Best Weekend Beach Getaways from Brisbane (2026)
The Best Weekend Beach Getaways from Brisbane
Brisbane is one of the best-positioned capital cities in Australia for a beach escape. Within two hours you can be on the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, North Stradbroke Island, or the Noosa hinterland. Within three hours you can reach some genuinely remote and spectacular coastline.
Here's a guide to the best weekend beach destinations from Brisbane, from the closest to the furthest.
Under 1 Hour from Brisbane
North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah)
Distance: 30 km by ferry from Cleveland or Victoria Point Drive + ferry time: 45–60 minutes from Brisbane CBD
Straddie, as it's universally known, is one of Queensland's best weekend destinations and genuinely underused given how close it is to the city. The island has three good beaches on the ocean side — Main Beach, Cylinder Beach, and Deadman's Beach — all patrolled on weekends and public holidays.
Cylinder Beach is the pick for a day at the beach: calm-ish surf, good facilities, and a café nearby. Deadman's Beach is longer, less visited, and has a natural rock pool at the southern end. The 18-hole Blue Lake walk through heath and wetlands is worth doing on a second day.
Stay: Straddie Camping has beachside sites at Cylinder Beach — one of the best positioned campgrounds in Queensland. Book early; it fills up fast.
Moreton Island
Distance: 40 km by ferry from Pinkenba or Holt Street Wharf Ferry time: 75 minutes
More remote and less visited than Straddie, Moreton Island is largely national park. No roads, no towns — just beaches, dunes, and the Tangalooma resort at the island's midpoint. The Tangalooma wrecks, a series of deliberately sunk ships offshore, form a shallow dive and snorkel site. The desert dunes on the western side of the island are a sandboarding destination.
Stay: Tangalooma Island Resort or national park campgrounds.
1 to 1.5 Hours from Brisbane
Gold Coast Beaches
Distance: 80 km south via the M1 Drive time: 1 hour
The Gold Coast is Australia's most developed beach strip — 57 kilometres of patrolled surf beach from Coolangatta in the south to The Spit in the north. For a weekend trip, the southern beaches are the pick: Coolangatta, Kirra, Cabarita Beach (just over the NSW border), and the quieter stretches around Palm Beach are all less crowded than Surfers Paradise and have better surf.
Currumbin Beach at the southern end is a good family option — the creek mouth creates a natural, sheltered swimming area. The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is 10 minutes inland.
Stay: Coolangatta has lower-key accommodation options than the high-rise centre of the Gold Coast and is walking distance to the best beaches.
Bribie Island
Distance: 75 km north via the Bruce Highway Drive time: 1 hour
Bribie is connected to the mainland by a bridge — making it the most accessible island destination from Brisbane. The ocean beach on the eastern side runs 40 kilometres with minimal development past the southern town. The western side faces Pumicestone Passage and is calm enough for paddleboarding and kayaking.
Bongaree and Woorim are the main townships; the beach at Woorim is the best for swimming and surf. The passage side is good for families with young children.
Stay: Bribie Island Caravan Park or holiday apartments in Woorim.
1.5 to 2 Hours from Brisbane
Sunshine Coast Beaches
Distance: 100 km north via the Bruce Highway Drive time: 1.5 hours
The Sunshine Coast is the more relaxed, more natural alternative to the Gold Coast. The beaches here — Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland, Maroochydore, Coolum, Peregian — are all high-quality surf beaches with good facilities and significantly less development than the Gold Coast.
Mooloolaba is the pick for a full-service weekend — great beaches, a well-developed esplanade, good restaurants, and the Underwater World SEA LIFE Aquarium. Coolum is quieter and more local in character with excellent surf. Peregian Beach is the most relaxed of the main Sunshine Coast beaches — a small village, low-key café strip, and beautiful beach.
Stay: Mooloolaba for the most options; Peregian for a quieter weekend.
Noosa
Distance: 130 km north via the Bruce Highway Drive time: 1.75 hours
Noosa is Queensland's most sophisticated beach destination — a consistently good combination of beautiful beaches, excellent food, the national park headland, and a relaxed town that hasn't been overdeveloped. Hastings Street is the main strip; the national park is five minutes walk from the beach.
Noosa Main Beach faces north and has calm, manageable surf. The national park point breaks — Tea Tree Bay, Granite Bay, Alexandria Bay — are accessible via walking tracks from the main beach. The Noosa Everglades (2.5 hours north by boat or kayak from Noosa North Shore) is one of only two places in the world where the everglades ecosystem exists.
Stay: Apartments on Hastings Street or the quieter residential streets behind the beach. Book early for school holidays.
2 to 3 Hours from Brisbane
Agnes Water and Town of 1770
Distance: 340 km north via the Bruce Highway Drive time: 3 hours
Worth the extra distance. Agnes Water is the most northerly patrolled surf beach in Queensland — past here, the Great Barrier Reef begins to affect swell penetration and the beaches change character. The town is small and genuinely un-touristy, the beach is good quality, and the turtle nesting season (November to March) is a specific reason to visit in summer.
Town of 1770 — just up the road — is the departure point for day trips to Lady Musgrave Island on the southern Great Barrier Reef. The half-day trip to the coral cay for snorkelling is one of the best day trips accessible from Brisbane within a single weekend.
Stay: Agnes Water has a good range of holiday accommodation; book ahead in summer.
Coolangatta / Tweed Coast (NSW Border)
Distance: 100 km south via the M1 Drive time: 1.25 hours
Technically covered under Gold Coast above, but the stretch from Coolangatta south into northern NSW — Cabarita, Hastings Point, Pottsville, Brunswick Heads — deserves its own mention for weekend escapes. These are beach towns that feel like the Gold Coast did 30 years ago: low-rise, relaxed, and genuinely local. Brunswick Heads is a particular highlight — a small river town with good cafés, a calm river for swimming, and excellent surf at the nearby beach.
Stay: Brunswick Heads has a well-regarded caravan park right on the river. Limited but good holiday rental options.
What to Pack
For a Brisbane weekend beach escape, a few essentials make the difference:
- SPF 50+ sunscreen — Queensland UV is extreme from September to April; don't underestimate it
- A sand-free beach blanket — the XO Beach Blanket packs flat and small enough to leave in the car permanently, so you're always ready
- A beach umbrella — shade is essential at Queensland beaches during peak UV hours
- After sun oil — for the end of long beach days
Browse the full Xanto beach range at xanto.com.au — ships from Byron Bay, delivered across Australia.
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