Are you looking for a kid-friendly village with a beach for everyone? From the civilised and swimmable Whiting Beach, to the classic curve of Main Beach and the L-Plater waves at Turners Beach, Yamba has a swimming spot for everyone, all within a 1km radius of the town centre.

If you plan on leaving the beach, there are plenty of things to do that don’t involve a rashie. Here are my favourite things that we did on our recent trip.

Yamba – Iluka Ferry

This passenger ferry is free for kids under five and departs from a wharf near the centre of town. It will take you over to Iluka, a village on the north side of the Clarence River. You buy tickets on board ($9 one way for adults) and there’s a bar on board that sells snacks and drinks. It’s a one-hour round trip that cruises past a boat yard, coastal mangroves and the break walls. If you want to get off in Iluka, you can take your pushbikes over and ride to the World Heritage Rainforest walking trail and catch a ferry back later.

Yamba Shores Tavern

This pub could not be more waterfront, has a fenced playground, kids’ menu and apparently has a pontoon where you can feed the fish (we didn’t do this because Joey was cracking it). I will be dreaming about the local snapper I had for lunch ($30) for a long time. This place is a little bit out of the way so you will need to drive or catch the courtesy bus.

The Peach Farm

We’re very spoilt with pick-your-own farms near our place but we’ve never picked peaches before so we gave this a go. This is a fun way to spend an hour or so. There’s a cafe that does light snacks and drinks, peaches and nectarines to pick, and farm animals like cows, goats, pigs, chickens and ducks, as well as guinea pigs and rabbit to feed and pet. The turn off to this farm comes very abruptly on the Pacific Hwy (about 20 mins from Yamba) so keep a sharp eye out for the signs and the driveway.

Angourie blue and green pools

We spent a super fun afternoon rock hopping around the Angourie blue and green pools (old quarries that have filled with rain water). The water in the pools themselves is a little slimy but there are lots of rock pools that fill with seawater around the pools. We found a sea slug in one of the largest rock pools (it spat ink, to my immense delight).

Brooms Head

On our last day, we drove out to Brooms Head (about 35 mins) and walked a small part of the Yuraygir Coastal Walk down to one of the most beautiful swimming spots I have ever seen. It was basically a giant rock pool that was completely sheltered and yet washed out with gentle waves so it was safe for toddlers to swim in. It was a halcyon ending to a happy trip.

Have you been to Yamba? What do you love about it? Got any tips you’d like to share?