Only a few hours drive away from Sydney … far enough north to warm up the ocean water, but not so far that you have to go for an entire week to make the trip worth it, is Port Macquarie on the New South Wales coast. It is one of the most popular surf spots in the state (the Country Energy Australian Surf Championships were held there this year), and if you have a weekend free to drive up and enjoy some sunshine, wicked barrels and challenging breaks, we are checking out the best surfing and accommodation in Port Macquarie.

Most of your best Port Macquarie accommodation is located within a 5 minute drive of the great surf beaches in town. Flynn's Beach, Shelley Beach and Town Beach are all great surf spots for different levels of rider, and some will be better than others on the same day.

• Town Beach: You'll get consistent surf here, and the best swell when waves are coming form a south easterly direction. Check out the surf report or just the weather report for the weekend you’re thinking about coming up to help match the swell direction to the best surf beach. Look at your tide clock also - mid tide is the best surfing time for Town Beach. There are some rocks and sharks about - bull sharks, tiger sharks and bronze whalers have been sighted.
• Flynn's Beach: Only five minutes down the road from Town Beach, Flynn's Beach has a more direct north-south direction, and seems to favour waves coming from south-south easterly. Offshore winds from the west-southwest create some nice, sheltered conditions with good waves. Winter and autumn are best for waves at Flynn’s Beach, and you'll also see some great specials on Port Macquarie accommodation during these months.
• Shelley Beach: Shelley Beach is the next one south from Flynn's and rarely gets crowded. You'll get a good mix of groundswells and windswells at Shelley Beach - look out for rips and rocks.

For a small town, there are some world-class hotels in Port Macquarie with some great benefits for surfers. Look out for hotels with features like:

• Easy driving distance to the beaches. Beachfront hotels are usually too expensive for surfing vacations … honeymooners and baby boomers only! Look for Port Macquarie accommodation that is set back from the coast a little, but still convenient to beaches.
• Backpacker hostels just don’t cut it for board or car safety, and there is plenty of accommodation in Port Macquarie that is much more comfortable and private at great prices.  
• Early opening restaurants. The best Port Macquarie hotels will open around 6am, catering specifically to the surfies. If your hotel restaurant opens too late, you'll mostly be confined to McDonalds for breakfast … not the best for energy and endurance.
• Secure undercover parking. If you don’t want to be traipsing up and down stairs and elevators with your board in hand, you'll want a Port Macquarie hotel where it's safe to leave your board in the car.
• A heated pool … sometimes you'll just want to get in water that is body temperature and salt-free!