Cairns Beaches

Guide for Cairns Beaches

There are 8 main beaches in Cairns. The beaches are located in the north of Cairns.

Please see below a bit more about each beach in Cairns:

• Machans Beach
• Holloways Beach
• Yorkeys Knob
• Trinity Beach
• Kewarra Beach
• Clifton Beach
• Palm Cove
• Ellis Beach

Machans Beach

Machans Beach is the closest beach to Cairns CBD and it takes about 12 minutes by car to get there. The beach is small and it has a modest community. Machans beach is not very popular amongst the locals and tourists.

Holloways Beach

Holloways Beach is a more residential beach and still a very close drive to Cairns CBD. The beach is also close to the airport and residents have to deal with the noise from aeroplanes that fly over the houses frequently. There is a cafe at the beach (beachfront) that serves a range of food and drinks. The cafe is quite popular amongst locals in the area.

Yorkeys Knob Beach

Yorkeys Knob is the third beach from Cairns and located about 13 kilometres from the CBD. The northern part of Yorkeys Knob, near the coast, is quite residential, but the majority of the land use is still rural, mainly used for growing sugarcane.

Yorkeys Knob has a cruise ship terminal and it receives many cruise ships throughout the year. When the cruise ship is too big to dock at Trinity Wharf in Cairns city, it docks at Yorkeys knob.

Yorkeys Knob has a marina with 197 berths of various sizes, and it can accommodate most single and multi hull vessels. There is also a boat club, a very popular place where locals go to get some food and also enjoy the nice environment. There are always live bands and events on the weekends.

Trinity Beach

Trinity Beach is located about 20 kilometres from Cairns CBD and around 30 minutes drive by car. Trinity Beach suburb is mainly residential and its size is approximately 2 kilometres wide. Trinity Beach is one of the favoured Cairns beaches amongst locals. There are several hotels and holiday apartments around the area so the suburb is a little bit touristy but not too much. There are also grocery shops and restaurants available in the area.

Trinity Beach is the second best beach when it comes to infrastructure, after Palm Cove. The beach has a paved esplanade walk between the north and south ends. It is perfect for both holiday makers and locals to enjoy the beach environment and beautiful views of the ocean. Along the walk there are barbecue facilities, shade pergolas, a children's playground and toilet facilities.

Kewarra Beach

Kewarra Beach is located between Trinity Beach and Clifton Beach. Kewarra Beach is a very residential suburb with houses, not resorts or holiday accommodation like some other beaches.

Kewarra Beach is a nice sandy beach offering undercover barbecue facilities, kids playground and toilet facilities. This beach is very popular amongst the locals and it can get very busy on the weekends, especially with kids on bikes and scooters. There are no shops near the beach like other suburbs, but there are shops on the main road including small grocery shops, pharmacies, takeaway shops and bottle shops.

Clifton Beach

Clifton Beach is a quiet beach located about 25 minutes drive by car from Cairns CBD.

Clifton Beach is very close to the famous Palm Cove Beach and there are walking and cycling tracks connecting both beaches. Along the beach there are barbecue facilities, a kids playground and toilet facilities.

Clifton Beach is patrolled by lifeguards and it has stinger net in the water during the hot months, offering safe swimming for locals.

Palm Cove Beach

Palm Cove is the beach with the best infrastructure in Cairns. Palm Cove is located about 40 minutes drive by car.

The beautiful 2 kilometres sand beach with tall coconut trees along the esplanade makes a paradisiacal and relaxing atmosphere for holiday makers. Along the paved esplanade walk visitors can find a kids playground, toilet facilities and lots of grass areas perfect for those who want to exercise and do activities such as yoga.

Many 5 star hotels and resorts are located in Palm Cove, most of them facing the ocean. Along the esplanade there are numerous shops and restaurants. Locals and tourists have a big range of restaurants to choose from. The types of restaurants go from fine dining to more simple places such as local cafes.

Palm Cove is also a very popular location for weddings because of its natural beauty.

Ellis Beach

Ellis Beach is the last beach in Cairns but not less popular. Ellis Beach can get very busy with locals. There is a cafe and restaurant just across the street from the beach, and there is also a caravan park. The caravan park is quite popular, even locals take their caravan to spend the weekend at the beach which just a piece of paradise. The sand is quite soft and the coconut trees along the beach makes a beautiful scenary.

The local surf lifesaving club also regularly hosts competitions and events along the beach. A stinger net patrolled by the club is in place during the summer months.