It's a well-known fact that Australia has some of the best beaches in the world. We have been to hundreds of Australian beaches while road tripping around the coast of Australia for the last 2.5 years, so it's safe to say we have a pretty good idea of what makes for a good beach.
So we have made a list of our favourite spots. We have left the obvious tourist hotspots off the list like Bondi, Manly or Cottesloe (not that we think these are even close to the top) and included some of the lesser known locations and some that will take you well off the beaten path.
Turquoise Bay - Exmouth, WA
Ok so this one is no secret, and is consistently voted as one of the best beaches in Australia. Turquoise Bay is located just outside of Exmouth and is aptly named for its stunning Turquoise and crystal clear blue water.
It also has a brilliantly white coastline and competes with several others on this list for the whitest sand in Australia. The snorkelling is 10/10 and you can access the best of the coral right off of the beach with an abundance of marine life including turtles and rays drifting close to shore. On the western side there is also a small drift channel, perfect for those who may not want to snorkel far off the beach, all you have to do is take a short walk up the coastline and swim out into the channel and the natural drift path will guide you over various coral outcrops as you drift back into the main section of the beach.
It can get extremely busy in peak season as it is the most popular tourist spot for those visiting Exmouth, so we recommend going very, very early in order to beat the crowds and get your spot.
5 Finger Reef - Coral Bay, WA
The main beach at Coral Bay is one of the best in WA, but there are several other, more secluded beaches to the south of the town that we enjoy far more. A big part of the reason is that they are only accessible by 4WD so they are usually far less busy then the main beach in town.
Taking the track through the dunes to the south of Coral Bay (entry near the petrol station) you will come to the main turnoff for 5 Finger Reef, this is the most popular of the beaches along this track. We have found several other smaller secluded beaches by taking the track to the left and continuing south through the dunes. It is totally up to how willing you are to explore but there are so many beaches to the south of Coral bay that you can have all to yourself, a perfect place for an afternoon swim and picnic and the perfect sunset.
Lucky Bay - Esperance, WA
Another of the contestants for the best beach and whitest sand in Australia; Lucky Bay is easily Esperance's top tourist attraction.
There are a number of reasons this is one of the best beaches in Australia,
It’s one of the only beaches accessible by almost any car (not just a 4WD). Due to the rock hard sand, pretty much any vehicle can enjoy a drive down the beach. Take care though, the hard sand only lasts part way around the bay, it turns very boggy very quickly and you will often see someone stuck in need of being pulled out.
Another main drawing factor to this beach is the perfectly blue water and crisp white sand. One of the most instagrammed beaches in Australia, its landscape unreal. Just look at the photos to get an idea why.
And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the locals that call the beach home make it so unique in Australia. There are several Western Grey Kangaroos that you can often see lounging around on the sand or sitting down by the water, they make for an excellent photo opportunity but try to remember they are wild animals so don't feed or pet them.
Hellfire Bay - Esperance, WA
Another of Cape Le Grand's beautiful beaches; Hellfire Bay is our personal favourite beach as it is far less busy than Lucky Bay.
The water in Hellfire Bay is an insane electric blue and the beach is just as stunning as the nearby Lucky Bay. It's a lot smaller and a lot less popular so you won't have to share the beach with as many people. The limited carpark also makes the beach much quieter.
We also find the water at Hellfire slightly calmer as it is more protected from the open ocean by the headland. Due to this, Hellfire Bay is the perfect place to take a stand-up paddle board or for younger kids that may not like the larger waves at the near by bays and beaches.
Wharton Beach - Esperance, WA
We have tried to not make this blog a list of the best beaches in Esperance, but there are just so many amazing beaches in the South East of WA that we can not miss in this list.
Wharton Beach is located at the far eastern end of Cape Le Grand National Park, about an hour's drive out of Esperance. Another beach that you can drive all the way along, depending on the tide.
Because it is so far from Esperance you will often find that you will have the whole beach to yourselves. It is not as calm as the other beaches in Esperance as it is not protected by the headlands, so some caution is advised and we recommend checking the tide and winds before you go. Nevertheless the water and sand are very beautiful and if you have the time you should take a drive along it.
Vivonne Bay - Kangaroo Island, SA
One of the most beautiful beaches in South Australia, Vivonne Bay is located on the southern side of Kangaroo Island (KI) a bit over an hour away from Penneshaw where you will get off the ferry.
