The 10 Best Beaches in Australia
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Whitehaven Beach, Queensland
Considered by many to be Australia’s most beautiful beach, the four mile-long Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island is deserving of all its accolades. For starters, it boasts the purest sand in the world—98 percent pure silica, so fine and blindingly white it looks like baby powder—fringed by equally dazzling azure-colored water. But it's more than just easy on the eyes: Whitehaven’s many coves, lagoons, and inlets make it perfect for exploration, and there’s excellent snorkeling at the southern end of the beach. For Whitehaven’s best views, hike up to Tongue Point lookout during low tide, when the sea and sands swirl and shift to create a brilliant mosaic of white, green, and blue.
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Turquoise Bay, Western Australia
The aptly-named Turquoise Bay, on Western Australia’s Coral Coast, is the kind of spot that appeals to every kind of beachgoer. It’s located just a few meters off Ningaloo Reef—which is home to more than 500 fish species—and is perfect for snorkeling. Swimmers will love its warm, shallow waters, and stand-up paddleboarders will enjoy riding the protected bay’s gentle waves. If rest and relaxation is all you’re after, Turquoise Bay is the beach for you, too: thanks to its ultra-remote location in Cape Range National Park, its pristine white sands are almost always deserted, making it feel like your own private stretch of uninterrupted paradise.
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Wineglass Bay, Tasmania
Tasmania’s not exactly the first state that comes to mind when you think of beautiful Australian beaches, but one look at Wineglass Bay just might change your thinking. The bay—named for its perfect, wineglass-shaped curve—boasts chalky white sand, clear, sapphire-colored waters, and soaring pink-granite cliffs to complete its rainbow of colors. Located on the Freycinet Peninsula, a mere three-hour drive from Hobart, Wineglass Bay feels completely remote, yet is a short drive from some of the country’s best wineries. Insider tip: while you’re en route, pick up a bottle of chilled pinot gris from Milton Estate and some freshly-shucked oysters from Freycinet Marine Farm for the perfect beach picnic.
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Noosa Main Beach, Queensland
Though beautiful beaches are a dime a dozen on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Noosa’s Main Beach is arguably the area’s most popular. For one, it’s postcard-perfect, with its golden shore, turquoise waters, and swaying palms. It’s also patrolled by lifeguards every day of the year, boasts ample facilities, and is conveniently located next to the popular Hastings Street shopping and restaurant precinct (read: great for families). Plus, thanks to its sheltered, north-facing direction, the beach has a mild climate and gentle surf all year round.
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Blinky Beach, New South Wales
Though many of the continent's best beaches can be found in Queensland, make no mistake—New South Wales can hold its own. Besides its excellent surf, Blinky Beach, on the east side of Lord Howe Island, is one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, according to our readers. Situated between Blinky Point and a promontory known as Mutton Bird Lookout, Blinky Beach boasts the requisite powder-white sand and turquoise sea, backed by tall dunes dotted with prickly spinifex and wild daisies.
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Cable Beach, Western Australia
Cable Beach is undeniably the most dramatic beach in Western Australia’s Kimberley region: Its 13-mile stretch of pure white sand is set against a backdrop of red ochre cliffs, and fringed by the dark blue waters of the Indian Ocean. Yet despite its jaw-dropping beauty and growing popularity, it remains relatively under-the-radar, a hidden gem on Australia’s western shores frequented largely by locals. Though you could easily spend an entire day doing nothing but sunbathing on its sweeping, sun-kissed shore, we suggest taking a camel ride along the empty beach, preferably at sunrise or sunset, for an experience you won’t soon forget.
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Bells Beach, Victoria
Bells Beach is world-famous for being one of Australia’s best surf beaches: It’s where the world’s top-ranked surfers meet to tackle colossal waves during the Rip Curl Easter Pro, the world's longest- running surf contest. High cliffs provide a dramatic backdrop to the Bells’ impressively large swells, which slow down and steepen over the reef-strewn shallows, creating spectacular surf. Not into surfing? Bells’ sandy golden shores are perfect for sunbathing and admiring the superb coastal scenery.
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75 Mile Beach, Queensland
Besides its length—it is, indeed, a sprawling 75 miles long—there are many reasons why this beach makes the list. You know the drill by now: rugged white sands, retina-piercing blue water, great surf. But 75 Mile’s got more tricks up its sleeve: it boasts a series of natural jacuzzi pools, dubbed the Champagne Pools for their excessive ocean foam, in addition to striking volcanic formations (Indian Head, at the northern end of the beach), and even a shipwreck. Its waters abundant with whiting, bream, and swallowtail 12 months of the year, 75 Mile is also home to some of the world's best beach fishing.
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Bondi Beach, New South Wales
Yes, Bondi is crowded and perpetually packed with tourists. But Sydney’s most famous stretch of sand still remains Australia’s most iconic beach and an essential stop Down Under. Go mid-week to appreciate Bondi for what it really has to offer: silky sand, perfect waves, warm Aussie sunshine, and spectacular scenery. Don’t miss fish and chips at Bondi Surf Seafoods—which should be wrapped in butcher’s paper, doused in lemon, and eaten right on the beach after a swim—or a sunset drink at Bondi Icebergs, which offers sweeping views over the entire length of the beach.
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Palm Cove, Queensland
With its warm, turquoise water and palm-fringed shore, Palm Cove is the closest thing Australia has to a tropical, Hawaiian-style beach. And while it looks like it belongs on Maui or Oahu, it’s located on the northern Queensland coast, just north of Cairns, making it an ideal base for trips to the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsundays. That said, Palm Cove holds its own, too: Behind the Caribbean-like tranquility, the beach is backed by restaurants, cafés, galleries, and boutique shops that give the otherwise-sleepy stretch of sand a happening, beach town vibe.