One of the best things about basing yourself in Kingscliff for a weekend is how much coastline you actually have to work with. Most of it is uncrowded, unhurried and exactly what a weekend away is supposed to feel like. Here’s where to start.
Kingscliff Beach is the obvious one, right at the end of the main street, patrolled on weekends and walkable from most places you’d be staying. It’s a wide open stretch that handles families, swimmers and board riders without feeling crowded. With a three storey height limit on all buildings, don’t expect a Gold Coast skyline behind you. Just beach, sky and not much else.
Dreamtime Beach at Fingal Head is the one most people drive past without knowing it exists. Accessed via a short rainforest walk through the headland, it was recently voted the third best beach in Australia and sits alongside basalt rock formations that look like something out of a nature documentary. It’s the kind of place you’ll want to have to yourself, go on a weekday if you can.
Cudgen Creek doesn’t get the attention it deserves. The water is crystal clear and perfect for paddleboarding, kayaking and calm water swimming, with a playground alongside it for families. It’s not the ocean, but on a still morning it’s hard to argue with.
