Noosa

Noosa National Park and Main Beach: the free stuff first

The coastal track through Noosa National Park leaves from the end of Hastings Street and runs past Boiling Pot, Tea Tree Bay, Granite Bay and the Hell's Gates lookout, with the Fairy Pools in the rocks below on calm days. Look up: koalas live in the gums along this track. It's free, and you're back on the sand in a couple of hours.

Main Beach faces north, which is why it's so forgiving. It's patrolled, the waves peel slowly along First Point, and on a small day it's one of the easiest places on the East Coast to stand up on a board for the first time.

Surf lessons at Double Island Point

Noosa Main Beach has surf schools, but the lesson worth travelling for leaves town altogether. The Learn to Surf Safari: Noosa to Double Island Point, from $159, is six hours that begins with a 4WD ride across the Noosa North Shore cable ferry and up Teewah Beach inside the Great Sandy National Park. Boards, wetsuits, park and ferry fees and light snacks are included.

The prize is Double Island Point: a waist-deep, sandy point break where beginners ride waves for hundreds of metres, in a spot you can only reach by 4WD at low tide. Small groups, expert instruction, and a fair chance of dolphins in the line-up. If you do one paid thing in Noosa, make it this.

Dolphins, sea kayaks and the North Shore 4WD run

The same coast is Noosa's wildlife headline. The Double Island Point Dolphin Kayak & Beach 4WD Tour, from $159, pairs the beach drive with a fully guided paddle off Double Island Point and Honeymoon Bay, where wild bottlenose dolphins, turtles and rays work the headland. Equipment, park and ferry fees and light snacks are included, six hours door to door.

Short on time? The Noosa Ocean Tour & Dolphin Safari, from $89, is a 90-minute boat trip. Want the beach drive for your own crew? The 4WD Beach Adventure & Scenic Walks (Full Day), from $709, is a private, customised Jeep tour of the Great Sandy beach drive.

The Noosa Everglades: paddle the River of Mirrors

Inland from the surf, the Upper Noosa River widens into Lake Cootharaba and narrows into Australia's only everglades system: tea-coloured, dead-calm water reflecting the paperbarks so perfectly you lose track of which way is up.

The lazy option is the Everglades Serenity Tour, from $89, a two-and-a-half-hour afternoon cruise with full commentary and shuttle transfers from select Noosa pickup points. The proper option is the Noosa Everglades Kayak Adventure (Guided), from $189, a full day paddling Lake Cootharaba, Kinaba and the Upper Noosa River with a hearty lunch and a swim. Closer to town, the Noosa Stand Up Paddle & Mangrove Tunnel Tour (Fully Guided), from $59, is two hours on calm, protected water with a beginner lesson, stingrays, birds and a hidden mangrove tunnel.

Australia Zoo from Noosa

Australia Zoo, the Irwin family's zoo at Beerwah in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, is the day trip most people add to a Noosa stay. The Australia Zoo Day Tour with Noosa Transfers, from $159, is the no-car version: pick-up and drop-off in Noosa, day admission to the zoo and at least six hours inside, which is what the place needs. Nine hours door to door, with the Crocoseum shows, the koalas and the open kangaroo paddocks all on the ticket.

Adrenaline: skydive the coast, abseil at sunset

Noosa's two adrenaline hits are a tandem skydive and a sunset abseil. The Noosa Tandem 13,000ft Skydive (Weekend), from $319, jumps from up to 13,000 feet over Noosa, Coolum Beach and the Sunshine Coast, with up to 45 seconds of freefall at around 200km/h and a canopy ride down with the whole coastline laid out below; the training, the jump, a three-month Australian Parachute Federation membership and the compulsory personal accident insurance are all in the price. Noosa Sunset Abseiling, from $90, is the budget thrill: a three-hour guided session on 40 to 50 metre cliffs just out of Noosa Heads, unlimited descents, all gear supplied, timed so the hinterland goes gold while you're on the rope.

Getting to Noosa and getting around

Noosa has no airport of its own. Sunshine Coast Airport at Marcoola is about 40 minutes south by road, with short flights from the capitals; Brisbane Airport is roughly two hours away. From Brisbane, the Greyhound coach runs direct to Noosa Junction, and the budget route is a Queensland Rail train to Nambour and a local bus for the last half hour to Noosa. Most backpackers arrive this way, on a Greyhound bus pass or an East Coast campervan.

In town, the three centres, Noosa Heads (Hastings Street and Main Beach), Noosa Junction (the hostels and the bus stop) and Noosaville (the river), are linked by local buses and a flat 20-minute walk. The wild side starts at Tewantin, where two cable ferries cross the Noosa River to Noosa North Shore 365 days a year, departing roughly every ten minutes from 5.30am; from there Teewah Beach runs north to Double Island Point and Rainbow Beach, 4WD only. Our surf safari, dolphin kayak and 4WD beach-drive tours all include the ferry and the park permits, which are the two things a hire car can't easily sort.

Which Noosa tour is right for you?

Shorter outings, from $59: the Noosa Stand Up Paddle & Mangrove Tunnel Tour, from $59, or the Everglades Serenity Tour (from $89), Noosa Ocean Tour & Dolphin Safari (from $89) and Noosa Sunset Abseiling (from $90). Abseiling is three hours with a local crew, timed for sundown.

North Shore and Double Island Point: the Learn to Surf Safari, from $159, if you want to surf; the Double Island Point Dolphin Kayak & Beach 4WD Tour, from $159, if you'd rather paddle with dolphins. Both are six hours.

Full day, no rush: the Noosa Everglades Kayak Adventure (Guided), from $189, lunch included. Animal person: the Australia Zoo Day Tour from Sunshine Coast, from $159, with pickup from Bounce Noosa, admission and at least six hours inside. Adrenaline: the Noosa Tandem 13,000ft Skydive Weekend, from $319, up to 45 seconds of freefall over Noosa and Coolum.

Two days in Noosa: a sample plan

Day one: coastal track through Noosa National Park early, before the heat. Swim at Tea Tree Bay, then an afternoon on Main Beach. Book Noosa Sunset Abseiling, from $90, for golden hour, and eat at Noosa Junction, which is cheaper than Hastings Street.

Day two: North Shore. Pick the surf safari (from $159) or the dolphin kayak (from $159), and let the 4WD do the work. You're back mid-afternoon with sand in places you didn't know you had.

Third day? Paddle the Everglades, or do the Australia Zoo Day Tour, from $159. Heading north? Noosa is a departure point for multi-day K'gari tag-along tours.

Know before you go

Seasons: Noosa is subtropical and swimmable all year. Winter (June to August) is dry, sunny and mild. Summer (December to February) is hot, humid and the wettest stretch, with afternoon storms. Whale season runs roughly June to November.

Getting there: Sunshine Coast Airport at Marcoola is about half an hour away, Brisbane is roughly two hours by road, and the East Coast backpacker bus routes stop in Noosa.

Safety: swim between the flags on Main Beach. The North Shore's open beaches have strong rips and no patrol, which is why the surf and kayak tours run guided. Beach driving is tide-dependent.

K'gari: multi-day 4WD tag-along tours leave from Noosa and Rainbow Beach, and the barge at Inskip Point is about two hours north.