Australia’s cheapest and best beach breaks 2017
The TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice award-winning beaches that won’t break the bank to visit.
The TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice award winners for 2017 have just been announced and in it are 25 of the best beaches our nation has to offer.
Topping this year’s list is perennial favourite, Whitehaven Beach. This piece of paradise has held this top spot for four years running and unsurprisingly took the #17 spot in TripAdvisor’s best beaches in the world list, too.
Also making the cut in the top 25 Australian beaches list is a seemingly endless list of Queensland hotspots including Surfer’s Paradise Beach, Noosa Main Beach, Burleigh Heads, Mooloolaba Beach, The Strand, Palm Cove and Trinity Beach.
Despite all these Queensland contenders, other states were well represented with Manly taking the top spot for New South Wales, Turquoise Bay doing it for Western Australia and Mindil Beach making waves for the Northern Territory.
Now if all this talk about beaches is making you want to chase the sunshine then listen up. We’ve looked at this hot list and rearranged it to bring you the best Aussie beaches to visit over a weekend on a budget.
Australia’s cheapest and best beach breaks
To find the cheapest and best beach breaks, we looked at prices for stays using comparison engine hotels.finder.com.au.
The weekend we’ve chosen for this comparison is 3-5 November 2017, which is perfect since this is the time the beaches start up again! Prices are for a two-night stay for two adults sharing a room and are current as of 27 February 2017.
| Beach | TripAdvisor ranking | Cheapest stay | Cheapest stay price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cable Beach, Broome | 7 | Cable Beach Backpackers | $133 |
| Mindil Beach, Darwin | 23 | Palms Motel Darwin | $140 |
| Surfer's Paradise Beach, Surfer's Paradise | 2 | Backpackers In Paradise | $150 |
| Byron Bay, Byron Bay | 14 | Discovery Parks | $164 |
| Emily Bay, Norfolk Island | 10 | Callam Court Ocean View Apartments | $176 |
| The Strand, Townsville | 9 | Yongala Lodge by The Strand | $188 |
| Coolangatta Beach, Coolangatta | 17 | Bombora Resort Motel | $199 |
| Bondi Beach, Sydney | 21 | The Village Bondi Beach | $200 |
| Turquoise Bay, Exmouth | 5 | Exmouth Cape Holiday Park | $210 |
| Kings Beach, Caloundra | 18 | Caloundra Motel | $218 |
| Palm Cove Beach, Palm Cove | 24 | Hotel Grand Chancellor Palm Cove | $224 |
| Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas | 16 | Ramada Resort Port Douglas | $236 |
| Cape Le Grand National Park, Esperance | 13 | Best Western Hospitality Inn Esperance | $238 |
| Little Beach at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, Albany | 15 | Albany's Big Grove Bed and Breakfast | $250 |
| Greens Pool, Denmark | 11 | 31 on the Terrace | $270 |
| Trinity Beach, Cairns | 25 | Amaroo at Trinity Resort Cairns | $275 |
| Mooloolaba Beach, Mooloolaba | 8 | Twin Pines Motel Mooloolaba | $280 |
| Meelup Beach, Dunsborough | 22 | Whalers Cove Villas | $300 |
| Burleigh Heads Beach, Burleigh Heads | 6 | Aussie Resort Gold Coast | $340 |
| Noosa Main Beach, Noosa | 3 | Anchor Motel Noosa | $350 |
| Manly Beach, Sydney | 4 | Manly Guest House | $350 |
| Shelly Beach, Sydney | 20 | Shelly Beach Cabins | $378 |
| Coral Bay Beach, Coral Bay | 19 | Bayview Resort Coral Bay | $382 |
| Whitehaven Beach, Whitehaven Islands | 1 | Whitsunday Apartments | $520 |
| Ned's Beach, Lord Howe Island | 12 | Arajilla Retreat | $3,400 |
The best beach for your buck?
Broome’s Mindil Beach comes out on top with rooms starting from $133 for a twin share. Not too shabby for the #7 beach in Australia. For the hottest beach at the hottest price, Surfer’s Paradise has it all. It was voted the second-best beach in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards and has stays from $150 for a twin share.
Sadly, Whitehaven Beach is one of the most expensive stays. Ned’s Beach is the priciest of the top 25, which is likely due to the limited accommodation on the island where it’s located.
The moral of the story? Stick to easily accessible beaches with plenty of accommodation options for the best budget-friendly beach breaks.
