Flynns Beach and Shelly Beach are two of Port Macquarie's most popular ocean beaches, both a short distance from the town centre and both fringed with rocky points that offer reasonable calm-day snorkelling rather than serious scuba diving. As with similar surf beaches throughout the region, these are primarily swimming, surfing and family beaches rather than dive destinations, and Port Macquarie's dive operators concentrate their boat trips on the area's more substantial reef and pinnacle sites further offshore rather than promoting shore diving here. That said, the rock platforms at each beach's northern and southern points support a reasonable variety of small reef fish and invertebrates, enough to make an interesting, low-key snorkel on a calm day, particularly for visitors without their own dive gear or a boat booking.

Shelly Beach in particular has slightly more substantial rock structure than the open sand of Flynns Beach, and its name likely reflects a shell-rich foreshore rather than any connection to the larger, better-known Shelly Beach near Manly in Sydney. Given the modest scuba interest at either site, most visiting divers are better served heading offshore with Scuba Haven for a proper reef or pinnacle dive; these beaches are best treated as a pleasant, easy option for a family snorkel or a between-dives swim rather than a planned diving destination, and should only be entered in calm conditions given their genuine surf-beach exposure and rip current risk. Anyone visiting primarily to dive rather than swim should treat a stop here as a bonus alongside a boat trip rather than the main event of a Port Macquarie visit.

Flynns Beach and Shelly Beach are both a short drive or walk south of central Port Macquarie via Pacific Drive, each with beachfront parking, a surf club and patrolled swimming areas in season. Rock platforms at the northern and southern ends of each beach offer the best snorkelling and occasional shore-dive access in calm conditions; check surf and rip conditions before entering, particularly outside patrolled hours.

Both are open surf beaches with rocky points offering some shelter — diveable or snorkelable only in calm, low-swell conditions, and subject to rip currents in typical surf; check patrol flags and conditions before entering.

Enter from the beach on a calm day and snorkel or shallow-dive around the rocky points at either end, where reef fish and invertebrate life concentrate compared with the open sand of the main beach.

No dedicated dive charter uses these beaches; snorkelled and occasionally dived independently in calm conditions.