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Can you handle front row seats overlooking the Coral Sea with spectacular views, perfect beaches and rolling surf all around you? There will also be room for a huge seafood platter as you sip cool cocktails watching dolphins, turtles and manta-rays play in the ocean before you. If it’s during winter or spring, the humpback whales may even join in.
This is daily life at the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel, better known as the Straddie Pub, perched high on a natural bush headland at Point Lookout, overlooking the sea.
North Stradbroke Island is one of Australia’s great sand islands where life revolves around long stretches of beach, surfing, fishing and swimming. The island’s natural freshwater lakes provide a quiet alternative to the ocean and for history buffs Dunwich and Amity Point have some early stories to tell.
Take to the dunes for a spot of sandboarding on one of Australia’s rare sand islands, South Stradbroke Island. There is 22 kilometres of open beach to enjoy with surf breaks on the eastern side or a quiet water option on the west. Pitch a tent or stay at one of two resorts on the island offering peaceful seclusion just 40 minutes ferry ride away from the glittering Gold Coast.
Getting there
- From Brisbane city stations Central or Roma Street, take the CityTrain Cleveland line to Cleveland. Trains run regularly (approximately every half hour). A shuttle bus is available between Cleveland train station and the two water taxi terminals.
- Regular water taxi and vehicular barges run between Cleveland (35km from Brisbane CBD) and the island community of Dunwich.
Further information
- Redlands on Moreton Bay Visitor Centre
- Straddie Adventures
- Straddie Kingfisher Tours
- Brisbane to North Stradbroke Island Drive
Related RACQ offers
Attraction
Blast your way along the beautiful sub tropical shores of South Stradbroke or off the beaten track snaking along tidal passages up to North Stradbroke and more.
Other Must Do experiences in this region
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Gladstone boasts sun, sea, national parks, and is the gateway to the south of the Great Barrier Reef – a vibrant part of the reef that has remained relatively untouched.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Boasting some of Australia’s most iconic ocean views and island retreats, the Capricorn Coast stretches for several hundred kilometres along the country’s eastern seaboard. Must Do experiences include Carnarvon Gorge, Rubyvale Gem Gallery and the Capicorn Caves.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Must Do experiences on the Gold Coast, Queensland including Dreamworld, Lamington National Park and the Australian Outback Spectacular.
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The Fraser Coast region boasts natural wonders and some of the world’s most unique attractions such as Fraser Island, the Great Barrier Reef and Hervey Bay – all just a three-hour drive north of Brisbane.
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Must Do experiences in tropical north Queensland including Paronella Park, Guurrbi Tours and Tjapukai Aboriginal Park.
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Must Do experiences around Toowoomba including the Chinchilla Melon Festival, Spring Bluff Railway Station and the Roma Big Rig.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
With tropical rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef on its doorstep, Bundaberg offers visitors some of the best elements of rural and coastal Queensland.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Queensland's capital and largest city Brisbane plays host to a variety of must do holiday and travel experiences including the Breakfast Creek Hotel, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and the Workshops Rail Museum.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Must Do experiences in outback Queensland including the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, Qantas Founders Museum & Waltzing Matilda Centre.
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Must Do experiences around Mackay including Farleigh Sugar Mill, Eungella National Park and Finch Hatton Gorge.
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Catch a birds eye view from the Ma Mu Rainforest Canopy Walkway, view the Misty Mountains and Mt Bartle Frere. Swim in the waterfalls at Josephine Falls. Visit Daintree National Park and Mossman Gorge.
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Must Do experiences on the Sunshine Coast including Australia Zoo, the Glasshouse Mountains and the Eumundi Markets.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
An ideal north Queensland destination for larger groups, or those catering to a wide variety of interests during a road trip, Townsville offers a large range of options, suitable for travellers and tourists.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Travel the Scenic Rim, tour the Granite Belt wine country or explore Girraween National Park when you visit the Queensland Southern Downs.
Adventure; Art / Culture; Events; Heritage / History; Hidden Treasures; Scenic Splendour; Family; Attraction; Indulgence
Home to glistening blue waters and sandy beaches, the Whitsunday Islands play host to many different travel and holiday experiences including Whitehaven Beach, Heart Reef and Airlie Beach.
Adventure
This unique show captures the grandeur of the Australian Outback. Each night the arena thunders with the hooves of Australian stock horses as an action-packed performance unfolds.
Adventure
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Riverlife Adventure Centre is a young, dynamic and fun adventure tourism business that provides active, soft-adventure and recreational experiences within Brisbane's inner city's Kangaroo Point.
