Sunshine Coast, AU

The Mooloolaba Esplanade Italian fine-diner that's been the coast's special-occasion default since 1983 — AGFG Chef's Hat year after year, ocean-view dining room, and the only place locals book for an anniversary on the strip.

Modern Asian street-food canteen at The Wharf Mooloolaba — dumplings, bao, lotus chips, and coconut beef curry served on share plates in a grungy harbour-side fit-out. Walk-ins only, and the queue is part of the experience.

Former Mooloolaba mechanic's garage converted into a vintage cycle-themed all-day brunch cafe — smashed avo, beef brisket sandwiches, and the back-street location that keeps it on the local rotation rather than the tourist one.

Waterfront seafood restaurant on the Maroochy River at Cotton Tree — pepper squid, fish and chips, river-side deck and the most-Instagrammed sunset west of Mooloolaba. The casual Maroochydore default with a small upstairs takeaway window.

The hinterland Thai destination restaurant in Yandina — a tropical-garden compound 25 minutes inland with a pond-side dining pavilion and a cooking school out back. The coast's most-credentialed Asian fine diner and the long lunch you drive for.

The Caloundra waterfront seafood room with 270-degree glass overlooking Bulcock Beach and the Pumicestone Passage — local Mooloolaba prawns, seafood tower, and the sunset view back across to the Glass House Mountains.

Southern Italian small-plates restaurant in Maroochydore — flash-fried calamari, hand-rolled pasta, Mooloolaba prawn spaghetti, and the family-run room that quietly outranks the bigger-name Italians on the strip.

Spanish tapas-and-shared-plates room in the Maroochydore CBD — croquetas, jamon, corn ribs, sherry list, and the late dinner the rest of the coast doesn't really do. Locals' Friday-night booking.

Greek share-plate restaurant at the Mooloolaba marina — mezze, slow-cooked lamb, charcoal seafood, and the harbour-side terrace that gets the late western sun across the boats. The most-credible Greek room north of Brisbane.

Hinterland dairy and licensed cafe in Maleny — own-make cheeses, yoghurt and cheese platters served on a deck with the Glass House Mountains as backdrop. The default hinterland lunch stop on the Maleny-Montville drive.

Hinterland cellar door and modern Australian restaurant on a ridge above Montville — estate-grown wines, an open-fire dining room and the long lunch with valley-floor views the rest of the coast doesn't get.

Beachfront cafe-and-bar on the Alexandra Headland surf club deck — burgers, share plates, ocean-spray views and the sundowner the locals drift toward after a Sunday afternoon at Alex Beach.

Long-running plant-based cafe and yoga-adjacent kitchen in Mooloolaba — bowls, smoothies, raw cakes and the closest thing the coast has to a Byron-style health-food morning. Caters the wellness end of town.

Loud Tex-Mex cantina on the Esplanade — frozen margaritas, tacos by the dozen and a 100-bottle tequila shelf. Built for groups and the early-evening sundowner, not the quiet dinner.

The classic Australian surf-club bistro right on the main beach — modern Australian menu, members-and-guests pricing, and the unbeatable ocean-deck view at sunset. The reliable family dinner with no booking drama.

Modern Japanese charcoal kitchen in Maroochydore — Mooloolaba king prawns with shiso butter, robata-grilled skewers, sashimi flights. The most-serious Japanese cooking on the coast outside the Noosa fine-diners.

Maroochydore burger joint with rotating monthly specials, milkshake-and-fries combos and a kitsch diner fit-out — the burger the local teenagers and surfers default to. Independent, not a chain.

Bulcock Beach Esplanade outdoor pub with glass-panel walls onto the Pumicestone Passage — pub meals, local craft beer, sunset over the water and the most-walked Caloundra waterfront spot.

Caloundra Bulcock Street Mexican kitchen — tacos, frozen margaritas, painted walls and the loose Friday-night atmosphere the rest of Caloundra doesn't really do. The casual evening option on the strip.

French-Mediterranean restaurant in Peregian Beach's village square — seafood-led menu, handcrafted sourdough, steak frites, and a French wine list in a timber-and-linen room that feels more Noosa hinterland than surf strip. Ranked the top table in Peregian Beach.

