Queensland: Home to the Very Best Beaches in the World

Where to find the world’s best beaches? It’s a tough call – but these drone snaps from Tourism Australia have got us dreaming of Queensland’s sensational sands…

From tiny island slivers of paper-white sands, to ribbons of gold that stretch as far as the eye can see, Queensland’s beaches are wild, wonderful, and (whisper it) joyfully crowd-free. On a coast that’s as long and epic as this, there's always room to find your own secret spot. Here are a few of our favourites… 

Welcome to Langford Island, one of the most magical sandy stretches in the Whitsundays (high praise indeed – the archipelago is no dog’s dinner). It’s a fleeting beauty, though: it disappears completely at high tide.

The 24 beaches on Lizard Island are so divine, you’ll wonder why Captain James Cook ever left (he ‘discovered’ this Great Barrier Reef archipelago in 1770). He named this particular island after the native goannas who roam its jungly interior.

The private island of Vlasoff Cay is best-reached by helicopter – all the better to appreciate its sensational landscape, right on the Great Barrier Reef.

You can’t fail to see how the Gold Coast got its name. This sprawling city is all about water sports: you can go from skyscraper to surfboard in a matter of minutes, and it has lots of inland waterways where you can kayak, SUP, and more.

There’s even a suburb of the city called Surfers Paradise. Need we say more?

Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays has won awards for its pure sands and pristine waters. Some say it’s even the best beach in Australia – and we can see why.

Whitehaven is the Heidi Klum of beaches; the George Clooney of swoon-worthy sands.

You’ll need a 4X4 if you want to explore the beaches and dunes of Fraser Island. While your rugged chariot makes light work of all those endless sands and mini-mountains, you’ll have plenty of time to pick the perfect camping spot...

Okay, so it’s not a beach, but you shouldn’t leave Queensland without falling for Heart Reef. This naturally-formed coral bommie is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and though you can’t snorkel around it (it’s a protected spot), it makes for a super-cute photo op on helicopter trips. Feeling loved up? It’s a great place to pop a certain question too...

Sandwiched between swimming pool-coloured shallows and the lush tangles of Daintree National Park, Cape Tribulation is certainly a bit of a looker. Up in northern Queensland, almost a three-hour drive from Cairns, it’s not exactly easy to reach – but trust us, it’s definitely worth the effort.

Heading down south instead? Worry not: there are plenty of great beaches there too! Hervey Bay, at the opposite end of Queensland (over 930 miles away from Cape Trib), is a particularly spectacular example.

And if beach lazing isn’t your thing, you’ve come to the right place: the mangroves that surround Hervey Bay are ripe for exploring by kayak, canoe and SUP – with rarely another soul in sight.

Images courtesy of Tourism Australia