Things to do in Noosa
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Noosa
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer peak: hottest, wettest and most crowded, with warm ocean, school holidays and peak stingers.
Autumn sweet spot: humidity breaks, ocean stays warm, surf continues and crowds thin after Easter.
Winter: crisp, dry and sunny with the clearest water, emptiest track, peak whales and cheapest stays.
Spring sweet spot: warming fast with wildflowers, September holiday spike, and October arguably the best month.
What's on
- Noosa Festival of Surfing 12-23 March
Longboarding, surf culture and live music take over First Point, including the surfing dogs event.
- Noosa Eat & Drink Festival late May to early June
Chef events, festival village and long lunches, the food trip's peak window.
- Pomona King of the Mountain Festival July
Runners race up and down Mount Cooroora, a beloved local winter spectacle.
- Noosa Alive! July
Mid winter arts and culture festival of theatre, music and ideas across Noosa venues.
- Noosa Open Studios August
Artists studios open across the shire, a hinterland drive weekend.
- Garmin Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival late October to early November
One of the world's largest triathlons, with road closures and a town full of athletes.
Best things to do in Noosa
Noosa National Park Coastal Track
Headland walk past Tea Tree Bay and Dolphin Point to Hell's Gates, with swims and koala spotting along the way.
Noosa Main Beach
North facing and sheltered, with patrolled swimming and longboard point waves when swell wraps around the headland.
Fairy Pools
Natural rock pools past Granite Bay that are magical at low tide on calm days and unsafe in swell or at high tide.
Noosa Farmers Market
Sunday market where locals shop for Sunshine Coast produce, seafood, bread and cheese under the gum trees.
Noosaville Foreshore
Calm river foreshore on Gympie Terrace for swimming, picnics, pelicans and sunset, cheaper and quieter than Hastings Street.
Noosa Ferry
Ferry rides linking Hastings Street, Noosaville and Tewantin that turn river transport into part of the day out.
Laguna Lookout
Short lookout over Laguna Bay, the river mouth and the North Shore, best at sunset and far less crowded than the headland.
Noosa Botanic Gardens
Free lakeside gardens near Cooroy with lawns, birdlife and picnic grounds, a peaceful hinterland contrast to the coast.
Where to stay in Noosa
Noosa Heads, Hastings Street and Little Cove
first trip, all round base, couples, car free trips
Walk to Main Beach, the national park and the best restaurants, with Little Cove quieter and greener but sometimes steep.
Noosaville, Gympie Terrace and Noosa River
families, longer stays, self catering and value
Riverfront, local and calm with apartment space, kitchens, parking, safe river swimming and the Sunday Farmers Market.
Sunshine Beach and Sunrise Beach
repeat visitors, surfers and a local village feel
Own small centre on Duke Street, a wilder patrolled beach and the park's southern entrance, quieter and cheaper than Hastings Street.
Noosa Sound and Weyba Downs
groups in a house
Canal and river estate houses with private pools and jetties, needing cars and subject to enforced noise and party rules.
Hinterland, Pomona, Cooroy, Eumundi and Doonan
second stays, retreats and winter trips
Farm stays and design houses at half the price with twice the space, trading beach access for calm, stars and birdsong.
Tewantin
fishing, boating and Everglades focused trips, budget base with a car
Working town with marina, gallery, supermarkets and the North Shore ferry, thinner accommodation and no beach.
Think twice about
- Listings marketed as Noosa that are not in Noosa
Addresses can be in far Tewantin estates, Marcus Beach or towns 20 to 30 minutes south. Map the exact address before booking.
- Noosa North Shore as a first trip base
Every dinner, shop and park walk starts with a ferry crossing and drive, with minimal services. Stay there deliberately, with supplies.
- Steep hill properties on Noosa Drive, upper Little Cove and Viewland Drive
The hill is real and unshaded in parts. Without a car, or with prams or mobility limits, the walk back from dinner ruins stays.
- Hastings Street itself for light sleepers
Lively until late with early delivery trucks and limited, tight parking at older properties. Take Little Cove or Noosaville instead.
Best restaurants in Noosa
Locale
Enduring special occasion Italian with handmade pasta, hinterland produce and a deep Italian wine list.
Rickys River Bar + Restaurant
Definitive Noosa long lunch on the river, centred on Mooloolaba seafood with sunset drinks flowing into dinner.
Sails Restaurant Noosa
Beachfront view restaurant that earns it, known for Fraser Coast sand crab lasagne and a cellar deep wine list.
Sum Yung Guys
Locals favourite dinner of share plate modern South East Asian dishes and cocktails on the Noosaville strip.
Bistro C
Beachfront all rounder for a barefoot luxury lunch drifting into cocktails, with seafood and contemporary Australian plates.
Bang Bang Noosa
Punchy South East Asian curries and share plates around an open kitchen, one of Hastings Street's latest, liveliest rooms.
Light Years
Asian diner bar in Noosa Junction with excellent share plates and local energy, the alternative when Bang Bang is full.
Season Restaurant
Produce first beachfront room rewritten with the seasons, as strong at breakfast and lunch as at dinner.
