Meelup Beach is the busiest and best-equipped beach in Meelup Regional Park, a 577-hectare A-class reserve managed by the City of Busselton and established as a regional park in 1993. Wikipedia describes it as the park's most popular spot, facing north-east, and Meelup Park calls it a famous family-friendly picnic spot thanks to its shaded lawn and calm water, with designated parking, bins and toilets.

Underwater it is a gentle sand and seagrass beach with granite outcrops at the ends, where most of the fish are. Wrasse, juvenile fish and small rays are common, and the outcrops shelter octopus and crabs. It is not a destination dive, but it is an easy, safe snorkel for families and a convenient place for new divers to practise skills in shallow, calm water.

Arrive early in summer, when the car parks fill and the beach becomes crowded, and bring shade and water for a day in the park.

Geographe Bay faces north, so Cape Naturaliste blocks most of the prevailing south-westerly swell and sea breeze that close the ocean coast; that shelter and the warm Leeuwin Current make the Dunsborough shoreline one of the most reliably diveable stretches of the South West, and winter north-westerly storms are the main thing that shuts it down.

From Dunsborough town centre follow Geographe Bay Road and Cape Naturaliste Road north-west; the Meelup Regional Park beaches are signposted off Meelup Beach Road and Eagle Bay-Meelup Road, 3-10 km from town (5-15 minutes' drive). Meelup Beach has designated car parks off Meelup Beach Road (they fill early on summer weekends). Walk a short distance across the lawn to the sand and enter anywhere; the granite outcrops at the ends of the beach are the best snorkelling.

Faces north-east and is calm in most summer conditions; northerly and north-easterly winds and winter storms make it choppy. Crowded on summer weekends. General pattern in Geographe Bay: sheltered from south-westerly swell by Cape Naturaliste; summer mornings are calm before the afternoon sea breeze, while winter north-westerly fronts roll swell and chop into the bay and reduce visibility for several days.

Enter from the beach and snorkel along the granite outcrops at either end, crossing seagrass patches in 1-3 m. Snorkellers should stay within easy reach of the exit point and swim with a buddy; scuba divers at these depths need no safety stop but should ascend slowly and surface near the float.

No operator needed - self-guided snorkel and shore dive. Swan Dive (Busselton) supplies hire gear and fills and can advise on conditions.