With over 10,000 beaches dotted along its 22,290-mile-long (35,877km) coastline, Australia isn't short of gorgeous sandy spots. While many are a hive of activity, others are blissfully quiet and secluded. We’ve sought out some of the loveliest off-the-beaten track bays around the country's sun-kissed shores and ranked them for their beauty.
Click through the gallery to discover which secluded sandy stunner made it to our top spot…
Located in the Sydney Harbour National Park between Quarantine Beach and Collins Beach, Store Beach is a secluded slice of paradise. Only accessible by water, you’ll need to hire a kayak or paddleboard from nearby Manly Wharf to make the roughly 1.2 mile (2km) journey which takes around 20-30 minutes.
Once there you can lounge on the 656-foot-long (200m) beach with its pristine sands and make believe you’re on a tropical island. However, you’ll need to be gone by dusk as access to the beach is then reserved for the fairy penguins, who also appreciate the beach’s seclusion and have claimed it as their breeding ground.
This secluded cove in Coningham Nature Recreation Area, a short hop south from Hobart, is a real hidden gem. One of a series of little bays set on the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, trails wend through native woodlands to the little boat-shed-lined beach where sheltered waters lure swimmers in for a peaceful paddle.
The birdlife is plentiful with white-bellied sea eagles and wedge-tailed eagles often spotted circling above, and little penguins nesting ashore.
Just off the tip of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island has a cluster of jaw-droppingly beautiful beaches and secluded bays. Emu Bay Beach on the north coast is one of them with a long stretch of pristine sand and clear, calm waters ideal for swimming.
The rarely busy beach also has an attractive little fishing jetty, dating back to 1918, and is home to a colony of enchanting fairy penguins.
This empty little beach lies just around the rugged coastline from Phillip Island’s popular Penguin Parade. A favourite surf and snorkelling spot for those in the know, the quiet shore has some great rock pools for exploring at low tide too.
It's also the best time of day to wander along to the left of the bay and out to the headland, where it's possible to see the decaying bow of the SS Speke, which shipwrecked here in 1906.
Tasmanians have more than their fair share of devastatingly beautiful but deserted shores. Sisters Beach on the island’s northwest coast is a prime example.
Aside from its seductively soft wide sands and sweeping views over the Bass Strait, the unspoiled beach is surrounded by wilderness. Set within Rocky Cape National Park, tranquil and scenic bushwalking trails lead to rock shelters and caves that were first occupied around 8,000 years ago.
The dazzling white sand beaches of Jervis Bay have rightly made this stretch of coast a few hours south of Sydney a popular spot. Away from the crowds of Hyams and Huskisson Beaches, Blenheim Beach beckons.
The intimate bay has the striking white sand, gin-clear waters and bushland backing but far fewer people to share it with. It’s on the White Sands walk which, when combined with the Scribbly Gum track, makes for a gorgeous looped coastal stroll.
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The coastline north of Cairns dazzles at every turn with its crowd-free, palm-fringed sandy beaches. The long and sheltered Ellis Beach lies along the Captain Cook Highway, just to the north of the beachside resort Palm Cove.
With gorgeous views across the sparkling Coral Sea to Double Island, its often deserted wide sands are a delightful spot for a leg stretch or a dip. There is a stinger net here so bathers can wallow worry-free during box jellyfish season (November to May).
There is a scattering of secret spots for a secluded swim and sunbathe away from the crowds of Sydney's Manly too, if you know where to look. Collins Flat Beach is one. A stone's throw from the North Shore's famous surfing hotspot, this cute harbourside cove is tucked between North Head and Little Manly Cove and shrouded by bushland.
A little waterfall trickles down onto the beach forming a little stream when it's in full flow and little penguins can often be spotted coming ashore to nest.
Backed by towering cliffs, this beauty of a beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula lies at the end of a steep windy road. Its pristine waters make it ideal for swimming, snorkelling and diving.
In fact, the bay's two jetties are a renowned dive site – accessed from the new jetty the site goes under Rapid Bay's old jetty where colourful soft corals and an astounding array of creatures, including the endangered leafy sea dragon, pygmy leather jackets and bull rays, can be seen.
With their pure white sands, impossibly blue waters, granite peaks and heathland surrounds, the unspoilt beaches of Cape Le Grand National Park have an otherworldly feel about them. Thistle Cove is one of many hidden gems along this rugged stretch of Western Australia's Southern Ocean-lapped coastline.
