Caloundra surfing marks the start of the Sunshine Coast. There’s a handful of great spots that work in both seasons, mainly suited to loggers and intermediates down.
An introduction to Caloundra surfing
Caloundra marks the southern end of the Sunshine Coast. It’s a good place to be for surfing. Okay, so there aren’t the ridiculously beautiful peeling rights that you get in Noosa. But there’s quality here, with spots facing south to hoover up the winter swells that emerge from the SE and others that turn on during big typhoon swells come the summer. Wave style is varied, with strong, powering barrels when the ocean starts frothing giving way to sessions of cruisy logger waves. If we had to say, it’s the latter that defines Caloundra more – come here with the mal and you’ll invariably leave happy
As far as character goes, Caloundra is a hip town with a bit of attitude in the form of beer bars that spill onto the beaches and whatnot. From Bulcock Street to the Happy Valley playgrounds, it’s a place more suited to the young crowd than, say, monied Mooloolaba to the north. TL;DR – Good vibes, decent waves.
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This guide is just one part of our complete guides to Australia surfing and surfing in Queensland
Caloundra surfing at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to Caloundra surfing?
Where is Caloundra?
Caloundra is the first surf town you come to on the Sunshine Coast after cruising through Pelican Waters and out of the swell shadow cast by Bribie Island. It occupies a strangely shaped headland that tops out with Shelly Beach and Kings Beach on opposite sides. It’s about 25-30 minutes’ driving down to here from the Sunshine Coast Airport and just over an hour in from Brisbane.
A guide to the Caloundra surf spots
Caloundra actually has the first surf spots of the Sunshine Coast because it’s the first place on the mainland that escapes the swell block of Bribie. The waves begin right away, too, in the channel that weaves south of the main town and behind the island. Here, we’ll take a look at the whole lot, starting in the south and working north.
Happys
Happys is powered by the ever-shifting sandbanks that line up along the entrance to the Pumicestone Channel, the teal-blue bend of water that separates the town from Bribie Island to the south. There can be some rights on the opposite side of the channel to the town, but they’re usually eclipsed by the better, longer lefts. The channel mouth has a low shelf that really helps to temper oncoming SE-SW swells and turn them into cruisy waves that are quality for egg riders and mals.
Kings Beach
Kings Beach is the home of the Metropolitan-Caloundra Surf Life Saving Club. It’s probably the swell-magnet of the town in that it gets virtually all the action from the open seas come the winter month. Head-on SE swells with a touch of W cross shore wind is about as good as it gets, but even then it can look a touch messy. On the rare occasions the wind switches to the north channel and is offshore, you can get hollowed-out A-frames with nice shoulders on both sides. Smaller summer days can have wrap-around E swells and they bring in the surf camps accordingly.
Moffats
Moffats beach is the first place that offers those peeling right handers that the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast before it is so famous for. A softly sloping rock reef that runs under the headland is perfect ground for the wrap-around SE swells of winter to get their teeth into. It bends the wave through the bay and into nice section walls that minimal meccas when small and a gift for improving shortboarders looking for something forgiving to nail those bottom turns. The downside is that it can be crumbly. However, crowds are rarely as bad as elsewhere up the Sunny.
Reef
Sometimes called Gunner’s Reef, the patch of stone that pokes out of the sands at Moffats about 600 meters along from the point is the single hardest wave in the town. It’s expert’s only stuff that needs pretty heavy offshore winds to turn it makeable. It’s pit from start to finish and thunders over shallow reef.
Anne Street
Anne Street needs a mid-high swell of chest or overhead to start working. When it does, it’s likely that the bulk of the local crowd will be down in Moffats, so there’s scope here to score wedges to yourself. Can be good on both the left and the right. Better with a westerly offshore.
Wurtulla Beach
Before the bushland dunes of Wurtulla, a long, white, sandy stretch is the home of arguably the best beach A-frames on this side of the planet. They’re reminiscent of heavy Portuguese tubes when they get gifted E-SE groundswell and a westerly offshore but don’t really have the consistency to be on the podium with the likes of Noosa as a poster boy for the region. When working, the are double overhead holders with shoulders that are a joy to skim out onto and chop up. When they aren’t, you’ll find lots of crumbly mid-high peaks to practice on.
Where to stay when surfing in Caloundra?
Caloundra is a holiday haven so there’s no shortage of hotel choices. We’ve picked out some of the great ones that sit on both the south side of the town (for access to Kings Beach and Happys) and the north (for access to Moffats and Wurtulla)
Aspect Caloundra
Treat yourself. You deserve it. This slick stay is the best in the city if you ask us. Open the doors and you’ll be surveying the turquoise waters of the wide Pumicestone Channel, with Happys peeling off just below. Pads are uber-modern, uber-stylish, and come with access to an outdoor pool.
BreakFree Grand Pacific
Tucked into the channel a little, this hotel still offers easy walking access to Happys and good proximity to Kings Beach. It’s a fine midrange choice with spacious self-catering apartments that are primed mainly for the family visitor. A big outdoor pool is a bonus.
Single Level Pet Friendly Beach House with Pool
Channel a little of Bali with this pretty sleek pad up on the side of Wurtulla Beach. Located in northern Caloundra, it’s better for accessing the reliable beach peaks where the crowds thin out. But it’s also great for chilling since you get a private plunge pool and boho-cool interiors centered on a lush garden. All to yourself, might we add!
Step-by-step guide to planning your Caloundra surfing trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the Caloundra surfing…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp. Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Rent a car. If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step four: Enjoy!
When to surf in Caloundra?
Caloundra surfing is generally best in the winter. The SE channel switches on to the full then and sends big groundswells marching up to do what it will on the big Shelly Beach headland that juts from the town. In the south, it will refract into the channel to fire up Happys. Further north, it will wrap into Moffats to feed those peeling right bowls. Summer gets some action from the E and NE channel, but is generally better for loggers and beginners.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