Due to its location, it is extremely sheltered, and as such is a very calm beach, you will often see stand up paddle boarders out on the water whilst families pack the edge of the beach. Kangaroo Island is such a beautiful part of South Australia and a must see if you're travelling Australia, keep an eye out for our Kangaroo Island blog for all of the other things you can see and do whilst on the island.
Sellicks Beach - Adelaide, SA
Adelaide is a very underrated city in our opinion; a lot of people dismiss it as boring as it is not as large as the other main cities of Australia. However, when we visited Adelaide, we loved it. We especially loved the beaches which we found rivalled some of the popular beaches we loved in our home town of Perth.
One of our favourites that we visited many times was Sellicks Beach. Located in Adelaide's southern suburbs it is around an hour south of the CBD, and is one of the most popular beaches in Adelaide as it is one of the few beaches people are allowed to drive on.
During hot summer weekends and public holidays these beaches are packed with cars and people enjoying the sun and surf. One of the best parts of this beach is the scenery, at the southern end of the beach you can see the formation of a very unique landscape. The sharp edges of the Sellicks Hill range rolls down right to the edge of the ocean, the shape of the hills look like large knife edges pointing out to the sea.
There are several lookouts along the beach to view them from, however from the air they are even more impressive.
Suicide Beach - Bay of Fires, TAS
Tasmania is not well known for its beaches, from its cold climate to its mostly rocky coastline, the small island state does not have many places where you can take a dip in the ocean. One of its most popular tourist destinations however, also happens to be home to the best beach in Tasmania, which in our humble opinion, also rivals some of the best beaches of mainland Australia.
The Bay of Fires is situated in the north of Tasmania's East Coast. When driving along the stretch of road past Binalong Bay, it can be hard not to be mesmerised by the water, it is some of the bluest and clearest water in all of Australia.
There are several bays and beaches that you can explore all through this area, our favourite one by far was called Suicide Beach. It has beautiful white sand, crystal clear water and a large number of the orange lichen-stained boulders dotting the beachside. These boulders form many perfect small rockpools just off of the edge of the beach, you will have to scramble over some rocks to get to, but you will be rewarded with your own private small swimming lagoon.
Burleigh Beach - Gold Coast, QLD
One of the only beaches on this list that is close to a metropolitan centre, Burleigh Beach is possibly the busiest beach on this list.
Whilst a very busy beach year round, it's still worth spending the time to visit. Nestled at the southern end of the Gold Coast, Burleigh Beach has some incredible views of Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast skyline. The nearby North Burleigh lookout is a great place to spot whales during migrating season, as well as a great spot to watch the sunrise and see the light reflect off the skyscrapers at Surfers.
To the south of the beach is the Burleigh Heads national park, a small outcrop of rainforest jutting out on a headland, this national park has several short walking tracks that are very popular with the locals. Whether you're looking for a short beach stroll or to relax and watch some surfers, Burleigh Beach is one of the best beaches in the Gold Coast and definitely worth a visit if you are travelling around South East Queensland.
Main Beach - Noosa Heads, QLD
One of our favourite places in Queensland is Noosa Heads, it exudes summer vibes almost all year round with stunning, crystal clear and warm coastlines. Main Beach at Noosa Heads is incredibly busy in the holiday periods, the beach is often covered in coolcabanas and umbrellas with thousands of people cooling off in the water.
Located about 2 hours north of Brisbane, there is plenty more to do around Noosa Heads than just go to the beach. The walks in nearby Noosa National Park are amazing, the boardwalk and main strip along the beach offers plenty of places to eat and shop and just on the other side of the spit is the Noosa River, a great alternative to the beach if you are after a quieter location.
Whilst we were in Noosa we spent almost everyday near the beach, not always swimming but sometimes just walking along the boardwalk or coastal walk between the beach and national park and sometimes getting an ice-cream and walking down the main strip looking at different tourist stores.
There are also slightly smaller enclosed beaches further round the headland at Little Cove Beach and Tea Tree Bay Beach, if the main beach is too full. However you choose to spend your time here we cannot recommend Noosa enough, we truly believe it is the best town of the Sunshine Coast Region.
