Best Beaches and Islands

• Best beaches
• Best Islands

Best beaches

New South Wales

Bondi of course, also Tamarama, Watsons Bay and Manly, which is a short ferry ride from Circular Quay. Head up north to Palm Beach, home to the rich and famous, and Home and Away of course. It's also one of the beast beaches in Australia. Get the bus from Town Hall in the city. Check out Byron Bay for a host of beautiful beaches. Newcastle beach is 2 hours from Sydney on the train and is quite nice. There's Cronulla beach to the south of Sydney, a great place to escape the city. It's roughly 45 mins to 1 hour on a train. Great for swimming and surfing. Some of the best beaches are down further south such as North Beach in wollongong, this is the busiest beach in Wollongong but for good reason, beautiful scenery, great scenery, great surfing, swimming and snorkelling. (1.5 hours from Sydney on train) Also head south to Pebbly beach and Jervis Bay.

Queensland

Whitehaven beach is located on Whitsunday Island, the largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsunday group. People say this is one of the worlds most beautiful beaches in the world. You will probably agree when you see it, white sands, palm trees, clear blue water, paradise!!! Also check out Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island, any beach on Lizard Island, Lady Musgrave Island, Tangalooma beach on Moreton Island. Four mile beach in Port Douglas is another good one. Skydive over Mission beach for a first class view of the area.

Western Australia

Cable Beach, Broome is the place for beach sunsets, with camels no less. Coral Bay is where the mighty Ningaloo reef is most accessible and is a beautiful cove. Ningaloo reef itself is generally regarded as better than the great barrier reef, and is undoubtebly the greatest place on earth to snorkel with the whale shark, the worlds biggest fish.

Tasmania

Wineglass bay is a fantastic beach, white sands and turquoise waters, all backed by green bush, and best of all it's a tough hour long walk through bush to get there meaning you will have it almost to yourself. If remote beaches appeal to you check out the Neck on Bruny Island, south of Tasmania, beautiful.

Victoria

Bells Beach, famous for the final scene in the movie Point Break (with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves) is just 70km from Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road, near Torquay. Surrounded by cliffs, it is really quite beautiful and is a great place to check out whether you're into surfing or not. Check out the Bells Beach Surf Classic every Easter Weekend. St Kilda beach in Melbourne is a lovely beach with great views of Port Phillip Bay. Go for a stroll at sunset along the pier. Easily accessible from the city centre on trains.

Best Islands

Fraser Island

Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island and is a must see on your tour of Australia. In fact many people will name Fraser as their absolute highlight of their time in Australia. You will understand when you go there. You can leave from Hervey Bay or Rainbow beach.

4WD is the only way to get around Fraser as there are no roads, just sand track. This is what makes Fraser so much fun, four wheeling on the sand. The beaches are beautiful but do not go swimming in the sea whatever you do. The waters around Fraser Island are a breeding ground for Tiger Sharks, one of the most feared sharks in the world. Swim instead in one of the many freshwater lakes or creeks spread throughout Fraser, especially Lake Mckenzie, Lake Wabby, and Lake Allom, where you should see some turtles.

Drive along 75 mile beach, which is Frasers highway, where you will see the Maheno shipwreck, an old luxury liner that washed up on the shore in 1935. There's also the pinnacles, a natural multicoloured sand formation. Float lazily down Eli Creek to its mouth on the beach. Climb Indian Point to go shark spottingor carry on further south to the champagne pools.

You will almost certainly see the native dingoes, the only pure bred dingoes left in Australia. Do not feed them, they can become aggressive. A nine year old boy was killed by dingoes at Waddy Point in 2001, so stay away from them, they are not dogs. If you leave food out at your camp you will receive a $250 fine from the rangers, they take this very seriously.

The Whitsundays

Take a cruise or go sailing on the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland. Leaving Airlie Beach take a two or three day trip around these incredible islands. You will most likely visit Whitsunday Island, the largest of the islands. This is home to Whitehaven beach, possibly one of the most beautiful beaches on the planet. Also take a walk up the Hill Inlet Lookout for spectacular views. Hook Island is the second largest island in the group. There's great snorkelling here, especially at crayfish beach. There's a resort here, the Hook Island Wilderness Resort, where you can camp or enjoy the facilities and activities. Go to Hamilton Island, the largest resort in the south pacific, for a different side to the Whitsundays, with shops, restaurants and bars, or not. The Whitsundays are on the Great Barrier Reef and offer some spectacular diving. Make sure to include the Whitsundays in your trip.

Magnetic Island

Situated just off the coast of Townsville, (20 mins on ferry, 30 if you have car) the beautiful Magnetic Island is well worth a look. If you just want to recharge your batteries and laze on a hammock, Magnetic island is a great place to go. If you want to partake in something more exerting Magnetic island has plenty to offer. The reef is just a couple of hundred yards off the shore and is great for snorkelling. You can camp out or live it up in 5 star accommodation.

Rent a car and take a drive around the island. Head down to Geoffrey Bay to see the rock wallabies. Take the forts walk to spot koalas, as well as to check out the forts that were built for World War II. Even better, rent out jet-skis and discover the island from the sea. This is a great way to see the island, which is mostly hidden from the average tourist. Check out Alma, Cocker and Bolger Bay as well as Wilson, Joyce and Norris Bay.

If you like to party, don't worry because Magnetic Island hosts Australias only Full Moon Party. This takes place every month at Nelly Bay on the nearest weekend to the full moon. It features international DJs and is good fun.

Hinchinbrook Island

Hinchinrook Island is situated just south of Cairns in Far North Queensland. You will need a permit to camp on this island, no campfires are allowed and there are crocs in the waterways, but don't let all that put you off. This is a beautiful island made up of unspoilt national park. You may see wallabies and giant tree frogs among other things. If you're up for a real challenge, walk the Thornsborne Trail. It's a 32km walk and takes at least three days to complete. Purify or boil any water you get from creeks, and watch out for those crocs.

Lady Musgrave Island

Just off the coast of the Town of 1770 lies Lady Musgrave Island, a great place to dive and the island itself is very nice.

Lady Elliot Island

This island is off the coast of Bundaberg and only accessible by plane. There's good diving and snorkelling here as well as whale and turtle watching.

Moreton Island

Moreton Island is just off the coast of Brisbane. Some say this island is as good as Fraser for four whelling and the wilderness. It's also less crowded. There are plenty of shipwrecks off the coast that make great diving and snorkelling. There's wild dolphin feeding at Tangalooma. Contact the EPA (32278186) for camping permits, information and maps of the island.