Family
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Moreton Island can be as wild or as laid back as you want it to be. Tangalooma boasts over 75 different tours and activities to suit all ages. If you are adventurous, scream down a huge sand dune on a flying sand toboggan or quad bike, jet ski, snorkel and scuba dive on the Tangalooma Wrecks.
Attraction
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Everyone loves the cuteness of a koala and at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, 25 minutes from Brisbane city centre, there are more than 130 living here, so you can be guaranteed you are going to catch some of them awake!
Indulgence
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Arguably the most famous watering hole in Queensland, The Breakfast Creek Hotel is still going strong. You can continue to choose your own steak from the cabinet to be char grilled in front of you, just as you could in the 1960s. It is also one of the few pubs in Australia to still serve beer "off the wood", rather than from the more modern stainless steel system.
Art / Culture
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All Aboard! The Workshops Rail Museum offers a wide range of hands-on exhibits, multi-media encounters and colourful stories. This coupled with huge steam locomotives and over 140 years of history, make for an interactive authentic heritage and cultural experience at the birthplace of rail in Queensland.
Events
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It’s Queensland’s biggest and best-loved annual family event – the Brisbane exhibition or the Brisbane "Ekka" as it is affectionately known, showering Brisbane in carnival atmosphere for 10 days straight in August.
Scenic Splendour
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Forget sitting on a bus and seeing Brisbane from the roadside - jump on one of the sleek twin-hulled CityCats gliding up and down the river. Coloured blue, white and yellow symbolising the Sunshine State’s surf, sand and sun, you will immediately feel relaxed and in holiday mode with the wind in your hair and sun shimmering on the water.
Indulgence
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Sirromet Wines on Mount Cotton Road, 30minutes south of Brisbane, seem sure-footed about their product and experience. And looking at their awards, medals and trophies, they have every right to be.
Events
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Cheer for our mighty Queensland Maroons as they take on the Blues in one of Australia’s premier sporting events when Queensland and New South Wales go head to head in the State of Origin.
Events
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Taking place on the banks of the Brisbane River and surrounds, Riverfire is probably the city’s most colourful and spectacular annual party - a stunning choreographed fireworks display that explodes into the night skies with a kaleidoscope of colours.
Adventure; Scenic Splendour; Attraction
67
The Story Bridge Adventure Climb is an adventure experience with a difference and is the most spectacular way to discover Brisbane.
Family
69
Recognised as Australia’s number one train journey by The Society of International Railway Travelers in 2007, The Sunlander is renowned for its high level of passenger comfort and great social atmosphere. The Sunlander has again been recognised by The Society of International Railway Travelers in 2008, being named one of the "World’s Top 25 Trains".
Family
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Overlooking Brisbane’s CBD, man-made Streets Beach at South Bank is the perfect place to unwind and catch your breath in the midst of busy city life.
Attraction
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Follow the beer making process and end up in the Ale House bar to try some of their famous brews. Tours are open to all ages (of course you have to be over 18 to sample) and run for approximately one hour, 15minutes
Adventure
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From the basket of your hot air balloon you have an open-air view of the world below. In the cities, as dawn breaks, the sun reflects from office windows and you spot special landmarks from an entirely different angle. In the country, drift over forest covered mountains, rolling hills and meandering waterways. From above, the farmland paddocks seem to stitch together like patchwork carpets.
Scenic Splendour
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Seven kilometres west of Brisbane city centre and rising from the Taylor Range, sprawling city panoramas surround you from the summit of Mt Coot-tha.
Art / Culture
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Providing innovative early childhood programs and entertaining holiday activities, the Queensland Museum is a fun and free place to visit for all of the family. With exhibitions coming, going, and changing, all year round, there is always a different journey of discovery amid the fascinating natural history, cultural, heritage, science and human achievements.
Family
124
It is the heart and soul of Queensland’s shoppers – the Brisbane Queen Street Mall where five major shopping centres, two department stores and four shopping arcades beg to be explored. That’s over 700 retailers including local, national and international designers.
Art / Culture
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Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) is situated in the heart of Brisbane’s cultural precinct at South Bank and hosts an array of performances by local, national and international companies and artists.
Art / Culture
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With the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art’s success for drawing international exhibitions into its impressive 6000sqm exhibition space, a visit to this arts precinct is getting more and more exciting.
Indulgence
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Where there is a culturally diverse meeting of people, there is a cultural melting pot of cuisines and West End has long been home to migrant and indigenous communities that all know how to cook.
Banner images courtesy of Tourism Queensland
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