Outdoor things to do in Noosa
Kanu Kapers
Specialist guided kayak trips into the mirror still Noosa Everglades, one of only two everglades systems in the world.
Habitat Noosa
Boat cruise and short canoe through the Everglades from Elanda Point, the low effort way to see the river and lakes.
Merrick's Noosa Learn to Surf
Established beginner surf school in warm, sheltered Main Beach water, with most first timers standing in one lesson.
Epic Ocean Adventures Noosa
Locally owned 4WD beach day to Double Island Point with dolphin sea kayaking and the Great Beach Drive.
By Earth & Ocean
Small group soft adventure tours to Double Island Point, a comparable alternative to the larger beach day trips.
Noosa North Shore
Ferry across the river at Tewantin opens the beach highway north to Teewah Beach, the Coloured Sands and Rainbow Beach.
K'gari
World Heritage sand island day trip for Lake McKenzie and rainforest, though it rewards an overnight stay far more.
Noosa Springs Golf & Spa Resort
Championship 18 hole course through rainforest and lakes near Hastings Street, with a day spa attached.
Best hotels in Noosa
Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort
Only large luxury resort directly on Hastings Street, with lagoon pool, swim up bar, day spa and on site dining.
Peppers Noosa Resort & Villas
Park side low rise resort above Little Cove with rooms to multi bedroom villas, lagoon pool, spa and restaurant.
Tingirana Noosa
Small Hamptons styled beachfront apartments overlooking Main Beach, with an infinity edge pool and a calmer couples feel.
On The Beach Noosa Resort
Self contained beachfront studios to penthouses, the self catering version of the prime Hastings Street position.
Noosa Springs Golf & Spa Resort
Spacious apartments around the championship golf course on Lake Weyba, excellent value per square metre for golf or spa trips.
Culgoa Point Beach Resort
Long established riverfront apartments with pool, marina and BBQ lawns, the family mid range pattern done right.
Flashpackers Noosa
Modern, well run flashpacker hostel with dorms, private rooms, pool and shuttles, the budget pick that is actually good.
Noosa Caravan Park
Holiday park cabins and powered sites on the river, superb for kids and campervanners if booked far ahead for holidays.
Is Noosa expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$170 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$310 a person |
| Splurge | A$550 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Noosa Farmers Market: a few days ahead
- Kanu Kapers: weeks ahead
- Habitat Noosa: weeks ahead
- Merrick's Noosa Learn to Surf: a few days ahead
- Epic Ocean Adventures Noosa: weeks ahead
- By Earth & Ocean: weeks ahead
- Noosa North Shore: a few days ahead
- K'gari: weeks ahead
- Book stays 3 to 6 months ahead for school holidays, Easter, Christmas and festival weekends.
- Book restaurants 2 to 4 weeks ahead, and anchor dinners like Locale and Rickys when you book the hotel.
- Book Everglades, Double Island and K'gari tours at least a week ahead in season, earlier for small group kayaks.
- Book surf lessons, hire boards and Noosa Springs tee times ahead on swell weekends and in school holidays.
Is Noosa safe?
- Swim between the red and yellow flags at patrolled beaches. Alexandria Bay, the river mouth and rock platforms are unpatrolled and hazardous.
- Never turn your back on the ocean on wet rock at the Fairy Pools, Devil's Kitchen or the Blowhole.
- Heed signage for stingers, bluebottles and sharks, shuffle feet in river shallows for stingrays, and stay on track for snakes.
- Use SPF 50, a hat and shade at midday, and carry water into the national park. There are no shops past Hastings Street.
- Lock cars at trailhead and beach car parks and leave nothing visible. No crocodiles live in Noosa.
Noosa travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Eating every meal on Hastings Street. Two main meals there plus the Noosaville, Junction and village rotation eats better for less.
- Main Beach at midday in January as your whole beach plan. Use the park bays, Sunshine Beach or the river foreshore instead.
- Half day mega tours bundling Noosa with other places at windscreen depth. Do Noosa itself properly in a day.
- Australia Zoo at Beerwah is about an hour south and a full day, not a Noosa fill in afternoon.
- The Fairy Pools are tide and swell dependent and unpatrolled, not a guaranteed photo stop.
- Sunset dinner cruises sell the river, not fine dining. Eat at a river restaurant and cruise separately.
Getting around Noosa: public transport and more
- Fly to Sunshine Coast Airport, about 30 minutes away, or Brisbane, under 2 hours by road.
- From Noosa Heads and Little Cove most sights are walkable, the Noosa Ferry links Hastings Street to Noosaville and Tewantin, and Translink buses run the main spine.
- Parking fills by 9 to 10am on fine weekends. Arrive at the national park before 8am and use the ferry or bus for market trips.
- A car earns its keep for hinterland days, southern beach bases, golf and tours without pickup. Rent it only for the days needed.
- The Tewantin North Shore ferry takes cars and foot passengers in about 5 minutes and runs through the day. Cross early on holiday weekends.
Who Noosa suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Noosa your trip
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