Five amazing things to do in Noosa, Sunshine Coast

Noosa is not far off my idea of perfection. At the top of the Sunshine Coast area, it’s as beautiful as you’d expect with white beaches and clear blue sea. We spent a week here and I could happily have stayed longer if accommodation wasn’t quite as pricey! The town is big enough to have plenty to do but small enough to have a lovely, laid back, seaside vibe.

Here are five musts for your to-do list if you’re heading to Noosa:

1. Do the coastal walk and splash in the Fairy Pools

The coastal walk here is just stunning, you can’t come to Noosa without doing it! It winds along the shore through the forest for several kilometres, offering stunning views and the chance to see wildlife. There are lots of little and large bays along the way, as well as the views out to sea where we saw dolphins surfacing, and we even saw a couple of koalas snoozing in the tree tops!

The highlight of this walk was the Fairy Pools, which are rock pools that are big and deep enough to jump into. It was lovely swimming in the crystal clear water, and it got even more special when a couple of humpback whales surfaced about 25 metres from where we were sat around the pools! It was a really lush day and was worth going to Noosa just for this!

To find the walk, head down to the Noosa Main Beach and turn right along the boardwalk. The Fairy Rocks are about five minutes walk on from Granite Beach.

2. Kayak the Everglades

There are apparently just two Everglades in the world – in the USA and Noosa. So it’d be rude not to see them while in Australia really! 🙂 It’s quite a pricey trip – we paid $95 each through the travel desk in Nomads hostel for our kayak trip, which was self guided. However, it was a really amazing day so there are no regrets for the spend! We had proper kayaks with a rudder for steering and after a quick navigation briefing, we headed out alone across the open stretch of water, past a crowd of pelicans and across a beautiful field of water lilies.

Then we got to a section of the Noosa River called The Narrows, which was a narrow river section with lots of bends. The water here was just stunning (main pic). It was a strange tea colour so it reflected its surroundings perfectly like a big shimmery mirror. On the way back we were going the direction of the tide and drifting lazily through these beautiful reflective waters was an amazing experience. We had the kayaks from about 11am until 3pm, and the boats we’re equipped with a cool box so we could take our own packed lunch. Apart from George eating half of my sandwich, it was a great day ha! We even saw a jabiru bird and some kangaroos on our way back!

3. Surf at Sunshine Beach

The Main Beach is beautiful, but I preferred Sunshine Beach, which is about a 35min walk from the main bit of town. You can also get a bus for $4 each way. Sunshine beach is an epically long stretch of pale gold sand, and apart from being gorgeous it’s also generally a bit better for surfing. Not that we (especially me) are particularly any good at surfing, but it’s fun to try! 🙂

4. Watch the sunset from Laguna Lookout

About a 30 minute uphill walk from the main bit of town, the Laguna Lookout provides a spectacular view of the Noosa harbour, beach and river system, as well as the mountains in the distance. It’s stunning and a lovely place to watch the sunset with a couple of beers!

5. Party at Nomads

We stayed at the Nomads hostel and if you’re looking to party, this is a great place to stay! There’s not much else to do in the hostel except go to the bar, but it’s good fun! They have different things going on each night with various drinks offers and meal deals. We had a few decent nights in there! FYI, their Jaded Lady cocktail is stronger than it tastes.