Catching a wave is a truly iconic, must-do experience in Noosa, and when you ride Noosa’s waves, you’ll be surfing in a globally recognised World Surfing Reserve! Simply put, this means that Noosa is not only home to some of the world’s most beautiful surf breaks, but the Noosa community also knows how to protect and look after them.
Here’s our guide to finding Noosa’s best waves.
The four kilometres of stunning point and beach breaks from north Sunshine Beach, around the Noosa National Park headland, up to the Noosa River Mouth, makes up the 10th World Surfing Reserve, as designated by the international program that identifies and preserves outstanding waves, surf zones and surrounding environments. This designation recognises the unique and protected nature of Noosa's oceans and surf spots.
Walk the coastal track through the Noosa National Park and discover the pristine white sandy beaches and iconic point breaks of Tea Tree Bay, Granite Bay and Alexandria Bay. Or jump in the water at National - a favourite launching pad for surfers wanting to ride the long point breaks all the way back to Main Beach.
North Sunshine Beach is flanked to the north by the southern side of Lions Heads and the Noosa National Park headland, and by the 3km sandy stretch of Sunshine Beach to the south - which opens up to miles and miles of eastern beaches down the coast. It is an exposed beach break, with powerful peaks and gutters along the coastline, making it a favourite spot for experienced local surfers.
Noosa Main Beach is famous for its sheltered waters and clean waves, protected by the Noosa National Park Headland, and is also one of the few north-facing beaches in Australia. The nearby Noosa Groyne, at the rock wall, is your go-to beach for learning to surf – hook up with one of the local surfing schools there every day or BYO board and get practising!
The Noosa ‘Points’ are famous for waves that consistently break in the same speed and line – with long rocky points and sandy bottoms and 100m breaks – making these some of the best point breaks in the world. The points are: First Point, Little Cove, then Boiling Pot, Tea Tree Bay and Granite Bay. When the surf is up, you won't want to miss these spots.
Within easy, day-tripping distance of Noosa, sits the marine park surf spot, Double Island Point (DI, to those in the know), just to the south of Rainbow Beach and accessible from Noosa by 4X4 along the stunning coastline of the Noosa North Shore. This hidden surfing paradise is known for its extra long, sandy point break (which breaks for over a kilometre on good days), pristine headlands and uncrowded, sheltered waters, which you'll often find yourself sharing with the dolphins and turtles that feed and play in the shallows.
The Noosa World Surfing Reserve abides by the code of ethics set out by World Surfing Reserves, which was designed to protect surf ecosystems across the globe.
Mission Statement
The mission statement of World Surfing Reserves is to “proactively identify, designate and preserve outstanding waves, surf zones and surrounding environments around the world”. The program serves as a global model for preserving wave breaks and their surrounding areas by recognizing and protecting the key environmental, cultural, economic and community attributes of surfing areas.
Noosa World Surfing Reserve - Core Values
The guiding mantra is to Share. Respect. Preserve.
In the words of our traditional owners the Kabi Kabi people Wunya Ngulum – Welcome!
Share –We are here to share the stoke of our World Surfing Reserve with everyone, share knowledge and expertise, share the waves.
Respect- We teach respect in and around our WSR for the environment, culture and local community, respect for the Surfers Code, respect for the line-up and personal levels of ability, respect for those who came before us.
Preserve – We work to preserve the outstanding waves of our WSR, preserve the surrounding environment, surf culture, history and economic benefits to community.