After lolling on its secluded sands, many beachgoers head along the Le Grand Coastal Trail, past the so-called Whistling Rock, and on to Lucky Bay – it’s just one section on what is a magnificent 9.3-mile (15km) trail where it's possible to spot western grey kangaroos and pygmy possums.
It takes a bit of effort to reach this jewel of a bay in the heart of the Royal National Park, just outside of Sydney, but that makes it all the more rewarding when you do. The scenic surf beach is only accessible on foot, either by a steep just-over-a-mile-long (2km) walk from the nearest car park or via the stunning 6.2-mile (10km) Palm Jungle loop track.
Bar a few historic shacks dotted about the bushland, there's nothing here, yet the views are special. With its big waves, it's a favourite of surfers as well as a welcome pitstop for bushwalkers.
Boundless coastal views, towering cliffs and striking sea stacks are what draw people to Victoria’s wild and wind-whipped Great Ocean Road coastline. Rarely are any of its gloriously untamed beaches too busy but to be guaranteed solitude, chart a route to Childers Cove near Warrnambool.
This small and sheltered cove promises foot-print-free sands, big ocean vistas and often calm waters for a splash.
Although Coral Bay is one of Western Australia's undisputed coastal gems, its long sweep of sugar-white sands are surprisingly empty. With the Ningaloo Reef just steps offshore, the beach is a gateway to an underwater wonderland.
Manta rays and turtles are often seen in the shallows (the nesting season for the latter takes place between October and March) and whale sharks arrive between March and June. The Coral Bay Walk Way skirts along this amazing coastline and through the Pioneer and Naturalist Parks where kangaroos and emus roam.
Western Australia’s Kimberley region is a place of remote, rugged wilderness and its beaches are no exception. Those on Cape Leveque, to the north of Broome on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, offer glorious isolation and striking surrounds with their vibrant red rock backdrops and powdery white sands.
They also have brilliant sunsets when the water glitters and the rocks glow deeply. While they're said to be pretty safe for swimming, you do need to be mindful of crocs.
Fraser Island is famed for its magnificent stretch of wild ocean beach. While it's staggeringly beautiful, powerful riptides, sharks and stingers mean 75 Mile Beach is not recommended for a swim. For that, it's best to stick to the sand island’s pretty lakes.
Lake McKenzie is the most famous swimming hole with its bone-white sands and sparkling water, but Birrabeen is equally enchanting and quieter. As a perched lake (one that's fed only by rainwater) it, too, has crystal clear waters and sink-your-feet in soft sands.
You’d be hard pushed to meet more than a handful of beachgoers at Marion Bay, a vast sandy expanse that lies at the southern end of the island’s scenic east coast. Dramatic views and isolated feels are delivered in spades at this ocean-facing bay which looks across to mountainous Maria Island, a former convict probation station and now nature reserve.
Often the only sign of activity on the secluded shore is from huddles of beach anglers, it's got a reputation as a good fishing spot.
With a string of sugar-white sand and Indian Ocean-facing beaches, Perth is a paradise for beach lovers and surfers. All locals have their favourite spot for a little secluded beach time. The wide sweep of Swanbourne Beach is one such gem.
Just north of the crowded sands of Cottesloe, it’s a safe and tranquil spot for a swim, stroll or solitary sunset watch. For those that like to feel the sun and surf all over their body, the northern end of the beach is the place to be – clothing is optional here. The teeny cove of Bailey Beach, near Mettams Pool, is another Perth pearl.
Very few people get to sink their feet into the radiant sands of Bremer Island, but those that do are most likely lucky guests at Banubanu Beach Retreat, a blissfully remote eco-resort overlooking the Arafura Sea on the north of the island. Bremer Island is a small Yolngu homeland located 25 miles (41km) northeast of Nhulunbuy in East Arnhem Land.
Its secluded sandy shores are a nesting site for four species of sea turtle species and a haven for birds.
This wild bush-backed beach on New South Wales’ Central Coast is accessed along a gorgeous trail that snakes its way through Bouddi National Park. With no facilities whatsoever and rarely ever more than a handful of people, those that reach the off-the-beaten-track bay get to enjoy it just as nature intended.
For more sweeping views of the forested coastline, the five-mile (8km) Bouddi Coastal Walk is not to be missed, especially in whale watching season when lookouts along the way like Gerrin Point offer prime views of the majestic creatures.
Clear shallow waters and city views reward those who find out about this little tucked away harbour beach on Sydney’s South Head peninsula. It lies along the Hermitage Foreshore Walk, a route which skirts the scenic coastline of Vaucluse.
