Australian beaches were the fifth part of our 45 days around Australia. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read about the whole trip here. Part one was spent in Adelaide and Surrounds, part two in Perth and Surrounds, part three in Exmouth, Karijini, and Broome, part four in Broome to Darwin. Finally, we are on the last part of our trip.
This part of the trip involved us revisiting our favorite beaches/islands, as well as hitting one new one. To start, we hit up Moreton Island off of Brisbane. Next, we returned to Byron Bay and Noosa, which we loved during our first visit. For that part of the trip, we did the Juicy camper van. To finish off, we returned to the Whitsundays; the Whitsundays have the best beaches in the world (yep I said it), so we HAD to go back.
I’m sharing our favorite moments from those last few days in Australia and in doing so 4 Australian beaches you must set foot on. Finally, I’m giving away beach-inspired quotes featuring photos from Australian beaches, since there has to be free stuff, right?! Download them over on the Journey Junkies page or sign up here if you’re not a member.
Australian Beaches | Part 5 of our Trip
Brisbane & Moreton Island
From Brisbane we traveled over to Moreton Island. It’s the second largest sand island in the world (the first also being in Australia) and it is lovely. A great thing about Moreton Island is there are intentional ship wrecks right off the island which make for great snorkeling.
Where We Stayed: Brisbane Manor Hotel. We were only here a night, but it was fine and easy to get to with free parking. The rest of the time we stayed on the island.
Favorite Part: Snorkeling the Shipwreck is really amazing. There is so much aquatic life and it is truly beautiful. Also, if it’s your thing, there’s heaps of places to sand board as well.
Least Favorite Part: We didn’t get to do the night kayaking which was very disappointing but we did kayak in the see through kayaks during the day, which was very cool.
Final Verdict: Even though we had been to Fraser Island before (twice!) and they are very similar, I still believe Moreton Island is definitely worth a visit too.
Biggest Tip: Don’t miss the sunset on the beach. You can see the Glass House Mountains as well as have a the ship wreck in your photos, if you so desire.
Noosa & Rainbow Beach
Another lovely little town in Australia is Noosa. It’s expensive but well worth it. We wanted to explore Rainbow beach, which we did.
Where we Stayed: Boreen Point Campground is a lovely place to stay if you want to be outside of Noosa. The sunsets are really great too. We were in a Juicy van and just need a place to shower and cook, which it definitely had.
Favorite Part: We did a tour of Rainbow beach and saw loads of wildlife. I would definitely recommend this company. The tour was a great price and a small group. It was actually just us, but the largest group would only be about 5 people. You need 4×4 drive to drive down Rainbow beach, which was the best part of the trip.
Least Favorite Part: Noosa is expensive but we stayed at a little campground outside of Noosa. It was lovely but it would be nice to stay in the town. However, just know, it’s expensive.
Final Verdict: Be sure to add Rainbow beach to your bucket list. It’s so interesting with all its colors, and there’s a great aboriginal story behind it as well.
Biggest Tip: Noosa also has an adorable market near it in Eumundi. It’s got great handmade items and unique gifts. Definitely hit it up!
Byron Bay
Byron Bay is an adorable little hippie town with great beaches and loads of dolphins. The main reason we wanted to go back here was because we wanted to kayak with the dolphins. We did it once before, but didn’t see any, so we had a free voucher to go back again and we knew we had to do it. This time, we did see dolphins and it was amazing to have them go right under the kayak.
Where we Stayed: Ballina Beach Village
Favorite Part: Kayaking with the dolphins was amazing.
Least Favorite Part: We didn’t stay in Byron Bay. This is because it’s absurdly expensive. The last time we stayed there, we stayed in the cheapest place possible and it was awful. This time, we decided not to do that, but that meant we had to travel into the area. So, if you do travel there, just be aware that it’s expensive so prepare ahead of time.
Final Verdict: Byron Bay is a funky little town that’s definitely worth adding to your bucket list.
Biggest Tip: If you get seasick at all, be sure to take some medicine. I got a little seasick during the kayak trip as it is very choppy.
Whitsunday Islands
You really can’t beat this place. It was on the top of my must do list before even buying our ticket to Oz. We spent a few days on Hamilton Island previously but this time we stayed on the mainland. We took a boat out to Whitehaven beach and spent the entire day out there. When we had gone before, we just flew over the beach and landed for about an hour. Therefore, this time, I wanted to spend the day. It was such a relaxing time.
Where we Stayed: Best Western Mango House Resort
Favorite Part: It was whale season and we saw a mom whale teaching her baby how to breach. It was truly amazing.
Least Favorite Part: A cyclone recently went through the area and destroyed some of the coral and so there was no snorkeling on our trip out. However, spending time on the beach is all we really needed.
Final Verdict: I’m so glad we went back and stayed on the main island, but I would also recommend Hamilton Island. I’ll be writing about island later so stay tuned.
Biggest Tip: Don’t skip out on this area just because of the Cyclone. There is still so much to see and it is still gorgeous. The tourist industry there is struggling because everyone thinks the whole area was destroyed but this is not accurate at all. It’s gorgeous and you must go one day.
That sums up our trip to our favorite Australian beaches.
That’s it! Our trip has come to an end. It was amazing. However, it’s not really over. I have so much I more I’ll be sharing about Australia, so stay tuned.
Have you been to any of the Australian beaches we did? Or, do you now want to go to any of them? If so, let me know in the comments. Contact me if you want more ideas or tips about any of these places. Remember, I’ve got heaps more I’ll be sharing!
