staceytann

Looking to visit Australia, but was wondering if you could point me to the best beaches? What to relax and swim, maybe learn how to surf? Would prefer a non-resort area - somewhere mellow.

tropo

Australia is a BIG country, with beaches all the way around, where abouts are you intending to visit?
You could consider some of the following places:-

* Byron Bay, NSW north coast, a bit touristy, but on occasions has excellent surfing conditions.

* Beaches along the great ocean road, Victoria.

* Coffs Harbour, NSW mid north coast has reasonable surfing conditions. with surf schools there.

* Sydney's beaches have good surf.

* Most of NSW coastline has surfing beaches.

I should point out that most surfing in Qld finishes at Agnes Waters north of Bundaberg (due to the great barrier reef influence)
The Gold Coast has some excellent surfing beaches, but is touristy and has resorts galore.
Once you get down on the south coast of NSW you get colder water conditions, and the same for Victoria. Perth in Western Australia has dumpy waves on the shoreline, not good for surfing, yet in the Margaret river area, they get excellent surfing conditons at Prevally Beach.

LizzyF

WHEN would you be coming? It does make a great difference in the answers

Susan7

Just some of my favourite beaches in NSW. Going north from Sydney is Hat Head near Kempsey, it's certainly off the tourist track. Going south, the Jervis Bay area which is a good place to go whale watching as they come in close to the shore. In particular, Hyams Beach has nice low key accommodation. Both areas have good bushwalks and lots of wildlife.

Narooma further down the south coast is the stepping off point for Montague Island which is a National Park and a fairy penguin nesting place. Tours out to the island are fabulous.

As you want to swim, these places would only be suitable in Spring/Summer and early Autumn (if it's one of those protracted Indian summers we sometimes get).

pat_woolford

with about 37,000kms of coastline there's many thousands of beaches and everyone has their own favourites.

Ones which come up constantly in travel mags etc are:

Bells Beach, Vic
Bondi Beach, Sydney, NSW (suburban and often crowded)
Byron Bay, NSW
Cable Beach, Broome, WA
Cottesloe Beach, Perth, WA (suburban)
Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas, Qld (no surf)
Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Qld
Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay, NSW
Manly, Sydney, NSW (suburban and can be crowded)
Mission Beach, Qld (no surf)
90 Mile Beach, Gippsland, Vic
Palm Beach, Sydney, NSW (outer suburban)
Surfers Pt, Margaret River, WA
Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Qld (no surf)
Wineglass Bay, Tasmania

Ones marked "no surf" in Queensland are protected by Great Barrier Reef.

mariebut

Why not try South Australia, beautiful swimming beaches in the St Vincents Gulf off Adelaide and fantastic surfing beaches on the remote West Coast and the South Coast, Boomer, Waitpinga etc. below Adelaide although perhaps not suitable for the beginner. These areas are not at all touristy like others mentioned by Pat. It depends on what time of year you are travelling, but at least SA has the least extremes of weather. At the moment it hardly ever rains!!! Learn how to surf lessons are available regularly at Middleton/Port Elliot on the South Coast. What else are you interested in seeing in Australia?? Its a long way to come just to swim and learn to surf!!

quokka

Australia's whitest beach is said to be Lucky Bay in Cape le Grand NP near Esperance.

JohnFitz

I love the beaches of South Australia and those that are within an hour of Adelaide and near McLaren Vale wine region are delightful .

angelnot1

I speak just for Sydney although there are thousands of beaches around the continent.

My favourite is Freshwater and Balmoral ( not ocean) but there are lots around Sydney. Also around Wollongong and the South Coast and to the north Central Coast and Newcastle - most possible in a day's trip from Sydney (but why would you want just a day?!!)

Here is a nice link for Sydney beaches on the north side where I live
http://www.tripadvisor.com:80/Travel...es.Sydney.html

lorikeet

I live in Narrabeen on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. It is a wonderful place.

Sydney is a capital city where the beach life id very accessible. Catch the L88 or L90 bus from the CBD for a scenic and good trip.

lanejohann

i love the south coast of nsw and prefer it to any other spot because of its unspoilt coastline
gold coast is too touristy,,fun but built up
i suggest the sapphire coast,,,anywhere around batemans bay
you can fit in a trip to the nations capital - canberra in the interior in under two hours as well

try dolphins point round ulladulla mollymook ...the waters are pristine and blue-green
there are many interesting coves too which in my opinion are prettier tolook at than the long stretches of the gold coast
have a look at bondi..as tired as it is ..it has atmosphere and is the icon of sydney

Paul_H

As a few respondents have pointed out, there are thousands of kilometers of brilliant beaches around Australia. Obviously though, different people need different conditions, and this is based on what I'm guessing your needs are as someone who wants to learn how to surf as opposed to someone who already does. I'm assuming that you'd prefer to do so in water that's not too cold. That you're not too keen on sharks.That you want reasonably safe conditions. And, regardless of whether you realise it, you really, really want to avoid crowds.

Queensland has great waves and warm water but gets mega-crowded - these crowds also spill out of Queensland across the border into Byron Bay.

Victoria. Great waves, and relatively uncrowded. The water is getting pretty cold though, and the colder the water the more Great White Sharks.

South Australia. Lots of good waves, very uncrowded. And for good reason. All of the Great White Shark footage in Jaws was filmed here. Why? Because they're easy to find there. Plus you need to wear a wetsuit even in summer.


WA. Lots of great surf. They get lots of big swell here though, and as far as learning goes, might be a bit heavy. Fair amount of shark action, too.

Tasmania. Haven't surfed there. Know a lot of people who have though, and apparently it is freezing. Lots of Great Whites.

New South Wales. Avoid trying to learn in Sydney. It's a circus. The Mid North Coast is where I'd go. The Pacific Palms area to the South of Forster has a good surf school, is really laid back and a good range of accommodation. I've stayed at a place called Blueys Retreat a number of times and it's really comfortable.

pat_woolford

Is Bluey's Retreat at Bluey's Beach, (near Forster) Paul? If so, what a great surfing beach, used to stay there in a friend's beach house years ago.

Paul_H

Hi Pat,

Yes it is. And it's one of many good surf beaches there, inc. Boomerang Beach, Booti-Booti and Celito - then further down you've got Seal Rocks, Treachery, etc. While 20 minutes up the coast you have Forster Bar. (Forster Bar and Treachery are not for learners, staceytann.)

Plus there's even decent food and coffee in the area these days, at the Kingfisher Cafe.

Stacey,

As far as avoiding crowds, try to come outside NSW school holidays - in which it's hard to escape crowds wherever you go.

Bwino

Ahhhh! Megha, I am sorry I can't answer your question but I think you may mean Queenstown, New Zealand not Queensland Australia. Slightly different places.

sunsurfsand

Hi quokka,
The Guinness Book of Records claims Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay NSW has the whitest sand in the world.
Don't know if it is so, just quoteing the book.

angelnot1

I can confirm it - it is the whitest I have ever seen anywhere and I have been visiting the South Coast for years having also been to beaches all over the globe.

The South coast beaches are not as well known as say the north but they are magical and go for mils and miles along the coast

sunsurfsand

stacytann,
You might try Durras Beach which is also on the south coast of NSW if you like watching surfing kangaroos.
(Not sure if it is South Durras or North Durras.)