There are plenty of other secluded spots for a swim in the smart harbourside suburb, including nearby Queens Beach, pretty Parsley Bay and the even quieter Kutti Beach, which lies on the way towards the comparatively bustling beaches of Watson’s Bay.
Wilsons Promontory National Park is a sandy treasure trove of untouched beaches. For a truly remote spot, hike along the east side of the Prom, as it's known, to Refuge Cove, a stunning secluded bay backed by steep forested slopes. The only other way in is by boat.
There are often a few boats anchored in the deepwater bay, which got its name from sailors seeking shelter from the wild weather of the Bass Strait in this picturesque part of the peninsula.
Sheltered, sand-dune backed bays, wave-pounded beaches, blindingly white sands and piercing blue waters abound in Coffin Bay National Park on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. The park's northern beaches, such as Sensation Beach, have a particular isolated charm about them and are only accessible by high clearance 4WD.
The birdlife is incredible too, as is the seafood – Coffin Bay is famed for its highly prized oysters.
With a name like this you’d expect this bay to be hidden away. And that it is. Huddled beneath hulking basalt cliffs and guarded by jagged rocks, this brooding enclave on the ocean side of the Mornington Peninsula has a raw beauty about it.
It's a glorious place to blow away the cobwebs on a coastal walk – a round loop goes from the historic Cape Schanck lighthouse to Bushrangers Bay and back past some awesome scenery. Swimming is not recommended, due to strong rips and pounding waves, although there are some rock pools where locals go for a dip at low tide.
Just south of Forster, the New South Wales’ northern coast is dotted with gloriously isolated beaches beloved by surfers, bushwalkers and beach anglers. The beaches around Seal Rocks, a laid-back little coastal enclave named after the collection of rocky outcrops (home to the northernmost colony of Australian fur seals), are delightfully deserted.
The slightly busier Blueys Beach to the north is another stunner, as are the more secluded sands of both Shellys and Elizabeth Beach.
When it comes to untouched and isolated coastal beauty, far-flung East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory is unmatched. All white sands, cobalt waters and rockpools, Galuru (East Woody Beach) has an edge of the world feel about it.
The desolate sands lead to Dhamitjinya (East Woody Island) – a little granite island that's connected to the beach by a sand spit that can be walked across at low tide.
Everybody knows Byron Bay is blessed with some sensational beaches, but few know they can easily escape the crowds at Broken Head Beach. Just a 10-minute drive from the bustling town, this largely undiscovered beauty has a verdant rainforest backing and dazzling views across to Cape Byron and its landmark lighthouse.
There’s plenty of space on the wide sands and a grassy picnic area has barbecues. Trails lead into Broken Head Nature Reserve for those wishing to venture further off the beaten track. The Three Sisters lookout is a prime perch for whale watching.
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is strewn with glorious sun-kissed beaches and bustling beachside resorts. But you don't need to venture far from its busier beaches to stumble across tranquil spots.
Alexandria Bay, set between Hells Gates and Devils Kitchen in Noosa National Park, is a stunner of a stretch of sand. It's only accessible by a 1.3-mile (2.1km) hike – a gorgeous route that dazzles with endless ocean and headland views that open onto the bay's invitingly empty sands.
With its hulking granite mountains, sapphire-blue waters, rocky coves and unspoiled white sand bays, the Freycinet Peninsula on Tasmania’s eastern coastline is a place of unfathomable beauty. One of its many quiet corners for a private swim or paddle is Honeymoon Bay.
Backed by eucalyptus forest and huddled between two rocky headlands, it’s as romantic as it sounds and a perfect picnic spot with dreamy views across to the Hazard mountains. Its shallow and sheltered waters are ideal for snorkelling and kayaking too.
Isolation is what a holiday on the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island is all about. With limited visitor numbers, the volcanic island's striking coastline is utterly wild and unspoiled and Ned’s Beach is one of its standout beaches with alluring golden sands and calm waters.
With a fringing coral reef just off the shore, the snorkelling is superb – mull, wrasse, garfish, silver-drummers, spangled emperor and kingfish all frequent the shallows. For beachgoers without the kit, there's an honesty box along with spare masks, fins and snorkels.
Coming in at number one is Nudey Beach in Queensland. This white coral sand stunner has made it to the top spot on several surveys of Australia’s best beaches but it's still remarkably peaceful, thanks in large part to its location.
Set on the western side of Fitzroy Island, a 45-minute boat ride from Cairns, the little beach is reached along a walking trail that wends through tropical rainforest and coastal woodlands as they tumble right to the shore. Framed by large granite boulders, the pretty beach has stunning views back across to the mainland.
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