Sunshine Beach
Best for. Surfers, walkers and value minded travellers who want an open ocean beach and forested dunes without the paid loungers and the crush of Noosa Main Beach.
Best spot. A towel between the flags in front of the surf club, then the club deck for a well priced lunch with an ocean view rather than a Hastings Street bill.
Know this. This is a real surf beach with waves and rips, so swim between the flags when the patrol is out and treat it as ocean swimming, not a calm protected bay.
Sunshine Beach is the answer for anyone who finds Noosa Main Beach too busy and too polished. Where the main beach is a calm, north facing strip lined with Hastings Street cafes and paid comfort, Sunshine Beach is an open ocean surf beach backed by steep forested dunes, and it is free from end to end. For a value minded traveller that is the whole appeal. You get a wilder, wider, quieter beach a short drive from the honeypot, and you do not pay a cent for the sand.
The honest catch is that this is proper ocean swimming. There is real surf here, the beach can produce rips, and it is not the gentle protected water that suits small children on the main beach. That is exactly why surfers love it and why the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club patrols the flags in season. Come for the swell, the long walk and the space, respect the conditions, and swim between the flags when the patrol is out rather than wandering off down an empty stretch.
The best value move is to pair the beach with two free things on either side. To the north the beach runs up to Noosa National Park, so you can walk the coastal track past Alexandria Bay and the headland for nothing. Behind the sand the village keeps prices friendlier than central Noosa, and the surf club deck gives you an ocean view lunch at club prices. Played that way, Sunshine Beach is one of the best value days on the whole Sunshine Coast.
The surf club with the view
Sunshine Beach has no daybed style beach club, and for a value traveller that is a plus. The seat worth taking is the surf club deck.
Photo: Craig Woolward via GoogleSunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club
The community surf club on the bluff top reserve above the beach, with a licensed restaurant, bar and a wide open deck looking over the ocean, open seven days. It is the value seat on this shore, a genuine ocean view meal at club prices rather than a Hastings Street bill, with day access limited to the restaurant and bar and any details to be confirmed.
On the Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Beach sits in its own village on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, just south of Noosa Heads and the national park, about a two and a half hour drive north of Brisbane or a short hop from Sunshine Coast Airport. From central Noosa it is only a few minutes by car or a longer coastal walk over the headland, and there is street parking around the village and the surf club reserve.
There is little natural shade on the open sand, so bring a hat, water and reef safe sunscreen, and check the surf and the flags before you swim. Keep to the patrolled area between the flags in season, save the calm shallow water of Noosa Main Beach for small children, and combine your day with the free national park walk that starts at the north end of the beach.
Photo: Craig Woolward via GoogleNot ready to book?
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Sunshine Beach is a free public surf beach, but tell us your dates and we can help arrange a daybed or table at a beach club elsewhere in Noosa. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Sunshine Beach
Is Sunshine Beach free to visit?
Yes. Sunshine Beach is a public beach with free access along its length, reached on foot by steps and a ramp from the surf club reserve and from the streets of the village. You only pay if you choose to eat or drink at the surf club or the village cafes, which makes it one of the better value beach days in Noosa.
Is Sunshine Beach good for swimming?
It is an open ocean surf beach, so there is real swell and the chance of rips, which suits surfers and confident ocean swimmers more than small children. The Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club patrols the flags on weekends and holidays in the warmer months, with lifeguards at other times, so swim between the flags. For calm, shallow water, Noosa Main Beach is the gentler choice.
How do you get to Sunshine Beach from Noosa?
Sunshine Beach is just south of Noosa Heads, a few minutes by car from Hastings Street or a longer walk over the headland through Noosa National Park. There is street parking around the village and the surf club reserve. It is about two and a half hours by road from Brisbane and close to Sunshine Coast Airport.
Does Sunshine Beach have a beach club?
Not in the daybed and cocktail sense. What it has is the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club, a community surf club with a licensed restaurant, bar and an open deck looking over the ocean, open seven days. For a value traveller it is the seat worth taking, an ocean view meal at club prices rather than a central Noosa bill.
Is Sunshine Beach better than Noosa Main Beach?
They suit different days. Noosa Main Beach is calm, north facing and polished, backed by Hastings Street, which is ideal for families and easy comfort but busy and pricey. Sunshine Beach is a free, open surf beach with forested dunes, quieter and wilder, better for surfers, walkers and anyone chasing value and space away from the crowd.
