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Noosa Heads, QLD

Noosa (see video below – 4:11) is a picturesque beach town located on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast that provides pleasure to all. A north facing surfing beach, pristine river, fine restaurants, sophistication, national parks, plenty of action and you have the perfect holiday retreat.

Known For:

  • Stunning beaches and outdoor activities
  • Vibrant shopping and dining scene
  • Laid-back coastal atmosphere

Visitors flock to Noosa from all over the world, many as frequent visitors and some returning to live in this exceptional coastal village. Described in the New York Times as the place ‘that appreciates nature and the good life’.

Noosa is the accepted name for a group of villages and enclaves that make up Noosa Shire. The word Noosa is not the correct description for the area although is used to describe the areas and the name known and used by visitors. Noosa Shire was established in 1910.
Noosa

Noosa Heads is the resort area that contains Hastings Street and the main tourist area behind Hastings Street. The main beach fronts onto Hastings Street. At the end of Hastings Street is the Noosa Woods and Noosa Spit.

At the eastern end of Hastings Street is the Noosa National Park. Noosaville the area that borders the Noosa River with its recently upgraded riverfront precinct and street restaurants. Noosa Junction is the central shopping area with cinema and banks and located behind Hastings Street over Noosa Hill.

Hastings Street Noosa

Things to do at Noosa

Noosa Heads, is a safe and family-friendly spot for swimming, sunbathing, and surfing. Visitors can also enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and kayaking in the nearby Noosa National Park. The town also has a vibrant dining and shopping scene, with many high-end boutiques, cafes, and restaurants.

Additionally, Noosa is close to other popular tourist destinations along the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Island, making it an ideal base for exploring the surrounding area. Overall, the combination of natural beauty, recreational activities, and a lively atmosphere make Noosa a great place to visit.

Whether you’re looking for a relaxing holiday or an action-packed adventure, Noosa has something to offer everyone.

Hide in beautiful Noosa

Noosa attracts a broad mix of sun-seekers from surfers and families to fashionable foodies and executive couples wanting to get away from it all.

Endless attractions entice them here – kilometres of pristine sandy beaches, turquoise waters, lush hinterland and the relaxed lifestyle. Superb restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs, and great shopping secures Noosa’s reputation as the perfect holiday escape.

Noosa beach

As a premier gourmet destination, its menus are abundant with produce farmed in the region – tropical fruits, spices, ginger, sugarcane and seafood.

The subtropical climate means eating alfresco is the main order of the day, with many divine spots to choose from. There are Eduardo’s On The Beach, Coco’s at the entrance to Noosa National Park and Noosaville on the Noosa River. You’ll also discover an impeccable range of eateries, from brasserie-style and swank, to all sorts of Asian and fish and chips along the main strip.

Boutique accommodation houses like Villa Alba offer food adventure weekends where you can shop with the host/chef and learn to cook up a storm.

Along with trendy pavement cafes and restaurants, vibrant Hastings Street at Noosa Heads is alive with designer boutiques, tropical fruit stalls, surf shops, and accommodation to suit all lifestyles.

Noosa Beach borders Hastings Street and a 10 minute walk takes you to Noosa National Park, a natural haven of quiet sandy coves, walking tracks, rocky headlands and some of the best surf the coast has to offer.

Explore the hinterland

The Sunshine Coast’s hinterland – from the Glasshouse Mountains, with their striking, pyramidical peaks, to the picture-postcard scenery of the Blackall Ranges – is an unspoilt paradise. The beauty of the region is breathtaking. A short drive from Queensland’s capital, Brisbane, or from the busy throng of the coast will take you through pine-tree plantations, fertile farmlands, past classic weatherboard Queenslander houses, and colourful roadside fruit stalls.

Glasshouse Mountains

The hinterland draws all types. Adventurers such as rock climbers and abseilers love to visit it to explore the spectacular rock faces. Others come to take in the beautiful sights and sounds of the majestic Blackall Ranges with its lush forests, rural lakes, national parks and fascinating little towns.

The quaint mountain villages of Montville and Maleny atop the escarpment of the Blackall Ranges are sleepy hamlets where a culture of coffee houses, country pubs, cosy restaurants, art and antique galleries and craft studios thrives.

A stroll through Montville will uncover a flourishing artists’ community. You’ll find the work of potters, painters, leatherworkers; and artists in glass, timber, stone and precious metals. Galleries feature the work of some of Australia’s top painters today. To get back to nature, the nearby Kondalilla National Park offers graded rainforest walking tracks, swimming holes and waterfalls. The hinterland is an easy day trip from Brisbane. But once there, you’ll be tempted to stay longer.

Noosa escapes

Noosa attracts a broad mix of sun-seekers from surfers and families to fashionable foodies and executive couples wanting to get away from it all.

Endless attractions entice them here – kilometres of pristine sandy beaches, turquoise waters, lush hinterland and the relaxed lifestyle. Superb restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs, and great shopping secures Noosa’s reputation as the perfect holiday escape.

As a premier gourmet destination, its menus are abundant with produce farmed in the region – tropical fruits, spices, ginger, sugarcane and seafood.

The subtropical climate means eating alfresco is the main order of the day, with many divine spots to choose from. There are Eduardo’s On The Beach, Coco’s at the entrance to Noosa National Park and Noosaville on the Noosa River. You’ll also discover an impeccable range of eateries, from brasserie-style and swank, to all sorts of Asian and fish and chips along the main strip.

