Palm Cove is built around its beach, and the beach earns its reputation. The water is calm and protected, the sand is fine, and the melaleuca trees come right down to the shore. A stinger net enclosure allows safe swimming from October through May — the months when box jellyfish and Irukandji make most north Queensland beaches effectively off-limits.
Ellis Beach, about 15 kilometres north on the Captain Cook Highway, is the next beach worth stopping for. It sits in a small cove below hills, with a caravan park at one end and a casual café-bar. The drive there along the coastal highway, with the sea directly below the road, is one of the better short drives in Queensland.