community
Best Beaches on the Sunshine Coast: A Complete Guide to Queensland's Finest Coastline
From Noosa to Mooloolaba and Caloundra, here are the Sunshine Coast's best beaches.
How we reported this
The Sunshine Coast's beaches are among Queensland's finest, stretching from Caloundra in the south to Noosa in the north across 60 kilometres of coastline that combines Noosa National Park's sheltered coves, the mainstream surf beaches of the main tourist strip, and the quieter northern beaches of Peregian and Coolum that reward those who venture beyond the main resort areas.
Noosa Main Beach, Noosa Main Beach on Hastings Street is Queensland's most picturesque beach town, with the calm north-facing beach (protected from the prevailing south-east winds), the Hastings Street restaurant and hotel strip directly above, and Noosa National Park's walking tracks and sheltered bays immediately accessible from the beach's eastern end. Tea Tree Bay and Granite Bay within Noosa National Park are among Queensland's most beautiful small coves.
Mooloolaba Beach, Mooloolaba is the Sunshine Coast's busiest and most developed surf beach, with Mooloolaba Esplanade's restaurant strip, the Wharf's seafood restaurants, and consistently patrolled surf conditions that make it excellent for families. The beach is wide, the surf is consistent, and the infrastructure is genuinely good.
Coolum Beach, Coolum's consistent surf and the Mount Coolum National Park volcanic plug rising behind the beach give it a setting more dramatic than any of the main tourist strip beaches. The town has resisted over-development and retains a local beach community atmosphere that distinguishes it from the resort-heavy beaches to the south and north.
Peregian Beach, Peregian is the quietest of the main Sunshine Coast beaches, with a small village centre above the beach and consistent surf conditions that the crowd levels of Mooloolaba and Noosa have not reached. Local surfers and families are the primary users.
Caloundra, Kings Beach and Shelly Beach at Caloundra on the southern Sunshine Coast provide protected bay-like conditions with the offshore rock platform and good facilities for families.
This article was compiled by AI and screened before publishing. See our editorial standards.