6 of Australia's Best Out of the Way Beaches

Beautiful beaches may not be the first thing to spring to mind when you think of Tasmania, but this island state has its fair share, and the spectacular Bay of Fire in the north east tops the list. The remote location and sparkling aqua sea is just the beginning – here massive boulders scattered along the shore are shaded a dramatic shade of orange thanks to a unique type of lichen, creating endless rockpools and crevasses to explore. 

There’s plenty of Western Australian beaches where you’ll find white sand, blue waves and kangaroos hopping leisurely along the shore, but Lucky Bay, just outside of Esperance, is our pick of the bunch.  An eight hour drive from Perth (so you might want to find a good audiobook for the trip), Lucky Bay is one of the few places where you can camp right on the beach, so consider stopping to find a tent before you jump on the highway in your rental car.    

Three hours out of Melbourne, Wilson’s Promontory is where you’ll find sun-seeking Melbournites heading when they’ve had enough of St Kilda – there may not be many cool and quirky cafes here, but you’ll be too busy enjoying turquoise waters, granite mountains and squeaky white sand to notice. There’s even a beach named Squeaky Beach due to the sound you’ll make walking across the shore – lucky we don’t mind how much sand winds up your rental car.

The whole of Queensland’s eastern coastline is basically one long spectacular beach, but for a destination that’s not too far of a drive (whether you fly into Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast) but still out of the city, with wide sandy stretches, lifeguards on watch and best of all, close proximity to plentiful fish and chip shops, Noosa is the place to be. Embrace the Sunny Coast lifestyle in full and go barefoot whenever possible.

There’s white – and then there’s Hyams Beach sand white. Listed in the Guinness World Records as having the whitest sand in the world, making the aquamarine water even more vivid, Hyams Beach is about three hours south of Sydney and a world away from Bondi. Stop in at Berry on your way through for refreshments at one of the delightful cafes – no one wants to drive on an empty stomach.

All of the beaches along WA’s south western coastline are spectacular, but the ones you’ll find dotted along William Bay National Park are some of the best, and the unique granite rock formations which feature in Elephant Cove are a sight to behold. Resembling a herd of elephants (if you squint REALLY hard), the boulders make for great diving platforms, sunbaking spots and selfie backgrounds. It’s best combined with a detour through the Margaret River region, so we’d recommend renting a car at one of our Perth locations for a week or more.