5 Coastal Towns to Visit in a Campervan

A campervan trip is an ultimate way to explore the Australian countryside. A campervan holiday is an unpack once and travel many places option. It allows the traveller to enjoy the option to spend more time at destinations that interest them the most and keep moving when something is not as exciting to the traveller.

Visiting Australia is popular with many people across the world, and the once thing plenty of visitors do is a self-drive holiday up or down the east coast. A campervan hire from Sydney for a self-drive holiday is a perfect option and a portion of the coast from Sydney to Cairns offers the chance to visit a good many towns and see many wonderful sights. Below is a selection of the top five coastal towns to visit along the way.

South West Rocks

The tiny township of South West Rocks is off the main Pacific Highway some 6 hours north of Sydney; you need to detour off the main highway to visit the town. South West Rocks are quite unique because of what it offers in the way of beaches. It offers both open ocean beaches that receive ocean swell and it also has a Wine Glass Bay.  The bay is a perfect white sand beach in the shape of a wine glass with a nice surf break rolling in. The Bay is right in the middle of town and is a very popular beach for holiday makers.

South West Rocks sit on the mouth of the Macleay River which provides great access to water activities such as diving, fishing, kayaking, surfing, swimming and stand-up paddle boarding.  Just off the coast is Fish Rock Cave which has a 25 metre swim through the cave for divers to enjoy. Just south of the town you can find Smoky Cape Lighthouse where you can enjoy great coastal views.

Byron Bay

Situated on the New South Wales North Coast, 90 minutes south of Brisbane is the tourist hot spot of Byron Bay. Travellers have long been attracted to Byron for its great lay back beach lifestyle, unique bay area and the fact that Cape Byron is the most easterly point on the continent.  The surrounding area which includes Lennox Heads, Brunswick Heads and Nimbin also greatly adds to the diversity of stopping in Byron.

Byron Bay has long been popular for surfing due to its multiple beaches each with different characteristics in the changing weather conditions. The Bay itself provides a very popular beach to swim at for families and Julian Rocks in the Bay is a highly regarded dive spot for those wishing to dive.  Enjoying the beach, looking for whales from Cape Byron, visiting the lighthouse, exploring the township or just watching the very diverse group of people at Byron are all ways to pass time.

There are many other activities you can enjoy from Byron such as sky diving, bushwalking, white water rafting, diving and snorkelling. Byron is also hosting two big music festivals each year; Bluefest and Splendour in the Grass.

Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is the most popular spot for beach vacations in Australia. It is a built-up area with high rise apartment buildings linking a large area along the coast. Long known for its surf, the Gold Coast has so much to do. This includes swimming, jet skiing, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, water tours, bushwalking, nightlife, casino and easy access to some of Australia best-known theme parks.  The Gold Coast is more of a city than a town, but definitely stop as there is something for everyone.

Noosa

Located some 2.5 hours north of Brisbane is the beachside town of Noosa. The town is built on the south side and along the banks of the Noosa River and associated lakes and waterways. Noosa while becoming busier over the years has retained a feel of a town due to there being no building higher than 3 stories.

Noosa has a north-facing beach which has generally great beach conditions year-round. It also has the Noosa Headland which is a national park. The headland can be explored by foot with several trails leading around the headland and to the different isolated beaches. The different beaches all facing different directions provide a least one or more beaches with the best surf and swimming conditions.

The Noosa River also provides plenty of water activities to enjoy like hiring a boat and exploring. You can also stand-up paddleboard, kayak, jet ski, fish, sunset tours and diving tours all from the river. Just north of Noosa is the Great Sandy Region National Park, an area worth exploring and enjoying.

Port Douglas

North of Cairns just before the Daintree you can find the township of Port Douglas. This little slice of paradise has a four-mile-long wide sandy beach, and overlooking headland, and a creek forming a natural marina. The township is just big enough to enjoy eating out each night and yet small enough to stroll around in a short time. The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas is one of the great drives in Australia as you skirt to coastline getting great views and each headland leads to another beach to explore.

You can snorkel or dive the Great Barrier Reef on a tour leaving from the Marina. You can explore Mossman Gorge and the Daintree from Port Douglas as you can drive to Cape Tribulation and back in a day trip or you can take a tour. The Daintree is the only place in Australia where the rainforest meets coral reefs at the beach.  Visit Cape Tribulation and snorkel off the beach to a coral reef, or take a kayak trip along the coast to Snapper Island.

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