Boutique accommodation houses like Villa Alba offer food adventure weekends where you can shop with the host/chef and learn to cook up a storm.
Along with trendy pavement cafes and restaurants, vibrant Hastings Street at Noosa Heads is alive with designer boutiques, tropical fruit stalls, surf shops, and accommodation to suit all lifestyles.

Noosa Beach borders Hastings Street and a 10 minute walk takes you to Noosa National Park, a natural haven of quiet sandy coves, walking tracks, rocky headlands and some of the best surf the coast has to offer.

Enjoy superb beaches

The Sunshine Coast is known as popular resort area, without high-rise buildings of the Gold Coast. The atmosphere of the townships along the coast and unspoilt surroundings is its attraction for local and international holiday makers. Maroochydore, 30 minutes from Caloundra by car, is the largest town in Sunshine coast.

Holiday apartments are located along the beach and parks that extends through the waterfront. A uniquely Australian phenomenon of big models of every day things is represented at Maroochydore by the Big Pineapple. This fruit farm uses the pineapple as its symbol, produces exotic fruits popular to the region. Driving twenty minutes north of Maroochydore, at the foot of Mt Coolum, stands Hyatt Regency resort. Here, low level cottages are spread throughout a eucalyptus forest.

Further north Noosa, is situated at the northernmost tip of Sunshine Coast. It takes an hour and thirty minutes from Brisbane by car to get to resort area. The Noosa National Park spreads on the east side of the town, and a beach continues to the tip of the peninsula, Noosa cape. Koalas live in a National Park and are often easy to spot along the coastal trail.

Connecting the towns of the Sunshine Coast, are numerous beautiful beaches with white sand and easy access to various water sports.

Sunshine Coast for the Family

There is no end to the delights of the Sunshine Coast, a chain of towns and resorts with clean, sea-washed air and an easy pace. Here you can sample the freshest seafood, swim, bushwalk, or play golf, perhaps after stopping at the region’s themed attractions along the smooth highway.

The first seaside city, Caloundra, is home to four superb beaches and is set against the 13 volcanic peaks that make up the surreally beautiful Glass House Mountains.

Glass House Mountains

North of Caloundra is Maroochydore, a vibrant little city with the delightful Maroochy river and a surfing beach. Nearby Mooloolaba has a popular swimming beach, and a colourful esplanade, where you can dine and shop, skateboard or loll in the sun. It also has a deep-water port, the starting point for a growing number of yacht races.

Everyone from backpackers to the rich and famous loves Noosa, next stop north. Hastings Street is the trendy strip at its core, offering great dining and shopping and a beach so sheltered you can surf for most of the year. Hastings Street backs onto a river where you can charter a boat and fish or just meander.

Coolum, just south, has another popular beach and beautiful Cooloola National Park, including Mt Coolum, with ample walking and mountain-climbing opportunities.

The Blackall Range in the coast’s hinterland is home to many charming villages including Flaxton, Mapleton, Maleny and Montville.  You can browse or buy beautiful art and crafts, bushwalk to hidden waterfalls on the nearby mountain tracks or stay in one of the many romantic hideaways in this beautiful area.

Nearest Airport: Domestic Maroochy Airport/International Brisbane Airport
Distance from Brisbane (State Capital): 178 Kilometres.

Where to stay?

Experiences

  • Active
  • Caravan and Camping
  • Romance
  • Eco Tourism
  • Environmental
  • Honeymoon
  • Indulgence/Luxury
  • Relaxation

Popular Activities

  • Bush Walking
  • Canoeing
  • Cruising
  • Driving
  • Golfing
  • Sailing
  • Shopping
  • Sightseeing
  • Wind Surfing
  • Swimming
  • National Park
  • Fishing
  • Scuba-Diving
  • Fishing - Beach
  • Beach
  • Fishing - Deep Sea
  • Surfing
  • Diving
  • Seakayaking
  • Snorkelling

About Noosa Heads

  • Locality: Suburb
  • Noosa Heads Postcode: 4567
  • State: Queensland
  • Region: Sunshine Coast
  • Latitude: -26.39618
  • Longitude: 153.0894
  • Elevation: 24m
  • Population: 4484
  • Median Income: $36036
  • Area (Sq/km): 12.682
  • Timezone: Australia/Brisbane

Tours In Noosa Heads

Discover some of the tours options around Noosa Heads

Explore The Outback

Australia has a vast remote interior, much of it largely untouched. By night, the outback is deathly quiet, with the only light provided by the stars and the moon - a perfect oportunity for stargazing. Explore the isolated heart of the country, meet and connect with Aboriginal people and experience one of the oldest living cultures in the world. Go ‘walk-about’ and immerse yourself with Australia’s endless outback horizons.

Outback Experiences

Luxe Accommodation

Enjoy a distinctly Australian luxury experience, such as the unforgettable reefs, islands, beaches and coast; rugged mountain ranges, rainforests and vast national parks; and the many vibrant food and wine regions. Take a once in a lifetime adventure and discover the sheer indulgence of experiencing the wonders of Australia in style and stay in total luxury.

Australia has wide variety of accommodation options to suit most budgets and travelling preferences. Choose from luxury lodges, boutique hotels, serviced apartments, motels, bed and breakfasts, caravan parks as well as youth and backpacker hostels.

Accommodation

Glasshouse Mountains

The Glasshouse Mountains in the hinterland of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast are actually the cores of 20 million year old volcanoes. The sides of the volcanoes have eroded away leaving only the hardened rock spiremountain cores we see today. Learn more about this awe-inspiring landscape.

Glasshouse Mountains