5 days on the Sunshine Coast for luxury travellers

There’s so much to see and do on the Sunshine Coast – and so many of the best experiences are where you’d expect them least. From Noosa’s exclusive luxury offerings to the isolation on offer in the region’s green hinterland, you’ll find everything from wineries to kayak tours to glamping under the stars. Whether you’re looking for excitement, or sleepy time, this is the place for a luxury five-day vacation.

Day one: Experience ‘real Noosa’

There’s no better way to appreciate the natural beauty of Noosa Heads than by staying in its most exotic position. Book a night at First Point on First Cove, a short walk from Noosa’s Main Beach. It’s only a 50-metre walk to the water, or swim in your own pool overlooking the sea.

Explore Noosa National Park – just beyond your front door. This stunning 2883-hectare park is spread across the entire headland – take the Coastal Walk – it’s 5.4 kilometres each way, but you don’t have to go to its end. Stop at stunning beaches like Tea Tree Bay along the way.

Get back in time for a late lunch at Season Restaurant, between bustling Hastings Street (there’s plenty of time after lunch for a shopping blitz) and Main Beach. This is one of Noosa’s most iconic restaurants - keep an eye out for celebs.

It’s easy to walk home – it’s barely five minutes. Use the afternoon to soak in some rays on your private deck. Then spoil yourself with a four-course dinner on your back deck catered by a private chef from The Ohana Group.

Day two: Lose yourself in Noosa’s best-kept secret

Take an early swim at First Cove. Then book a private yoga session beside the pool with Zenko Yoga. Start your day with a one-hour session, including meditation and raw treats for breakfast.

Everyone knows about Noosa’s beaches... but 20 minutes north you'll find Noosa's secret destination: the Noosa Everglades. One of only two everglade systems on the planet - it's part of Noosa's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, 150 000 hectares of protected wilderness contained inside three national parks, three state forests, four forest reserves, nine conservation parks and eight nature refuges. 

Take a private canoe tour through it with Kanu Kapers (awarded Australia’s best eco-tourism business in 2018 and 2019). A world kayak champion will be your guide as you take a half-day tour through one of the world’s most pristine environments, home to nearly half Australia’s bird species.

Drive a short distance to Habitat Noosa, a 26-hectare eco-retreat built on the shores of Lake Cootharaba, part of the Everglades. Sample one of 11 beers brewed on site at the property’s micro-brewery, Eco Brewing Co, before dinner outside by the lake at CootharaBAR.

Then sleep in a safari-style Paperbark Tent beside the lake, with kangaroos as neighbours.

Day three: Leave the beach behind 

There’s another surprise in store for you today: the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. While the region’s 60-kilometre coastline is world-famous, the undulating green hills and eclectic, picturesque towns of the area fringing the coast fly under the radar.

Drive an hour south to Montville, one of the Hinterland’s most stunning villages. Montville and its neighbour Maleny are home to a burgeoning art scene. Check out the work of over 40 local artists at 49-year-old Montville Art Gallery after a coffee at one of the village’s many cafes (try a latte at Mountain View Café with views over the Glass House Mountains).

It’s time for lunch – drive to Flame Hill Vineyard, for stunning views back over the coastline. Yes, the Sunshine Coast has wineries – here you’ll find varieties grown in the property, from Petit Blanc to Shiraz. Try local paddock-to-plate cuisine at Flame Hill Deck & Terrace, with herbs from the garden and their own grass-fed Angus beef.

Head 10 minutes north to one of the region’s most charming accommodation options. The owners took three years to find the perfect property, then two years building the right safari-style tent for it. Starry Nights Luxury Camping have two glamping tents built with recycled barn floorboards, hand-carved stone basins, a rotating fireplace and a claw-foot bath.

Day four: Find some of the best beaches in Australia

After a breakfast cooked on your barbecue listening to the kookaburras, it’s time to head back to the region’s iconic coastline. To get the best view of the coast, drive half an hour to Maroochydore to board a scenic flight with Paradise Seaplanes from the Maroochy River – leave the doors off!

Drive five minutes to Cotton Tree. Take a swim beside the sandy banks of the Maroochy River. After swimming, check out the markets, al fresco cafes and fashion boutiques of this charming bite-size village.

Enjoy a long lunch at The Boat Shed, eat fresh seafood outside on the deck, metres above the Maroochy River. Seafood comes fresh off the trawlers – order fish and chips, washed down with a chilled glass of white.

Drive 15 minutes to Mooloolaba, voted by TripAdvisor as the sixth best beach in Australia. It’s a bustling beachside community – go shopping at one of 80 retail shops, or have a drink or snack at 100 cafes, restaurants and bars. Hire a cruiser bike from Sunreef to ride along boardwalk pathways metres from the sand. Consider a private surf lesson with the original Sunshine Coast learn-to-surf company, Maroochy Surf School.

For dinner, walk to Mooloolaba’s most happening spot – The Wharf Mooloolaba. This is where the cool folk gather at restaurants and bars beside the Mooloolah River, with the marina as a backdrop. There’s lots of bar and restaurant options here, but try a cocktail at speak-easy style bar, Boston Shaker, before a dinner of contemporary Asian street food at Rice Boi.

Walk a few hundred metres home alongside the beach to the newest luxury resort in Mooloolaba, Breeze Mooloolaba. Stay in a self-contained apartment looking out over the water.

Day five: Cast off the ropes and leave the shore

Get out on the sea! Wake early for your chance to swim with migrating humpback whales on the only boat in Australia allowed to operate whale swims. Sunreef will take you out through the bar to the open sea to spot whales. When you’re close, you’ll enter the water holding a line attached to the boat, with a mask and snorkel in preparation for humpback whales to swim beside you.

They operate between July and mid-October, otherwise take a tour into Australia’s ancient Indigenous past with Saltwater Eco Tours. Take a special cruise up and down Mooloolaba’s canals on a 100-year-old restored sailing vessel hearing about the region’s Indigenous history, with a bush-tucker inspired lunch feast.