the green Hastings hinterland, are all within easy reach. It is busier and more built up than its neighbours, which is the point: it is the one place around here where you do not have to choose between the beach and a proper town.

The beaches, north to south

Port Macquarie’s beaches start in town and step south, headland to headland, all the way to the lighthouse. You can walk the lot on the Coastal Walk, or just pick one. Here they are in order.

Town Beach is the closest, right below the town centre and the breakwall at the mouth of the Hastings. It is the social hub: a sandy beach with an easy surf break, a kiosk, a playground and a holiday park right behind. It is patrolled and the most reliable place for a safe swim close to everything.

Oxley Beach is the next cove south, around Flagstaff Hill. It is small, quiet and pretty, with picnic spots and lookouts, and a surf break when the conditions line up. There are no flags here, so it suits a quieter swim or a surf.

Rocky Beach lives up to its name, a little beach with rock platforms and tidal pools between Windmill Hill and Flynns Point. It is better for fishing off the rocks, poking about the pools and the view than for a swim.

Flynns Beach is the other big family beach, a stretch of white sand framed by headlands and backed by pines and a grassy reserve. It has a surf club with a cafe and deck, good consistent surf and the local surf schools. It is patrolled in the warmer months and gets busy on a good day.

Nobbys Beach sits just south, under Nobby Head. It is the town’s dog beach, the main off-leash stretch, and a relaxed spot for a swim or a walk away from the flags.

Shelly Beach is a long, lovely white-sand beach with the Sea Acres rainforest rising behind it and a natural rock pool at the southern end that keeps the water calm for kids at lower tide. It is a favourite for a swim and a barbecue, with a car park, picnic spots and the southern leg of the Coastal Walk starting here.

Miners Beach is the secluded one, reached only on foot through the rainforest from Shelly Beach or down the track at the lighthouse end. Backed entirely by Sea Acres bush, with clear water and rock pools, it has long been known as the town’s unofficial clothing-optional beach, though it has no official status. The walk in is half the appeal.

Lighthouse Beach is the big one, the long open ocean beach that begins under Tacking Point Lighthouse and runs south for kilometres. The northern end, below the lighthouse headland, is patrolled by the Tacking Point club. Beyond that it is wide, wild and quiet, with surf, beach fishing, four wheel driving on the sand, and horse and camel rides. Dogs run off the lead south of Watonga Rocks.

The Coastal Walk

The Port Macquarie Coastal Walk links the whole run, about nine kilometres one way from Town Beach to Tacking Point Lighthouse. It threads along the headlands and drops down to each beach, past lookouts, the Sea Acres rainforest and big ocean views. It is graded for some steps and uneven ground rather than a flat promenade, so most people walk it in sections. A favourite leg is Shelly Beach out to the lighthouse. Allow three to four hours for the full length, or pick a section and turn back.

Tacking Point Lighthouse

The little white Tacking Point Lighthouse has stood on its headland above Lighthouse Beach since 1879. It is short, because it sits up high, and the lookout beside it is one of the best free spots in town for the view and for whale watching when the humpbacks pass, roughly May to November.

The Hastings River and the breakwall

The town sits where the Hastings River meets the sea, and the riverfront is half the fun. The breakwall walk runs from Town Green out towards Town Beach, lined with hundreds of hand-painted rocks left by visitors over the years, a long open-air gallery of messages and memorials. Along the river there is the town wharf and its fishing boats, river cruises and kayaks, the marina, and grassy foreshore parks for a picnic or a coffee by the water.

Koalas and rainforest

Port Macquarie is koala country. The Hello Koalas sculpture trail scatters painted koalas around town, the Sea Acres Rainforest Centre near Shelly Beach runs a boardwalk through rare coastal rainforest right by the sea, and the town is well known for its koala hospital and conservation work (the hospital has been moving to a new home, so check before you go). Billabong is another spot to see koalas up close.

Things to do

• Swim or surf at Town, Flynns or Lighthouse beach, all patrolled in season
• Walk a leg of the Coastal Walk between the beaches and headlands
• Climb to Tacking Point Lighthouse for the view and the whales
• Walk the painted breakwall along the river
• Wander the Sea Acres rainforest boardwalk
• Find the painted koalas on the Hello Koalas trail
• Take a river cruise or hire a kayak on the Hastings
• Try a horse or camel ride on Lighthouse Beach
• Watch for whales from the headlands, May to November
• Let the dog off the lead at Nobbys or south Lighthouse Beach

Food and coffee

As the biggest town on this coast, Port Macquarie has the most choice for a feed: a kiosk and cafes right by Town Beach, restaurants and bars along the river and Town Green, bakeries, pubs and the rest. You will not go hungry, and you can usually get a good coffee with a water view.

Getting there

Port Macquarie is about a four hour drive north of Sydney, close to 390 kilometres, almost all of it on the M1 and the Pacific Highway. The town sits a few kilometres off the highway, so you turn off east at the end. Port Macquarie Airport is a few minutes from the centre, with flights to Sydney and Brisbane. As the hub of the Mid North Coast, it also makes a handy base for the smaller towns north and south and the Hastings hinterland.

Good to know

Port Macquarie is a proper regional town, so you get the full set of shops, services and a hospital alongside the beaches. It is busiest and dearest over the summer school holidays and Easter; spring and autumn are quieter, milder and better value, and they line up with whale season. If you want a sleepy village, the smaller towns nearby will suit better. If you want beaches plus everything else in one place, this is the spot.

Local tip: walk the Coastal Walk from Shelly Beach to Tacking Point in the morning light, then drop back to a Town Beach kiosk for breakfast. For whales, take binoculars up to the lighthouse between May and November.