Australian beaches"Find your own best beach in Australia" Australian beaches are outstanding and how could they not be with that amazing coastline. In my opinion, it has some of the best beaches in the world. Whether you like the rough and tumble of the surf, relaxing on pristine white sands or touring around dramatic coastlines in your car, there is the perfect beach for everyone. From my extensive tour of Australian beaches here are my picks for best beaches:
1. Whitehaven Beach, WhitsundaysIf you are after immaculate white sandy beaches, turquoise waters warmer than your average bath, then this is the beach for you. Where is it? The Whitsundays are off the East Coast of Australia and are made up of 174 islands. Only a few are inhabited though. You can get an internal flight to Hamilton Island which is the main island in the Whitsundays. Whitehaven is a popular day trip from any of the islands on the whitsundays. There literally is nothing else there other than the beach so you can't stay here. It does however ruin the experience a little when a boat full of tourists get off all at the same time. We paid the extra to fly in (on a helicopter) and enjoy a champagne picnic for a couple of hours. The beauty of this is that you get dropped off at the other end of the beach where its totally quiet, away from the crowds. We really did feel like we had the entire beach to ourselves. It was an amazing experience. Click here for more information on Whitsundays Australia 
2. Cable Beach, BroomeBroome is another of the beautiful sandy Australian beaches on the west side of Australia. It is one of the longest and you can even drive your car along it. This beach is for you if you fancy combining a beach style holiday with the outback. Broome is a great starting point for exploring the Kimberleys, a real outback experience. The beach itself is beautiful and if you go at the right time of the year, you can witness the staircase to the moon display where an illusion makes it appear that there are steps leading down from the moon. You can also take a camel ride along the beach at sunset. Where is it? Broome is on the western coast of Australia and direct flights operate from most cities. Click here for more information on what to do in Broome. Click here for which cities and flight times 
3. Jervis Bay, NSWJervis Bay is one of my favourite Australian beaches. I honestly felt like I was stepping onto an advert for a Bounty chocolate bar! Jervis bay is actually a national park filled with a variety of beaches for you to explore. My favourite is Green Patch (described above) due to its white beaches and turquoise waters. This beach is for you if you fancy a chilled out few days. There are only a couple of small towns nearby to the national park with a few cafes, shops and restaurants. Lots of people choose to camp here in the national park. Where is it? The great thing about Jervis Bay is that it is only a 3 hour drive from Sydney making it a great add on to any trip to Sydney. 
4. Bondi Beach, SydneyI'm sure you've heard of it and it is well worth a visit. Bondi is Sydney's largest and most popular beach and perhaps the most well known of the Australian beaches. This is the beach for you if you want to watch the surfers or enjoy a stunning coastal walk between the beaches of Bondi and Coogee. It's great for the backpackers and hip travellers as Bondi offers some great nightlife and bars. Many choose to stay in Bondi rather than the centre of Sydney. A top tip is to take your photo ID with you (driving licence or passport) There is an RSL club on the far right hand side of the beach and provided you can prove that you don't live in the neighbourhood with your ID, you can get a very cheap drink or food with the best view of Bondi. Where is it? It's a 20 minute bus ride or train drive out of Sydney's centre.
5. Cottesloe Beach, PerthCottesloe Beach is another city beach just outside of Perth and deserves to be featured on the Australian beaches list. This beach is for you if you fancy exploring the West coast of Australia which is relatively unspoilt and much quieter than the East side of Australia. It's a relaxing setting with a couple of cafes to watch the world go by and there are plenty of other beaches along the coast if you fancy a spot of surfing. Where is it? 20 minutes from the centre of Perth in Western Australia. Click here for more information on what to do in Perth. 
6. Ocean Drive, MelbourneThis is one of my favourite trips to do in Australia and one not to be missed. The Great Ocean Drive is a scenic coastal drive from the outskirts of Melbourne towards Adelaide and takes in some of the best beaches. The road hugs the coastline for the majority of the trip and offers breathtaking views and quaint seaside towns. This is the best of Australian beaches for you if you like scenery, visiting towns and aren't particularly bothered about sunbathing. Where is it? It's a 50 minute drive out of Melbourne and I'd recommend taking at least 3 days to explore the drive. You can head back to Melbourne or carry on up to Adelaide. Click here for more information on what to do in Great Ocean Drive. 
7. Snellings Beach, Kangaroo IslandKangaroo Island is another of my favourite destination in Australia and its hard to pick which deserves to make it onto my top Australian beaches list. I've picked Snellings beach for its beautiful view as you approach it down a steep hill. But also worth checking out is Vivonne Bay and Emu Bay. This is the best beach for you if you want to combine a remote island over flowing with amazing wildlife, with some nice unspoilt coastal drives. Where is it? Kangaroo Island is about an hours drive from Adelaide plus a ferry ride. You can fly from Adelaide airport as well. Snelling Beach is on the top northern coast of the island. (Emu bay is also on the north coast and Vivonne Bay is to the south)
8. Sorrento, Mornington Peninsula, MelbourneSorrento is a stylish seaside town on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula. This the place that the local Melbourners come to relax for the weekend. It has nice eatieries, boutiques and of course a lovely beach. This is the best of the Australian beaches for you if you like seaside towns and fancy incorporating it with the Great Ocean drive as there is a ferry that takes you over to Queenscliff, not far from the start of the Great Ocean Drive Where is it? An hour from Melbourne, this can be a great day trip or stop off before doing the Ocean drive. Click here for more information on what to do in Mornington Peninsula.
9. Wine Glass Bay, TasmaniaTasmania is renowned for its countryside, walks and wineries. It also has a great coastline and my favourite is in the Feycinet National Park - Wine Glass Bay. This is one of the most photographed parts of Tasmania and it is particularly beautiful. It is aptly named wine glass bay due to the shape of the bay. This is one of the most famous of the Australian beaches and is for you if you want to experience the wonders of Tasmania. It's a scenic beautiful beach rather than a sunbathing beach. Where is it? Feycinet national park is a fairly windy drive from Hobart and takes about 3 hours. You can drive almost to the look out (just a short walk) or you can take more of a treck and actually walk along the beach itself. Click here for more information on Tasmania. 
10. Lake Makenzie, Fraser IslandWhilst this is last on my list, I think I may have saved the best til last. This really does deserve to be on the Australian beaches list. Fraser island is an amazing island totally made of sand and you can hire 4WD cars to explore its windy roads and long stretch of sandy beach. It is probably one of the best and fun experiences I have had in Oz. Lake Makenzie is not strictly a beach but a lake. It is sublimely beautiful though and well worth being on this top 10 Australian beaches list. (The picture doesn't really do it justice) It is a little piece of perfection within a dense rainforest in the middle of the island. The main strip of beach on Fraser Island equally deserves a mention especially as you can spend a night camping right on the beach. This is the beach and experience for you if you have a sense of adventure and want to do something totally different. Do it and you really won't regret it. Where is it? Just off the eastern coast of Australia. Access is from Hervey Bay but you could drive from Brisbane to the ferry port in a 3 hours. Click here for more information on Fraser Island Australia 
Looking for more great beaches? Florida also has some of the best beaches in the world. Get advice from a local on finding great Florida beaches for your vacation. Would you like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter - Real Australia Traveller? This is a great way to discover what's new on the website, any special offers on flights or accommodation as well as new restaurant or hotel openings. Subscribing is easy and we will only contact you to send out the newsletter. take me back to the Real Australia Travel home page
|
