People searching for the best beaches near Cairns are usually pointed to the mainland esplanade or the northern beaches strip — but the standout is offshore. Nudey Beach on Fitzroy Island, a 45-minute ferry ride from Cairns, is a coral-rubble cove with clear, calm water and snorkelling right off the sand, and it’s the beach most visitors mean when they ask where the best beach near Cairns actually is.
Quick answer: what’s the best beach near Cairns?
Nudey Beach, on the southern side of Fitzroy Island, 45 minutes by ferry from Cairns. It’s a small, sheltered cove backed by rainforest, with a coral-rubble and sand shore rather than the powder-white sand of a mainland beach — the trade-off is clear, calm water and coral visible from the shoreline. Welcome Bay, where the ferry and day tours arrive, is the easier, more sheltered option if you’re travelling with young kids or don’t want the 20-minute walking track.
Key takeaways
- Nudey Beach is a coral-rubble cove on Fitzroy Island’s southern side, reached by a signposted walking track from Welcome Bay (allow about 20 minutes each way).
- Welcome Bay is where the ferry and day tours land — calmer, shallower, and the easiest beach on the island for families and first-time snorkellers.
- Fitzroy Island is a continental island, not a coral cay, so its beaches are coral rubble and sand rather than pure white sand — the clear water and fringing coral make up for it.
- Sunlover runs day trips to Fitzroy Island from Cairns, including combined Reef & Island days that add the Outer Reef at Moore Reef in the same day.
- A picnic lunch box is available for collection at Foxy’s Bar between 11am and 2pm for guests who’ve booked one.
Why Nudey Beach is Fitzroy Island’s most photographed beach
Fitzroy Island is a continental island — it was once part of the mainland, separated when sea levels rose thousands of years ago — so its beaches are made of coral rubble and sand rather than the fine white sand you get on a coral cay. Nudey Beach is the clearest example: a curved, rainforest-backed cove on the island’s quieter southern side, with water clear enough to see coral and reef fish without a mask on a calm day. It’s reached by a marked walking track from Welcome Bay, about 20 minutes each way through rainforest, so it stays quieter than the main bay even at busy times.
Welcome Bay: the easier beach for families
Welcome Bay is where the Fitzroy Island ferry and Sunlover day trips arrive, right in front of Fitzroy Island Resort. It’s more sheltered than Nudey Beach, with a gentler entry into the water, which makes it the better choice if you’re travelling with young kids, snorkelling for the first time, or don’t want to do the walking track. Sun loungers, the resort pool, and Foxy’s Bar are all a short walk from the sand. If you’ve booked a picnic lunch box with your day trip, collection is from Foxy’s Bar between 11am and 2pm.
How to get to Fitzroy Island’s beaches from Cairns
Fitzroy Island is a 45-minute ferry crossing from Cairns. Sunlover runs it as a day trip on its own, or combined with a morning at the Outer Great Barrier Reef at Moore Reef as a Reef & Island day — the only way to do both the reef and the island in a single day from Cairns. Both options include the ferry crossing; snorkel gear for the reef component is supplied on board. Current inclusions and pricing are kept up to date on the Fitzroy Island page and the prices page.
Is Nudey Beach really the best beach near Cairns?
Can you swim at Nudey Beach?
Do you need a tour to visit Fitzroy Island’s beaches?
Can you snorkel straight off the beach?
Is there food available on Fitzroy Island?
Ready to see Fitzroy Island’s beaches for yourself?
Sunlover runs day trips to Fitzroy Island from Cairns, including combined Reef & Island days that add the Outer Great Barrier Reef in the same trip.
