Surfing the Sunshine Coast means hitting a series of uber-legendary spots in the Noosa Heads. Beyond that are some reliable beach breaks to suit all levels.
An introduction to surfing the Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast is Queensland’s last hurrah for Aussie surfing. This is as far north as you can go on the east coast before hitting the long and everlasting swell shadow that’s cast by the coral banks of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a grand farewell to Down Under’s favorite watersport, too. We’re talking endless runs of swell-hoovering beachfront that’s subtropical to the T, fringed by dunes, and washed by teal seas. If you can forget the sharks, it’s pretty handsome surf territory.
We’d be tempted to say that the area is mainly about the southeast-facing sands that offer reliable sets whenever the winter is around. But there’s a trump card here that’s hard to ignore: Noosa. The heads there actually buck the trend and need summer NE pulses to work. When they do, you won’t want to be anywhere else – think cruisy right handers that have sections for all sorts of rider, peeling under gorgeous headlands by white-sand beaches. It’s glorious stuff.
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This guide is just one part of our complete guide to Australia surfing and surfing in Queensland
Surfing the Sunshine Coast at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to surfing the Sunshine Coast?
Where is the Sunshine Coast?
The Sunshine Coast spans roughly 30 miles of eastern Oz’s best shoreline. It starts 45 miles or so north of Brisbane’s metro area and goes all the way to the end of the Noosa Heads, which is where you find some of the finest surfing on the planet, let along Down Under. The best way in is to look for flights to the Sunshine Coast Airport, just off Marcoola Beach – there are links in from Newcastle, Auckland (NZ), Sydney, and Melbourne to name just a few.
A guide to the Sunshine Coast surf spots
Surfing the Sunshine Coast can take you all the way from the city limits of Brisbane to the ends of uber-famous Noosa Heads. Here, we’ll take a look at each of the spots within one by one, starting in the south and heading north.
Caloundra
Little Caloundra town marks the southerly end of the Sunshine Coast with a handful of pretty high-quality beach and sandbar breaks. It’s got a rep as a bit of a logger haven for the cruisy rights at Happys and Moffats but Kings Beach can turn on the goods with heavy SE winter swells when there’s not too much wind. We like the town for its easy-going feel. It’s a bit less cliquey than the rest of the Sunshine Coast.
Check out our complete guide to Caloundra surfing
Mooloolaba
Wonderfully named Mooloolaba is one of the family vacay meccas of the Sunshine Coast. Close to the airport and fronted by a long, well-protected beach, it’s a place for sandcastle builders and ice-creams on the shore. You’ll need to case out the more exposed parts of the shore to find any waves that can come close to the quality of Noosa and the others. But there are swell-sucking beaches to the north and south with good peaks and plenty of room to spread the crowds.
Check out our complete guide to Mooloolaba surfing
Mudjimba Island
A brutal paddle out over a 1km strait full of sharks paves the way to what’s arguably the most challenging wave on the whole Sunshine Coast: Mudjimba Island. Each side of the rock has its own spot, a left to the south and a right to the north.
The left is the better wave but truly unforgivable as it harnesses the SE swells and pushes onto a hollwish bank where you can almost feel the urchins popping out of the rocks below. The right is fast and shifty as it creeps over the rocky end of the isle on its north side. It works better in the summer on bigger typhoon swells.
It’s a wave of double ups and steep walls that you have to know to work properly. To be honest, both these waves behave more like an Indo reefy than a classic Sunshine cruiser and they aren’t to be messed with. Same goes for the local rippers that are usually out when they’re on.
Marcoola Beach
Marcoola Beach is peak after peak of consistent but mediocre beachies. Good for learners on smaller days but beloved of intermediate shortboard practicers when it gets some size – usually when there’s an element of E in the swell compass. The peaks tend to get a bit better the further north you head, eventually shaping up into some nice lefts on the sandbanks by the headland at Yaroomba Beach.
Point Perry
Point Perry bends a little too far north to catch those dominant winter SE sets. It can work – just like Noosa further north – in the summer, when cruisy rollers will fan into the bay and refract to give some nice hotdogging waves. You will be waiting for this one to go off because it’s arguably the most sheltered surf beach on the whole Sunshine Coast.
Coolum Beach
Coolum Beach is the start of a long and uninterrupted length of sand that goes north from the Sunshine Coast to Noosa. It’s got umpteen beach-break peaks that can suit pretty much all levels of surfer. The general rule is that they hold better on SE swells towards the south end of the bay nearest town but have fewer people crowding the take-off zones as you head north. Highlights for those keen to do the latter would be Peregian and Pitta, which can throw up nice hollow rights and occasional A-frame blasters.
Sunshine Beach
Sunshine Beach is the spot that everyone in Noosa heads for in the winter months. The reason? It gets the total opposite swell to the heads here, working on the winter SE pulses rather than the summertime typhoon systems. It’s pretty quality beach break stuff that’s uber-consistent. Bigger days can be closey but most medium swells of 5-9 foot are rippable banks with some hollow sections if you know where the sandbars are shifting. Lots of space, too, so there’s not the overcrowding problem of Tea Tree et al.
Noosa
Welcome to one of Oz’s undisputed surfing meccas: Noosa. When E typhoon swells swing down from the Coral Sea and kiss the Noosa National Park, there’s a series of seriously amazing right-hand point breaks that go off here. They usually attract everyone and thier dog, riding logs, shorboards, boogies, ironingboards – you name it. If you can catch a ride, it’s likely to be one of the funnest, ripping waves in Oz. Never too challenging but always a blast.
Check out our complete guide to Noosa surf
Where to stay when surfing on the Sunshine Coast?
Surfing the Sunshine Coast is just one reason people come to this part of QLD. It’s also an R&R mecca with sands and sun-kissed hotel resorts. There’s no shortage of places to stay. We’ve picked out a couple that get you nice and close to some of the area’s top surf breaks…
The Lookout Resort Noosa
Very stylish, very cool, The Lookout Resort Noosa is probably our favorite place to bed down in the surf capital of the Sunshine Coast. It’s got sleek suites with fitted kitchens and panoramic patio spaces overlooking the Coral Sea. Remember, though, peak season for surfing in this town is the summer months between May and August – the opposite of the rest of the Sunshine Coast.
The Retreat Beach Houses
You’ll have swell-sucking beaches right on the doorstep if you pick these lux beach huts. They’re just south of Noosa, close to the consistent run of white sand at Sunrise Beach. The on-site pool and the minimalist modern design only add to the draws.
Alexandria Apartments
Clean and conveniently located for hitting the waves of Alexandra Headland in Mooloolaba, this highly rated resort puts you within walking distance of the waves. Guests also get an on-site pool and ocean views from some of the best suites.
Step-by-step guide to planning your surfing the sunshine coast trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the surfing the sunshine coast…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 on the Sunshine Coast?
It’s a winter trip in the works here, folks. Southeast groundswells march up from deep down in the Pacific to bless the whole of the Sunshine Coast with regular head-on sets for the beachies and wrapping point breaks for the right handers on more powerful days. They combine with winds that shift from the SE channel (offshore for most of the points) to the SW channel (offshore for many of the beach breaks. The other thing that dips are the crowds, which can be a real issue in this ever-popular corner of Oz.
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!
