Noosa Heads, the liveliest part of Noosa, is the most fashionable and exclusive town on the Sunshine Coast, with great beaches, a wealth of accommodation, and some fantastic restaurants. It is also in easy reach of the Cooloola National Park.

“Discovered” by surfers in the 1960s, Noosa has not been developed and commercialised to the extent of its Gold Coast equivalents and has remained a low-key yet cosmopolitan resort, popular with both fashionable travellers and those looking for a convenient stopping off point on the journey up or down the coast.

Although Noosa is often considered an exclusively upmarket resort, accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets can be found, including caravan parks, backpacker hostels through to the more high-end hotels and resort apartments for which it is more widely known. Hastings Street is the main shopping and dining out area and here you will find alfresco dining in a large number of restaurants ranging from budget to gastronomic.

Noosa’s Main Beach is a gently shelving white sand beach, and the waves here make it an ideal place to learn to surf – for the more experienced, head to Sunshine Beach. Away from the beaches, make sure you visit the Noosa National Park, home to koalas and some beautiful walking tracks through the forest of gum trees