Mount Martha Beach (North and South)

Mount Martha Beach comprises a pair of calm bay beaches, North and South, on the Mornington Peninsula about 60 kilometres south of the Melbourne CBD. Both sit inside sheltered Port Phillip Bay, so the sand is fine and the water is calm and clear, without any real surf, and on a clear day the view stretches across the bay to the You Yangs on the horizon. North Beach is the more accessible and developed of the two, backed by its own set of colourful heritage bathing boxes similar in style to Brighton's, while South Beach is reached by a short walk over the headland and has a quieter, more bushland feel, backed by a native foreshore reserve rather than a built-up esplanade. The atmosphere across both beaches is relaxed and family-oriented, popular with Peninsula locals and weekend visitors from Melbourne rather than a party crowd. Amenities include toilets and showers near North Beach, and the bushland foreshore reserve provides shaded picnic spots and walking tracks along the cliff line between the two beaches. There is no significant cafe strip directly on the sand, though nearby Mount Martha village has a small selection of cafes a short drive away. A car is by far the most practical way to visit, via the Nepean Highway, since public transport requires a train to Frankston followed by local bus 782 or 785, a considerably slower option.