Fern Bay is located approximately 15 kilometres north of Newcastle. From Fern bay, it is a 5 minutes drive to Newcastle, Newcastle Airport and 30 minutes to Port Stephens. Fern Bay is located on the banks of the Hunter River just north of Stockton on the Peninsula.
It is also home to Newcastle Golf Club, which is one of the only two courses in NSW given international recognition by the panel of experts rating the World's Top 100 Courses.
The area is undergoing a residential expansion program with a large development being built between Nelson Bay Road and Stockton Beach on land formerly used as a military weapons range.