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, and require a boat (or plane) to access.

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, QLD

There’s always somewhere to escape the crowds on Whitehaven’s iconic white sands.Credit: iStock

The most famous of all beaches on this list; this seven-kilometre-long stretch of 98 per cent silica sand beach regularly makes the top 10 on lists of the world’s best beaches. Located on Whitsunday Island, you can reach it by boat, seaplane or helicopter, from Airlie Beach or Hamilton Island. Backed by tropical rainforest and the highest mountains of the 74 Whitsunday Islands, and fringed by an inlet of impossibly clear water, Whitehaven Beach can get crowded, but there’s always somewhere to escape.

Silica Beach, Hidden Island, WA

Silica Beach on Hidden Island is the best in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.Credit: Alamy

There’s more than 10,000 beaches spread across 1000 islands in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, but this is the best one. Located on Hidden Island in the remote Buccaneer Archipelago, you’ll need to be aboard an expedition cruise or a private yacht to get here. In a region of yellow sand beaches, Silica Beach’s ivory-coloured sand comes courtesy of a water catchment area behind it made up of almost pure silica. The beach is 150 metres long and has a rocky outcrop where you can spot for crocs.

Resolute Beach, Ku-ring-Gai National Park, NSW

You can’t find a calmer swimming spot than Resolute Beach.Credit: Destination NSW

A beach doesn’t have to be remote to remain exclusive. Resolute Beach can be accessed via a fairly difficult two-hour return hike, but it’s totally sheltered and there are no rocks making it ideal to anchor or moor off the beach on a boat. Located opposite Palm Beach’s Barrenjoey Peninsula, Resolute Beach is part of Ku-ring-Gai National Park, and is located close to Aboriginal art sites. You won’t find a calmer swimming spot anywhere on Pittwater.

Nudey Beach, Fitzroy Island, QLD

Coral reefs are found metres from the shore of Nudey Beach.

Located on Fitzroy Island, 45 minutes boat ride south of Cairns, Nudey Beach was once a quarantine station for Chinese prospectors, but these days it attracts travellers from across the world keen to discover marine life within coral reefs metres off the shore. Walk for 15 minutes from your port of arrival through rainforest, and you’ll discover a white coral beach surrounded by huge granite boulders, with a view of Cairns’ hinterland beyond.

Five Beach Bay, Magnetic Island, QLD

Some Magnetic Island locals don’t even know about Five Beaches Bay.Credit: TEQ

It already takes a boat to access Magnetic Island, 25 minutes ferry ride from Townsville. But the best beach of all on the island is actually five beaches – Five Beach Bay. You’ll have to hire a boat (or kayak) from Horseshoe Bay, but it’s worth the journey. Travel for a kilometre west, and you’ll discover secret beaches within a marine and national park home to fish, turtles, dolphins and dugong. You’ll have the beaches to yourself: even some locals don’t know these exist.

North Bay, Lord Howe Island, NSW

Part of a sanctuary zone, North Bay is teeming with marine life.

Of Lord Howe Island’s 11 beaches, North Bay is the only one requiring a boat to access it. It’s part of a sanctuary zone where you’ll find fish, turtles, sting-rays and more – and you’ll also snorkel a shipwreck that’s been there since the 1960s. Book a North Bay day – it’s a 20-minute boat ride across the lagoon. There are multiple picnic spots and at low tide walk around to a set of deep rock pools which become a natural aquarium for marine creatures.

Ocean Beach, Maria Island, Tasmania

Discover some of Tasmania’s best beachces on Maria Island.Credit: Tourism Tasmania

Maria Island – 30 minutes ferry ride off Tasmania’s east coast – is home to some of Tasmania’s best beaches. You’ll have to hike or mountain bike to get to the best ones – or better yet, take a private boat with Maria Island Walk to an isthmus at the centre of the island and walk a few minutes east to stunning Ocean Beach. You’ll have it to yourself, then glamp a few metres away on the other side of the dunes.

Bremer Island, Arnhem Land, NT

These stunning white sand beaches are home to seven sea turtle species (and sometimes, crocs).Credit: Tourism NT/James Fisher

There are several beaches to choose between (but follow advice on the day to see if crocs are around!). Take a one-hour boat ride from beside Gove Boat Club in north-east Arnhem Land and stay overnight at a beach retreat that was once a fishing shack. Take walking paths to stunning white-sand beaches that are home to four of the world’s seven sea turtle species. Be croc aware: the retreat’s managers know where to avoid.

Refuge Cove, Wilsons Promontory, Vic

This tiny inlet is wedged between tall granite mountains and a national park.Credit: Alamy

It’s a hefty 17 kilometre (one-way) hike to this tiny inlet hidden in the south-west corner of Victoria’s Wilsons Promontory (the southernmost part of mainland Australia). But the reward is a private beach, wedged between the tall granite mountains and coastal forest of the national park. Or save your legs and just take the boat. Take an all-day boat cruise from Port Welshpool (two-and-a-half hours east of Melbourne).

Shearwater Bay, Woody Island, WA

The marine life and the clarity of the water off tiny Woody Island will keep every sea lover happy.Credit: Tourism WA

There’s no sand to speak of, but the marine life and the clarity of the water off Shearwater Bay on tiny Woody Island – one of 105 in south-west WA’s Recherche archipelago – will keep every sea lover happy. Take a 30-minute boat tour from Esperance, and you’ll see little penguins, fur seals, dolphins and Southern Right whales straight off the shore. Take a mask and snorkel and follow the snorkel trail for a better look.