Holiday guide
Australia’s best beaches & islands
In a country with 34,000 kilometres of coastline, you’re likely to find a lot of beaches. Here our experts’ reveal some of their favourites.
From Sydneyside secrets to pristine paradises: Australia’s 12 best beaches
In a country with 34,000 kilometres of coastline, you're likely to find a lot of beaches. And nowhere boasts the sheer quantity of quality beaches as the world's largest island, Australia. With so much choice, here's where you can find the best of them…
- Craig Tansley
Australia has 8222 islands, but these 15 are among the best
Australians are spoilt for choice when it comes to island getaways, but they are not all about blue waters and coral: there’s an island type for everyone.
- Emma Shaw
Australia’s 10 greatest beaches you (probably) haven’t heard of
The map of Australia has 12,000 beaches, and some are so remote that they are yours to enjoy virtually alone.
- Craig Tansley
10 beach towns that are better than Byron
Byron Bay may get the headlines, but there’s a lot more beach towns out there with far less traffic, and much lower prices.
- Craig Tansley
How to do Queensland’s dreamiest islands without breaking the budget
Let Airlie Beach be the launchpad for your affordable island-hopping escape. Here’s where to eat, stay and play without spending a fortune.
- Riley Wilson
How to pack for a beach holiday: The 11 essential items you should bring
It's time to hit the road for a beach holiday. Here are the items you should bring.
- Sheriden Rhodes
Captain Cook gave this island the wrong name, but somehow got it right
This Queensland island seems a likely candidate to revert to its original name, even if its current name does (unintentionally) seem fitting.
- Craig Platt
Remote Aussie spot is a bucket-list item for fishing fans
Few visitors and plenty of fish in the waters of the coastal creeks and reefs and the Arafura Sea make this remote resort a prized destination.
- Sue Williams
Australia is home to the world’s most beautiful puddle
Think blue-tinged water clear as a gin cocktail, pure white sand, and one of the world’s most unusual landscapes. This is a puddle for the Instagram age.
- Brian Johnston
There are few overseas destinations that can match this paradise
When the pandemic kept Australia’s luxury travellers within our borders for almost two years, it was here they flocked.
- Craig Tansley
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.
- Craig Tansley
The Aussie island that is like no other place on Earth
It's more important than ever to take the opportunity to visit this island now, before tourists return in droves.
- Kylie McLaughlin
A spectacular, forgotten part of Australia
Nowhere gets wilder than this north-east edge of the Northern Territory.
- Craig Tansley
Bathing beauties: Ten of Australia's best sea baths
Strung along the NSW coastline like emerald and turquoise gems, Australia's sea baths were first built in the nineteenth century to protect bathers from surf, sharks and dangerous rips.
- Sheriden Rhodes
Australia’s mysterious, gigantic Skull Rock
What treasures lie within cavernous Skull Rock have largely been held secret, until now.
- Kylie McLaughlin
Nine must-do highlights of Lord Howe Island
Stunning Lord Howe Island is home to the world's most southerly coral reef.
- Elspeth Callender