Trinity Beach / Northern Beaches

What you gain

• ↑Trinity Beach is the finest beach within 30 minutes of Cairns: a 500m arc of sand with pohutukawa trees providing shade, good snorkelling over coral bommies at the northern end, and a patrolled swimming area from May to November when stinger nets are in place
• ↑The Northern Beaches apartment rental market provides the best-value family accommodation in the Cairns region: two and three-bedroom apartments with full kitchens and small pools at prices significantly below equivalent Cairns city hotels
• ↑The Bluewater Marina at Yorkeys Knob provides the quietest and most local departure point for reef day trips: the smaller operators (Wavelength, Reef Sprinter) departing from Yorkeys Knob reach quieter sections of the reef than the main Cairns city operators

What you sacrifice

• ↓Marine stingers (box jellyfish and irukandji) make Northern Beaches swimming dangerous from October to May: outside the stinger net enclosures, the sea is not swimmable for most of the wet season, and even the net enclosures are temporary structures that require daily maintenance
• ↓Getting from the Northern Beaches to Cairns city for reef trips requires a car: bus services exist but are infrequent, and the 20–30-minute drive at 5:30am for early reef departures requires either your own vehicle or a taxi