Noosa

Beach life is the reason most people come. Main Beach, at the foot of Hastings Street, is something rare on this coast: a north-facing bay sheltered by the headland, with small, gentle waves and patrolled flags, so it suits swimmers who would rather not wrestle the surf. Around the point, the coastal track passes a string of coves inside the national park, and just south lie the long open beaches of Sunshine, Marcus and Peregian, wilder and better for strong swimmers.

The water is warm for much of the year, around 27°C in late summer and rarely much below 21°C in winter, so swimming never really stops. The calm sandy shallows of the Noosa River mouth and Noosaville add another option for small children. Summer storms and school vacations bring crowds to Main Beach, but a quieter stretch is never far.

For a town of its size, Noosa eats well. The restaurants along Hastings Street and the Noosaville riverfront lean on local seafood, Moreton Bay bugs, prawns and reef fish, and on produce from the farms in the green hinterland behind the coast. Breakfast is taken seriously, and a long brunch after a morning swim may be the town's most typical meal. Evenings tend towards relaxed waterfront dining with Australian wine, best on the river at sunset.

The range is narrow, though. There is no local cuisine to speak of, little street food and few cheap places beyond fish and chips and bakery fare, and after a week the menus begin to resemble each other. The food here suits a slow resort stay rather than a trip planned around eating.

There is very little to see in the conventional sense. Noosa is a resort town built mostly in the late twentieth century, with no historic quarter or major museum. The small regional gallery on the river at Tewantin and a few heritage buildings in the older hinterland towns are the extent of it. The landscape is the attraction here, and visitors who need museums should plan a day in Brisbane.

Evenings in Noosa revolve around a long dinner and a drink with a view. There are wine and cocktail bars along Hastings Street, a surf club with a deck over the beach and a few pubs around Noosa Junction, and on summer weekends they fill pleasantly. But this is a family and couples' resort, and most of the town is asleep well before midnight. Anyone after clubs or a late night will find little here.

Nature sits right against the town. Noosa National Park covers the headland next to Hastings Street, and its coastal track runs past rocky points, pandanus groves and lookouts where dolphins, turtles and, in winter, migrating humpback whales are often seen; koalas live in the trees above the path. The headland's right-hand point breaks are among the best known on the east coast, and longboarders gather there whenever the swell comes up.

North of the river, the Noosa Everglades wind through Great Sandy National Park, a quiet system of tea-tree lakes and dark mirrored channels best explored by canoe or kayak. Beyond them, the beach of the Cooloola coast runs for many kilometres to the coloured sand cliffs of Rainbow Beach. Inland, the green hinterland ridges and the Glass House Mountains offer walking, with more rainforest than height.

The best outings are into the hinterland. Eumundi, about half an hour away, is a small country town known for its large craft market, and the ridge-top villages of Montville and Maleny, an hour or so south, have galleries, tea rooms and views across to the Glass House Mountains. Down the coast, Mooloolaba offers an esplanade and a working harbour, and Brisbane lies roughly two hours south for museums and a city day.

Beyond that the list thins. The region's great natural excursions, K'gari and the Cooloola sand coast, are about landscape rather than towns, and there is no heritage site of real significance within reach.

Noosa is easy with children. Main Beach is sheltered and patrolled, the river shallows at Noosaville are calm enough for toddlers, and families hire small boats or paddleboards on the river. The town is small, safe and relaxed, with self-catering apartments that suit families, and the headland walk with its koalas works well for older children.

What it lacks is attractions built for kids in town. For those, families drive about an hour to Australia Zoo or to the aquarium at Mooloolaba. Summer heat, storms and the crowds of school vacations are the main things to plan around.

Within the resort core, walking works well. Hastings Street, Main Beach and the national park entrance are a few minutes apart, and a boardwalk links them. Local buses connect Noosa Heads with Noosaville, Noosa Junction and Sunshine Beach, and a river ferry runs along the Noosa River, a slow and pleasant way to move between the town's waterfront areas.

Beyond that, the town is spread along the river and the coast, and the hinterland, the Everglades and the Cooloola coast are hard to reach without a car or an organised tour. Most visitors either hire a car or arrive on a transfer from the airport and stay close to Hastings Street.

Shopping in Noosa means Hastings Street, a short strip of boutiques selling resort wear, swimwear, linen and homewares, aimed squarely at visitors with time on their hands. Noosa Junction and Noosaville add everyday shops and a few independents. The real draw is the Eumundi market in the hinterland, a long-established gathering of local makers selling ceramics, leather, clothing and crafts. There are no department stores or luxury streets, and serious shoppers head to Brisbane.

Noosa is an expensive place to stay. Beachfront and Hastings Street accommodation is priced as a premium resort, and rates climb sharply over summer and the school vacations, when minimum stays are common. Eating out costs what it does in Australian cities or more, and there is little cheap food. Self-catering apartments in Noosaville or Sunshine Beach and visiting outside peak periods help, and the beaches and national park walks are free.

Performing arts are a minor part of Noosa. A small community arts theatre in Noosa Junction hosts touring shows, local productions and music, and the annual Noosa Alive festival brings a concentrated programme of concerts and theatre for a short spell. Otherwise live music means an acoustic set in a bar or the surf club on a weekend. Anyone wanting opera, orchestras or a theatre district should look to Brisbane.

Noosa does not have a bathing culture, but it is built for unwinding. The pace is slow, days run on swims, walks and long breakfasts, and the town has a long-standing reputation as a place for rest. Day spas and resort spas are plentiful around Hastings Street and Noosaville, and yoga and Pilates classes are a normal part of local life.

In the green hinterland behind the coast, health retreats offer multi-day programmes of fitness, massage and quiet meals. The calm is real outside school vacations, when the centre fills with families and traffic.