Fine-dining restaurant inside Spicers Clovelly Estate in Montville — multi-course degustation, hatted modern Australian kitchen and a hinterland-resort setting that's the coast's most-credentialed destination dining room.

Mooloolaba marina seafood-and-share-plates room overlooking the trawler fleet — Moreton Bay bugs, harbour-fresh fish, and the deck the boats come in past. Quieter alternative to The Wharf's busier rooms.

Maleny village all-day breakfast cafe — house-baked muffins, hearty hinterland breakfasts, and the unfussy local kitchen that's been the morning anchor of the main street for years.

Sister venue to the Noosa original — modern Cantonese-Asian-fusion kitchen using hinterland-farm produce. Lamb wontons, silken-tofu zucchini flowers and the seasonal dim-sum menu the coast's chefs eat at on their nights off.

The 1.6km steep return climb up the volcanic dome of Mount Coolum — 207 metres straight up granite slabs to a 360-degree summit panorama from Noosa to Caloundra. The Sunshine Coast's sunrise pilgrimage.

55 hectares of remnant subtropical rainforest on the Maleny ridge with a 1.7km flat circuit boardwalk — pademelons, catbirds, strangler figs, and a viewing platform looking east to the Glass House Mountains. Accessible and gentle.

Pocket of rainforest in the middle of suburban Buderim with a short boardwalk loop down to Serenity Falls and a small swimming hole — a 1.5km return walk that drops into a cool gully ten minutes from the coast.

The 4.7km loop through Kondalilla National Park near Montville — fern gully, ridgeline lookout, a 90-metre waterfall and a sequence of rock pools that visitors swim in. The hinterland's headline walk and worth the inland drive.

The paved beachfront walking-and-cycling path from Mooloolaba Spit south to Alexandra Headland — about 2.5km one-way of ocean-side promenade past surf clubs, lookouts, and grassy reserves. The morning ritual every local does.

The 25km clifftop-and-beach coastal walk that links Caloundra's beaches — Bulcock, Kings, Shelly, Moffat, Dicky, Currimundi — through headland reserves and timber boardwalks. Do as much or as little as you have time for.

Short clifftop loop around the Point Cartwright lighthouse south of Mooloolaba — about 1.5km of open coastal grassland with whale-watching benches, the lighthouse, and the open Pacific view all the way to the horizon.

Short steep paved track (700m return) up Wild Horse Mountain just south of Beerwah — a fire-tower lookout with the full Glass House Mountains panorama in one shot. The easy alternative to climbing the Glass Houses proper.

Sand-and-pavement walk north from Mooloolaba Spit along the surf beach to the Maroochy River mouth at Cotton Tree — about 4km one-way of patrolled beach, river-mouth views and back-to-Cotton-Tree finish.

The Mary Cairncross-side lookout off Mountain View Road in Maleny — a roadside viewing platform with the full Glass House Mountains lineup spread out below. The view, no walk required.

The Wednesday-and-Saturday open-air market in Eumundi village since 1979 — over 600 stalls of make-it-bake-it-sew-it-grow-it craft, food, and music. The biggest art-and-craft market in Australia and the Sunshine Coast's signature day-out.

The Irwin family's 100-hectare wildlife park in Beerwah — Crocoseum daily show, koala and kangaroo encounters, and the conservation story that built the place. A full-day attraction 30 minutes south of Mooloolaba.

Free-entry tourist precinct in Yandina with a 120-year-old ginger train, a boat ride, factory tours, and the gingerbread-and-ginger-ice-cream cafe — the kid-friendly stop on any drive between coast and hinterland.

The 1971 Sunshine Coast icon at Woombye — a 16-metre fibreglass pineapple, a pineapple-train ride through subtropical plantation, the Wildlife HQ Zoo and the Tree Tops Challenge ropes course. Restored and active as a day-out.

Family theme park in Palmview with around 30 rides, an indoor playground and the kitsch outback-Australia branding — independent, not a corporate chain, and the rainy-day default for kids on the coast.

