10 beach towns that are better than Byron

Point Lookout, QLD

You can be guaranteed of one thing on the world’s second-largest sand island: beaches. North Stradbroke Island – located in Brisbane’s Moreton Bay – is home to some of Australia’s best. Looking out across them is Point Lookout, a retro, laid-back surfing town with just enough amenities, like a pub with views out across water where whales migrate (this is one of the best land-based vantage points on the east coast), and boutiques selling locally-made fashion. A population of 800 swells come holiday time, but with ferry access only there’s never enough cars to create a traffic jam.

Denmark, WA

Its distance from Perth (five hours) stops it being over-run by weekenders, maintaining its easy village vibe, sans traffic lights or any hint of traffic chaos. Set among tall timber country beside the Denmark River, town’s surrounded by some of the state’s best beaches in national parks, like Greens Pool, with its natural rock swimming pool. Home to 5000 locals, holiday time does attract travellers, but there’s enough karri and jarrah forest and wild coastline to get lost among.

Wye River, VIC

You probably haven’t heard of Wye River, but it epitomises the lost-in-nature vibe of the Great Ocean Road. You’ll need to rent a house – there’s no hotels – but you’ll be staying among koalas beside rugged forest climbing up the hill, looking out over a stunning white-sand bay. There’s a great pub on the point: the Wye Beach Hotel looks across the waves, and there’s a café serving the best bacon and egg rolls this side of Melbourne. Options are limited, but that’s the whole point of the place.

Broome, WA

No stranger to such a list, the appeal of Broome can’t ever be over-stated. You’d come for Cable Beach alone; toasting watery sunsets at bars on the grass beside the beach, set beside the bluest water this side of the Maldives (which shares the same ocean). While there’s plenty of tourist tack, here’s the quintessential Aussie beach town: white-sand beaches meet the red-dirt of the outback. A pearling town with a chequered past, there’s a lot more to this multicultural Mecca than camel rides at sunset.

Port Noarlunga, SA

Nothing beats a bite-sized beach town with a long white-sand beach located right on the edge of one of the country’s best wine regions (McLaren Vale). Only half an hour-or-so from Adelaide’s CBD, city folk have been coming here for 170 years, and it shows in its historic streetscape. An offshore heritage-listed reef means there’s amazing diving and snorkelling, but also that the beach is always calm. A river empties beside town and there’s spectacular red sandstone cliffs, surrounded by national park.

Coles Bay, TAS

As the world heats up, Tasmania’s beach towns come into their own: none more than Coles Bay. Located on the state’s warmer east coast, town is dwarfed by the half-kilometre-high Hazard ranges, granite and pink mountains that are part of the Freycinet National Park. One of the world’s best beaches – Wineglass Bay – is just around the corner, but there’s plenty of swimming to be had in town, beside cafés which look across the water. Holiday time – especially Christmas – gets busy, but the scale of the place means you can always find an escape.

Port Fairy, VIC

Unlike Byron Bay, you won’t have to share a wave with anyone at Port Fairy. One of the last stops on the Great Ocean Road, it’s only one of Australia’s largest music festivals, the Port Fairy Folk Festival, which brings tourists en masse to town. Instead you’ll get to surf or fish beside an historic port town with over 50 buildings classified by the National Trust. There’s a surprising underground art and entertainment scene set among its 19th Century cottages and old stone churches.