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Australia’s best beaches & islands
Holiday guide

Australia’s best beaches & islands

In a country with 34,000 kilometres of coastline, you’re likely to find a lot of beaches. Here our experts’ reveal some of their favourites.

From Sydneyside secrets to pristine paradises: Australia’s 12 best beaches

From Sydneyside secrets to pristine paradises: Australia’s 12 best beaches

In a country with 34,000 kilometres of coastline, you're likely to find a lot of beaches. And nowhere boasts the sheer quantity of quality beaches as the world's largest island, Australia. With so much choice, here's where you can find the best of them…

  • by Craig Tansley
Australia has 8222 islands, but these 15 are among the best

Australia has 8222 islands, but these 15 are among the best

Australians are spoilt for choice when it comes to island getaways, but they are not all about blue waters and coral: there’s an island type for everyone.

  • by Emma Shaw
Australia’s 10 greatest beaches you (probably) haven’t heard of

Australia’s 10 greatest beaches you (probably) haven’t heard of

The map of Australia has 12,000 beaches, and some are so remote that they are yours to enjoy virtually alone.

  • by Craig Tansley
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Airlie Beach is an attraction in itself, with its open-air bars, restaurants and cafes overlooking the sea.

10 beach towns that are better than Byron

Byron Bay may get the headlines, but there’s a lot more beach towns out there with far less traffic, and much lower prices.

  • by Craig Tansley
How to pack for a beach holiday: The 11 essential items you should bring

How to pack for a beach holiday: The 11 essential items you should bring

It's time to hit the road for a beach holiday. Here are the items you should bring.

  • by Sheriden Rhodes
Captain Cook believed the island’s large boulders somehow had a magnetic effect.

Captain Cook gave this island the wrong name, but somehow got it right

This Queensland island seems a likely candidate to revert to its original name, even if its current name does (unintentionally) seem fitting.

  • by Craig Platt
Seven Spirit Bay.

Remote Aussie spot is a bucket-list item for fishing fans

Few visitors and plenty of fish in the waters of the coastal creeks and reefs and the Arafura Sea make this remote resort a prized destination.

  • by Sue Williams
Lake McKenzie - a rare experience.

Australia is home to the world’s most beautiful puddle

Think blue-tinged water clear as a gin cocktail, pure white sand, and one of the world’s most unusual landscapes. This is a puddle for the Instagram age.

  • by Brian Johnston
Snorkelling off the Heart Reef pontoon.

There are few overseas destinations that can match this paradise

When the pandemic kept Australia’s luxury travellers within our borders for almost two years, it was here they flocked.

  • by Craig Tansley
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Discover some of Tasmania’s best beachces on Maria Island.

Ten amazing, hard-to-reach Aussie beaches worth the effort

Australia is home to some of the world’s best beaches – but 43 per cent of them aren’t accessible by road.

  • by Craig Tansley
The Aussie island that is like no other place on Earth

The Aussie island that is like no other place on Earth

It's more important than ever to take the opportunity to visit this island now, before tourists return in droves.

  • by Kylie McLaughlin
A spectacular, forgotten part of Australia

A spectacular, forgotten part of Australia

Nowhere gets wilder than this north-east edge of the Northern Territory.

  • by Craig Tansley
Bathing beauties: Ten of Australia's best sea baths

Bathing beauties: Ten of Australia's best sea baths

Strung along the NSW coastline like emerald and turquoise gems, Australia's sea baths were first built in the nineteenth century to protect bathers from surf, sharks and dangerous rips.

  • by Sheriden Rhodes
Australia’s mysterious, gigantic Skull Rock

Australia’s mysterious, gigantic Skull Rock

What treasures lie within cavernous Skull Rock have largely been held secret, until now.

  • by Kylie McLaughlin
Nine must-do highlights of Lord Howe Island

Nine must-do highlights of Lord Howe Island

Stunning Lord Howe Island is home to the world's most southerly coral reef.

  • by Elspeth Callender
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Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/traveller/inspiration/australia-s-best-beaches-and-islands-20230411-p5czh5.html