Queensland's coast runs more than 6,000 km from the New South Wales border to Cape York, taking in some of the best beaches on the continent. The Gold Coast is the high-energy end — long sandy strips lined with apartment towers, surf schools and theme parks. Surfers Paradise is the busiest, with consistent waves; Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta are mellower and have better point breaks. The strip from Southport down to Coolangatta is essentially one continuous beach.
The Sunshine Coast, an hour north of Brisbane, is what people who want to escape the Gold Coast crowds choose instead. Sunshine Beach, Peregian and Marcoola are quieter, with low-rise development and family-friendly surf. Noosa Main Beach faces north and offers some of the calmest swimming on the east coast.
Further north, the beaches change character entirely. Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays — silica sand so fine it squeaks underfoot, swirled into the turquoise water of Hill Inlet — is one of the most photographed beaches in the world and lives up to it. From Cairns north, beaches are flanked by rainforest meeting the reef; box jellyfish and crocodiles are real risks in the wet season (November to May), so swim only in stinger nets or designated areas.