Queensland Beaches
Photo Courtesy of Hamilton Island
© All Rights Reserved
There are thousands Australian beaches to choose from, but it's the Queensland beaches opposite the Great Barrier Reef where you’ll find a semi-tropical paradise. June through October is dry season and the water warms up nicely by September. While sunbathing ‘au naturel’ is not officially sanctioned in Queensland, there is a beach on Fitzroy Island where bathers have been known to let go of their inhibitions...along with their swimsuits.
Surfers will enjoy Surfers Paradise, one of the best Queensland beaches, located along its southern coast. Here, endless stretches of virgin sand attract just about everyone. Greenmount at Coolangatta sits in a protected cove that's perfect for belly bronzing. And just around the point is a windward beach for your surfin' buddies.
Mission Beach, just south of Cairns is the place to go if you want to relax. With rain forest behind you, azure water before you and distant islands dancing on the horizon, it's the ideal place for that ultimate Zen moment:
"Uhummm - I wonder if there's any cold beer left in that cooler - uhumm."
Palm Cove, north of Cairns, is the crown jewel of Australian beaches and a first class tourist beach on any scale. Fringed by palms, of course, it’s one of the more picturesque settings along the Queensland coast.
Heron Island, not far off the coast, looks like it came from a film set. The seascape here is surreal and the sand so bright that you’d best bring a good pair of shades. One of the islands in the Great Barrier Reef, this coral atoll has been rated the best dive site in the South Pacific. - At least that's what they say. What do I know? Do I look like I was born with gills?
Photo © Paul Buceta - Fololia.com
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| Region | Country | Best Season | |||||
| Pacific | Australia | June - October | |||||
| Four Mile Beach | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Relaxed | Medium | Excellent | Fine | Required | Yes | 8 |
| An expansive beach at Port Douglas backed by palms with all the modern development hidden behind them.
Nearby Accoms: Comfort Inn, Peninsula, Sheraton, Thala. Photo by Brian Thomas © All Rights Reserved | $ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Greenmount | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Relaxed | Medium | Excellent | Fine | Required | Yes | 8 |
| In a small cove at Coolangatta. The beach is protected from surfing swells that arrive around the point.
The Outrigger Beach Resort is just opposite the beach. Photo by Millie Fairhall © All Rights Reserved | $$ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Hamilton Island | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Peaceful | Small | Crystal | Fine | Required | Yes | 9 |
| Located off the coast just inside the Great Barrier Reef, this tropical isle has a world-class beach.
Stay at any one of the many lodgings available on this upscale island. Photo by Lam Nguyen © All Rights Reserved | $$$$ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Heron Island | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Remote | Small | Crystal | White | Required | Yes | 10 |
| An idyllic location with the clearest crystal water, the bluest horizons and the finest white sand anywhere.
Stay on site at the deluxe Heron Island Resort. Photo by Kris Anderson © All Rights Reserved | $$$$ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Mission Beach | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Relaxed | Medium | Excellent | Fine | Required | Yes | 9 |
| Located near Cairns. Nothing but a fine sand beach backed by a virgin rain forest.
Nearby Accoms: Mission Beach Retreat, Mackays, Mission Beach Shores. Photo by Andrzej Skrzpacz © All Rights Reserved | $ | Hotel Rates | |||||
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| Fitzroy Island | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Peaceful | Small | Crystal | Mixed | Zone | Yes | 9 |
| The location of the only 'unofficially-official' naturist beach in Queensland.
You can stay at the Raging Thunder Beach Cabins on the island. Photo Courtesy of Raging Thunder © All Rights Reserved | $ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Palm Cove | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Relaxed | Medium | Excellent | Fine | Required | Yes | 9 |
| Arguably one of the prettiest Queensland beaches. As with Four Mile Beach, developers have hidden resorts behind palms, leaving the beach pristine.
Nearby Accoms: Reef Retreat. Photo by Steve Jamieson © All Rights Reserved | $ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Surfers Paradise | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Active | Large | Excellent | Fine | Required | Yes | 10 |
| Who hasn't heard of it? Endless miles of squeaky clean sand and legions of bronzed surfers riding frothy curls.
Nearby Accoms: Holiday Inn, Concorde, Sheraton, Marriott, etc. Photo by Rob Girard © All Rights Reserved | $ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Rainbow Beach | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Remote | Medium | Excellent | Fine | Required | No | 9 |
| A quiet eco-tourism beach for the hardy traveler and back-packer. Closest jump off point from the mainland to Fraser Island. Bring yer 4WD land cruiser.
Nearby Accoms: Pippies Beachhouse. Photo by Veronika & Tibor Halasz © All Rights Reserved | $ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| Whitehaven | Type | Waves | Water | Sand | Swimsuits | Food | Rating |
 | Remote | Small | Crystal | White | Required | No | 10 |
| On uninhabited Whitsunday Island. An ultra-pristine beach with a camping site at one end of it.
Otherwise, lodgings available on nearby Hamilton Island. Photo from Hamilton Island © All Rights Reserved | $ | Hotel Rates | |||||
| CLICK HERE FOR EXPLANATION OF TERMS | |||||||
| Let's keep it safe out there! Because ocean conditions change daily, follow these rules: (1) Always check with 'locals' about hazards before entering the water, (2) Obey all 'warning flags', (3) Swim inside 'safety areas' provided, (4) Never swim alone, and (5) Never swim far out. Finally, when in doubt, don't go in. | |||||||
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