Half-day humpback-whale-watching boat departures from Mooloolaba Wharf June to November — the migration runs straight past the coast, and the Mooloolaba boats reach the pod in under 30 minutes.

The annual three-day open-air music festival on Kings Beach foreshore (early October) — Australian and international acts on a beach-side mainstage, the coast's longest-running large festival.

High-ropes adventure park inside the Big Pineapple grounds at Woombye — seven aerial courses through eucalyptus canopy with the highest zip-line on the Sunshine Coast. Booked-in-advance morning or afternoon sessions.

Beginner surf lessons on the patrolled Mooloolaba Beach south end — group and private lessons, board hire, and the entry point most visitors use to learn on a Sunshine Coast beach.

Sunday-morning foreshore market at Cotton Tree on the Maroochy River — smaller and more local than Eumundi, focused on hinterland produce, baked goods and craft. The Maroochydore morning ritual.

Small-batch Kunda Park brewery and taproom — flagship pale ale, rotating seasonals, brewery tours by appointment. The local craft brewery the coast's bars actually pour.

Redeveloped harbour-front entertainment complex — restaurants, bars, the aquarium, departure point for whale-watching and the floating boardwalk past the marina boats. The main evening-out precinct in Mooloolaba.

The patrolled north-facing crescent of soft sand and gentle surf that anchors the whole coast — calm enough for kids to learn on, with the Esplanade's cafes and ice-cream shops directly across the road. The default Sunshine Coast beach.

The kilometre-long beachfront strip of cafes, gelaterias, surf shops and casual restaurants between Loo with a View and the Spit — the coast's busiest pedestrian promenade and the place locals send first-time visitors for a casual evening.

The sandy peninsula at the mouth of the Mooloolah River where the trawler fleet ties up and the harbour meets the surf beach — quieter than the main Esplanade and the place locals go for a swim plus a fish-and-chip lunch off the boats.

The aquarium at The Wharf Mooloolaba with an 80-metre walk-through ocean tunnel, an open seal pool and a tropical reef tank — the wet-weather rainy-day default for families and the rare attraction that's actually inside the main beach strip.

The shaded riverside park where the Maroochy River meets the sea, ringed by ancient cotton trees that gave the suburb its name — calm river swimming, free barbecues, and the morning coffee scene the rest of Maroochydore quietly orbits.

The point break between Mooloolaba and Maroochydore — a grassy headland, a steady right-hand wave, and the Loo Lookout that delivers the Mooloolaba-to-Coolum panorama every Sunshine Coast brochure shoots from.

The 1979 navigational lighthouse on the headland south of Mooloolaba, ringed by an unfenced clifftop reserve — the Sunshine Coast's classic sunrise walk with whales breaching from June to November and the open ocean view all the way to Moreton Island.

Caloundra's main patrolled beach with a free ocean-view saltwater pool, a fountain plaza for kids, and the headland walk that connects to Moffat Beach — the most family-engineered beach on the coast and the Caloundra equivalent of Mooloolaba.

The flat sheltered swim on the Pumicestone Passage side of Caloundra — calm, tidal, ringed by an esplanade of cafes and bars, and the place locals send anyone nervous about surf. The passage current is the kayak and SUP playground.

The long surf beach 20 minutes north of Mooloolaba with a grassy foreshore park, a low-rise village feel, and consistently better waves than the main Mooloolaba strip — where the surfers from town actually drive to.

The hinterland mountain village 25 minutes inland from Mooloolaba — a single ridge-top street of timber cottages, fudge shops, art galleries, and view stops looking east to the Glass House Mountains and the coast. The classic Sunshine Coast half-day drive.

The redeveloped harbour-front complex at the southern end of Mooloolaba — a working marina, the aquarium, several waterfront restaurants and the whale-watching, fishing-charter, and ferry departures. The base for any boat-based day on the coast.

Eight hectares of terraced ornamental gardens overlooking the Glass House Mountains, attached to an indoor aviary where rainbow lorikeets and macaws land on visitors — the most-photographed garden in the hinterland.