Emily Bay is Norfolk Island's favourite swimming beach and its best-known snorkel. Norfolk's tourism body calls it calm, clear and family-friendly, suitable for all levels and home to more than 60 marine species. Oceanatik describes a beautiful shallow reef system on the seaward edge with pristine coral outcrops, a maximum depth of 6 m and a protected bay ideal for newer divers.

The bay sits within the lagoon formed by the fringing reef at Kingston, and the reef takes the swell, leaving the water inside calm. Nigel Marsh describes Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay as connected bays with hard coral gardens and sandy patches, up to 4 m deep and with visibility up to 20 m. The fish are a highlight for anyone interested in Norfolk's unusual fauna: surge wrasse, green wrasse, the Norfolk cardinalfish, the notch-headed marblefish and the Lord Howe moray, along with numerous other species found only in this part of the Pacific.

Since 15 February 2023, Emily and Slaughter Bays have been a complete no-take area within the Norfolk Marine Park, introduced to protect the herbivorous fish and echinoderms that keep algae in check. The bays have come under pressure from run-off, and the no-take rule is part of the response. Glass-bottom boat tours also operate over the lagoon.

The bay is part of the Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area, a World Heritage-listed convict settlement, so a swim here comes with a backdrop of Georgian buildings and Norfolk pines. It suits everyone from children to divers doing a relaxed shore dive, and it is diveable on most days of the year. Stay inside the reef, where it is calm.

Norfolk Island is about 1,450 km east of Brisbane; flights run from Sydney and Brisbane (about 2.5 h; check the current carrier). A hire car is essential. Emily Bay is at Kingston on the south coast, about 10 minutes' drive from Burnt Pine via Middlegate or Taylors Road.

Park at the Emily Bay car park beside the pine trees, a few metres from the sand. Snorkel gear can be hired from the Visitor Information Centre in Burnt Pine. Enter from the beach and swim out over sand to the coral outcrops towards the reef edge; there is a pontoon in the bay in summer.

Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay sit inside the fringing reef at Kingston on the south coast. The reef shelters the lagoon from most swell, but a big southerly or south-easterly swell breaks heavily on the reef crest and can drive water and surge into the bays. Snorkel Slaughter Bay at mid to low tide (signs mark safe entry points at high tide); Emily Bay is calm at most tides.

Water flows out through the reef channels, especially on a falling tide – stay inside the reef. Visibility is up to about 20 m in the bays. Winter south-easterlies make the water choppy but the bays remain usable most days.

Enter from the beach and snorkel or dive across the sand towards the reef, exploring the coral outcrops along the seaward edge at 2–6 m. Stay inside the reef crest and away from the outflow channels.

No operator needed – independent snorkel or shore dive. Snorkel gear hire from the Visitor Information Centre in Burnt Pine (same-day condition reports); glass-bottom boat tours of the lagoon; Norfolk Island Diving can arrange guided shore dives and air.