Ways to travel
Beaches & Islands
More than 10,000 beaches and 8,000 islands
Australia has over 10,000 beaches — you could visit a new one every day for 27 years. The choice runs from Whitehaven's squeaking silica sand and Ningaloo's swim-off-the-beach reef to Bondi's city surf, Lucky Bay's sunbathing kangaroos and 27 empty atolls at Cocos. Offshore, the islands range from car-free Rottnest to World Heritage Lord Howe, capped at 400 visitors.
Mirrors Tourism Australia's own theme Beaches and islands.
Where to find it
The states and territories this theme is strongest in — tap through to the full state guide.
© OpenFreeMap · OpenMapTiles · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn
Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef, rainforest and endless beaches
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Great Barrier Reef The world's largest coral reef system — 2,300 km of it, and the only living structure visible from space. -
The Whitsundays 74 islands scattered inside the reef, sailed from Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island. -
Whitehaven Beach Seven kilometres of silica sand so pure it squeaks underfoot — reached only by boat or seaplane. -
K'gari (Fraser Island) The world's largest sand island — rainforest growing on dunes, perched freshwater lakes and a 75-mile beach highway. - Port Douglas Four Mile Beach, reef boats out the front and the Daintree an hour north — tropical north Queensland's smartest base.
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Noosa A national park headland with surf breaks around it, and Hastings Street's restaurants behind. -
Sunshine Coast Surf beaches, the Glass House Mountains and the Eumundi markets, an hour north of Brisbane. - Gold Coast Beaches 57 km of surf beach from Surfers Paradise to Coolangatta, with theme parks and rainforest behind.
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Lady Elliot Island A coral cay on the reef's southern tip, inside a Green Zone — manta rays year-round. -
Heron Island Step off the beach straight onto the reef; turtles nest here from November. -
Magnetic Island A 20-minute ferry from Townsville to koalas, granite boulders and 23 bays. -
Moreton Island Sand dunes, the Tangalooma wrecks and wild dolphin feeding, 75 minutes from Brisbane. -
North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) Quandamooka Country — the North Gorge walk, whales offshore and freshwater lakes inland. - Southern Great Barrier Reef The quiet end of the reef — coral cays, turtle nesting and barely a crowd.
New South Wales
Sydney Harbour, surf coast, vineyards and the Blue Mountains
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Bondi Beach Australia's most famous beach, and the start of the Bondi-to-Coogee coastal walk. -
Byron Bay Mainland Australia's most easterly point — surf, wellness and a lighthouse walk at dawn. -
Port Stephens Dolphins in the bay, the Stockton sand dunes behind and 26 beaches to choose from. -
Lord Howe Island World Heritage, two hours from Sydney and capped at 400 visitors at a time. -
Jervis Bay Hyams Beach and some of the whitest sand in the world, on Canberra's nearest coast. - Sapphire Coast Oyster farms, whale migration and empty beaches on the far south coast.
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Newcastle An ocean baths and street-art city two hours north of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter.
Victoria
Melbourne laneways, the Great Ocean Road and cool-climate wine
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Great Ocean Road 243 km of cliff-edge driving past the Twelve Apostles, built by returned soldiers as a war memorial. -
Mornington Peninsula Bathing boxes, cellar doors and hot springs on Melbourne's bay-side doorstep. -
Phillip Island Little penguins coming ashore at dusk, plus fur seals and a Grand Prix circuit. -
Bells Beach The world's longest-running surf competition breaks here every Easter.
Western Australia
Ningaloo, the Kimberley and a third of a continent
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Ningaloo Reef A World Heritage fringing reef you can snorkel straight off the beach — and swim with whale sharks Mar–Aug. -
Rottnest Island (Wadjemup) Car-free, 63 beaches and the quokka — a 30-minute ferry from Perth or Fremantle. -
Cable Beach 22 km of sand facing due west — camel trains at sunset are the Broome image. - Esperance Lucky Bay, where the sand is blinding white and kangaroos sunbathe on the beach.
- Coral Coast Perth to Exmouth — pink lakes, Shark Bay, the Pinnacles and Ningaloo at the end of it.
South Australia
Wine regions, wildlife islands and the Flinders Ranges
Tasmania
Wilderness, wild food and the cleanest air in the world
External Territories
Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) and Norfolk Island
Best bases for this
Gateway hubs that put the most of this theme within reach.
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Whitsundays and surrounds Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island — the sailing capital of the reef, and the way to Whitehaven Beach. -
Gold Coast and surrounds 57 km of surf beach and theme parks, with Gondwana rainforest in the Scenic Rim hinterland. - Cairns and surrounds The reef-and-rainforest base — Great Barrier Reef boats out the front, the Daintree and Kuranda behind.
Other ways to travel
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Aboriginal Australia The world's oldest continuing culture, shared on Country - Nature & National Parks Reef, rainforest, gorge country and the Outback
- Wildlife Animals you will not see anywhere else
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Food & Drink 65 wine regions, world-class coffee and native ingredients -
Road Trips & Drives The Great Ocean Road, the Gibb River Road and everything between -
Walks & Hikes Great Walks, coastal tracks and city-edge escapes -
Adventure & Sports Dive, surf, sail, climb and sandboard -
Arts & Culture Galleries, laneways, festivals and convict history - Luxury Wilderness lodges, private islands and long-distance trains
- Health & Wellness Hot springs, retreats and slow coastal days
- Family Travel Wildlife parks, theme parks and safe swimming
- Eco-friendly Travel Low-impact islands, eco-lodges and travel that gives back
Photography
Images on this page are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under free licences (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA) and are photographs of the places named. Author, licence and source for each:
- The Whitsundays — Isderion · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- Great Barrier Reef — Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Whitehaven Beach — Hush Neo · CC BY-SA 4.0
- K'gari (Fraser Island) — UrbanDruid · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Noosa — Chris Olszewski · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sunshine Coast — texaus1 · CC BY 2.0
- Lady Elliot Island — Greg Schechter from San Francisco, USA · CC BY 2.0
- Heron Island — LBM1948 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Magnetic Island — Hagai Agmon-Snir حچاي اچمون-سنير חגי אגמון-שניר · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Moreton Island — Lenny K Photography from Sydney, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) — S. Newrick · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Byron Bay — Amy Mackay amykatesc · CC0
- Port Stephens — Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand · CC0
- Lord Howe Island — Toby Hudson · CC BY-SA 2.5 au
- Jervis Bay — Maksym Kozlenko · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Newcastle — Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Great Ocean Road — Bob Tan · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mornington Peninsula — Hijacinta · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Phillip Island — Shuicai · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bells Beach — Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- Ningaloo Reef — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Rottnest Island (Wadjemup) — RaucusG · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cable Beach — Josh Janssen · CC BY 3.0
- Freycinet & Wineglass Bay — Mikeybear · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bruny Island — Takver from Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands — paullymac · CC BY-SA 2.0
- The Whitsundays — Cherrie Hughes · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gold Coast — Bob T · CC BY-SA 4.0