A grown-ups’ weekend at The Beach Cabarita is easy to shape: two nights, five unhurried outings, everything inside a thirty-minute drive. Dinner by the sand on Friday, whales off the headland and a Tweed Valley gin distillery on Saturday, a share-plate dinner that night, and Sunday art in Murwillumbah before you drive home.
That is the version of a Tweed Coast weekend we would pick for ourselves when there are two of you and no children in tow. It leans on the things Cabarita does well for couples: a walkable village, a headland at the end of the street, and enough within half an hour that you never feel like you are spending the weekend in the car. Here is how the two days fit together.
Friday night: dinner a short walk from the sand
Arrive, drop the bags, and walk to dinner rather than driving anywhere. The Cabarita Beach Hotel and its Beach Bar & Grill sit at 2/6 Pandanus Parade, roughly a five-minute walk from our front door, with the kitchen running from 10am through to 11pm. Book a table for a Friday evening in season, order from the grill, and take a drink somewhere you can still hear the surf. Mains sit in the twenty to forty dollar range, so it is an unfussy first night, and the walk home along the foreshore afterwards is part of the appeal. No car, no plan, just an easy start to the weekend.
Saturday morning: the headland and the whales
Cabarita’s best grown-up outing costs nothing and starts two minutes from the door. Walk up Norries Headland at first light, when the sand is empty and the light is low. In October the humpback migration is running south, and this is the part of the season worth timing a trip around: the females travel with their new calves, move slowly, and hug the coastline, so they pass Norries close enough to watch from the lookout without a boat. Late October into November is the peak window for cows and calves on the Tweed. Bring a coffee from the village, find a bench, and give it a proper hour. Guests keep telling us they came for the beach and ended up watching whales for the morning instead.
Saturday afternoon: gin, rum and a long lunch in the Tweed Valley
The centrepiece of the weekend is the drive inland to Husk Farm Distillery at North Tumbulgum, about thirty minutes from Cabarita and the home of Ink Gin, the colour-changing gin. This is a grown-up outing in the literal sense: every tasting is strictly 18-plus. The walk-in cellar door pours gin and rum flights with no booking needed, while the guided Tasting Trail Tour (49 dollars per person, 45 minutes, seven or more spirits) and the Farm to Bottle rum tour (95 dollars per person, about 90 minutes, from cutting fresh sugarcane to a rum flight) both need a booking, especially on weekends. Planter’s Kitchen, the on-farm restaurant, runs Wednesday to Sunday, so a Saturday long lunch overlooking the cane fields is the move. Saturday hours run to 7pm, later than the rest of the week, so there is no need to rush back.
Saturday night: a share-plate dinner back on the coast
Drive back to the coast for dinner at No. 35 Kitchen and Bar, the Italian-leaning share-plate restaurant at 35 Tweed Coast Road, a couple of minutes from the apartments. On Saturdays the kitchen opens from 3pm, so you can go early for a drink and a slow, grazing dinner rather than a rushed evening sitting. The menu is built to share, which suits two people working through a few plates and a bottle over a long night. Book ahead for Saturday nights, because they fill. Afterwards it is a short, quiet walk or drive home, with no motorway and no traffic to break the mood.
Sunday morning: coffee, art, then home
Before the drive home, point the car inland one more time to the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre at 2 Mistral Road, Murwillumbah, about thirty minutes from Cabarita. Entry is free, the gallery opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm, and the cafe opens at 9am on weekends, so you can have breakfast with a valley view before you walk the rooms. The Margaret Olley Art Centre recreates parts of the late painter’s home studio, and it makes for an unhurried, grown-up hour before you point back toward the highway. If you would rather not move the car at all, swap it for a slow village breakfast and one last walk on the beach.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cabarita Beach good for a couples’ weekend?
Yes. It is small, walkable and quiet, with the beach, the headland, cafes and a couple of good dinner options all within a few minutes of each other, plus Tweed Valley distilleries a short drive inland. It suits two people who want an unhurried weekend rather than a packed itinerary.
Can you see whales from Cabarita Beach in October?
Yes. The humpback migration runs south along the Tweed Coast from roughly August to November, and late October into November is the best window for mothers and calves, which travel slowly and close to shore. Norries Headland, two minutes from The Beach Cabarita, is a well-known land-based vantage point.
What is there to do for grown-ups near Cabarita Beach?
Plenty within thirty minutes: gin and rum tastings at Husk Farm Distillery, a long lunch at its on-farm kitchen, share-plate dinners in the village, free art at the Tweed Regional Gallery in Murwillumbah, and quiet headland walks. It is an easy weekend for couples travelling without children.
How far is Husk Distillery from The Beach Cabarita?
About thirty minutes by car, inland to North Tumbulgum in the Tweed Valley. The cellar door is open seven days from 11am, with Saturday hours running until 7pm. Tastings are 18-plus, walk-ins are welcome for flights, and the guided tours and Planter’s Kitchen restaurant are best booked ahead.
Where can you get a nice dinner in Cabarita Beach?
For a relaxed night, the Beach Bar & Grill at the Cabarita Beach Hotel is a short walk from the sand and open until 11pm. For a longer, grazing dinner, No. 35 Kitchen and Bar on Tweed Coast Road does Italian-leaning share plates and opens from 3pm on Saturdays. Book ahead on weekends.
Make it a weekend for two
A grown-ups’ weekend on the Tweed is less about filling the days and more about the shape of them: dinner by the sand, whales off the headland, a distillery afternoon, and a slow Sunday. Staying two minutes from the beach with everything else inside a thirty-minute drive is what makes that shape effortless. See our current direct-booking offers and read more about the area in our Cabarita Beach guide when you are ready to plan the two of you a weekend away.
Image credit: Jkp72 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)