Western Beach - Fraser Island, QLD
Of course it makes sense that the biggest sand island in the world also has some of the best beaches in Australia. Fraser Island is around 4 hours north of Brisbane and can be accessed at two points by ferry/vehicle barge.
Whilst you can just take the passenger ferry across and spend your time at the resort, Fraser is best experienced by going off road and taking your 4wd around the island. As it is a sand island it has very few beaches as most of the coastline is one singular beach.
Fraser Island's Eastern Beach is more aptly called 75-mile beach because it is 75 miles or 120km long! Whilst it is impressive and one of the main ways to get around the island, the beach is very exposed to the open ocean meaning the swell is often very rough and doesn't make for great swimming. On the opposite side of the island is the lesser-travelled Western Beach, sheltered from the ocean by the shape of the island, the sand on Western Beach is much whiter than the rest of Fraser island and the water is much clearer as there is much less swell churning the water.
The Western Beach has very limited access from the rest of the island which means it is much less popular aside from those camping there, you will often be able to drive on this beach and not see anyone else for kilometres. It is quite a task navigating and camping on Fraser Island however if you have the equipment, we could not recommend it more, It is one of our favourite places in Australia and the Western Beach is high on the list of places we recommend.
Long Beach - Great Keppel Island, QLD
One of the many islands that make up the Great Barrier Reef, Great Keppel Island is the largest of the Keppel group located off the town of Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast, about 8 hours north of Brisbane.
You will need to either book a tour or a ferry across to the island and once you are there, the main mode of transport is walking in order to explore the island as there is no major human infrastructure outside of the resort.
The island has 17 amazing beaches, the most of any of the Great Barrier reef islands, and many of them are very difficult to get to unless you go by boat. One of the best beaches that we have been to in Australia is Long Beach, located on the southern side of the island. Depending on the wind and wave direction it can be almost impossible to reach this beach, however when conditions are just right you may be lucky to get this pristine beach to yourselves.
We took a snorkelling tour (The Kepple Explorer) and it was one of the best paid experiences we have done on this trip. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the tour and his work and it made the trip so enjoyable. We were lucky that the weather was on our side on the day as we were able to visit most of the southern side of the island that is usually hard to get access.
Long Beach is one of the largest beaches on the island and has stunning white sand and crystal clear blue water.
Whitehaven Beach - The Whitsundays, QLD
Perhaps the most well known tourist region internationally for Australia, the Whitsundays are a collection of islands in the central section of the Great Barrier Reef. The crown jewel of the Whitsundays is without a doubt Whitehaven Beach, it has topped the list for best beach in Australia several times and we can tell you it is definitely one of the best beaches we have been to.
Its soft white sand is hard to find anywhere else in Australia and the beautiful turquoise blue water will take your breath away when you see it. The only way to access Whitehaven beach is either by taking your own boat, a private charter or one of the many tours that operate out of Airlie Beach to the Whitsundays. Depending on what you chose you will either access the beach from the northern side via Tongue bay, where most tour companies moor their boats, or from the southern end of the beach where some tour operators will moor right up close to the beach and then take you ashore.
When you are planning a trip around or to Australia you will no doubt hear about the Whitsundays, we definitely recommend taking a tour out to one of the many different islands in the group and if you can, ensure that you make it to Whitehaven Beach. If your planning a trip to The Whitsundays we recommend you check out our blog on the many islands we visited.
Mission Beach - Mission Beach, QLD
Located in northern Queensland, Mission Beach is the postcard destination for your tropical holiday. The beaches are long and lined with palm trees and the stunning blue water stretches out to the horizon unending.
Mission Beach is about an hour south of Cairns and is a collection of a few small towns; Mission Beach, Bingil Bay, Wongaling Beach and South Mission Beach. The main beach itself is almost 30 km long and is virtually uninterrupted. Whilst it makes for a great relaxing beach, swimming at it can be dangerous due to some of the wildlife lurking in the water. Saltwater crocodiles inhabit the rivers north and south of Mission Beach and have been known to swim around the shorelines. In the summer season there is also the danger of Irukanji jellyfish. However if you can't resist a dip in the water, there is a dedicated area, lined with a stinger net that allows you to swim in the ocean freely without the need of a stinger suit.
Regardless of the potential dangers in the water, Mission Beach is one of the most picturesque beaches in Australia and definitely worth a visit if you are exploring northern Queensland.
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