Australia is such a dream – honestly, I had dreamt about finding my way to this far off country/continent for years, so when friends of ours moved to Brisbane about a year ago, it was the perfect motivation to finally book those flights. Incredible nature and unique culture help Australia live up to the hype. We spent the majority of our time rolling around Queensland, the northeastern-most state of this beautiful country. Today, I’m sharing our favorite day trips from Brisbane.
How to get around Brisbane:
You’ll definitely need a car if you want to day trip to some of these areas. Public transport outside of the main city center doesn’t seem to be a thing, excepting North Stradbroke Island. The true draw of Australia is the nature, so you’ll want to be able to access some of these more remote areas. You can book rental cars here.
A lot of the national parks require 4 wheel drive to access certain trail heads or beaches, so if you want to maximize your abilities, make sure you book accordingly. We didn’t have 4WD, so all of the places included in our list are possible without.
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Day Trips from Brisbane:
North Stradbroke Island (Straddie)
A short ferry ride from Brisbane, Straddie is a beach paradise and a top recommendation for a day trip. SeaLink runs both a passenger and vehicle ferry routinely from Cleveland (mainland) to Dunwich (on Straddie). You can buy tickets online (a little cheaper) or right at the dock. The passenger ferry will save you quite a bit, and busses picking up directly from the ferry terminal connect towns all around the island. We had no trouble taking the bus to some of the most beautiful spots on the island.
Make sure to pack smartly for the trip – you’ll want your beach essentials.
Once you’ve arrived, take the bus to Point Lookout, a great starting point for exploring Straddie. Here you’ll find restaurants and surf shops for provisions, as well as multiple options for things to do. You can also check in on which beaches are safe for swimming, which I highly recommend. Signs are posted near the Point Lookout Headland Park.
Start with the North Gorge Walk, checking out Main Beach and the incredible vistas. It’s short, but well worth it. Because surf conditions were too rough on the Main Beach side of the island, we circled back and walked along the shoreline path to Frenchman’s and then Deadman’s Beach. Both absolutely stunning, with Deadman’s Beach impossible for us to pass up. We spent a few hours here, playing on the beach and swimming in the most picturesque tide pool I’ve ever seen.
Cylinder Beach is just around the corner and is another beautiful beach spot. It’s also one of the safer places for swimming. It’s also an easy walk from the Cylinder Beach bus stop.
Beyond these incredible beaches, there are so many other things you can do on Straddie. Blue Lake and Brown Lake, numerous other beaches, so many hiking trails. Just a plethora of options.
Glass House Mountains National Park
About an hour and half from Brisbane, this National Park displays some of the fascinating volcano plugs that dot the landscape outside of the city. We likened these to a picture that a kid would draw of a mountain. Just one sharp peak sitting in a rolling valley. Very cool, and makes for a super fun day trip.
Head to the Mount Ngungun trail for a short, but rewarding hike to catch some views. Then, head to Maleny and the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve for a picnic, coffee/ice cream break and the rainforest walk that leaves right from the park.
Springbrook National Park
The longest of the suggested day trips, Springbrook sits on the border with New South Wales and is around two hours from Brisbane. It’s a gorgeous piece of the Gold Coast Hinterland, filled with waterfalls and green forests. Winding mountain roads and lakes will fill your journey up to Springbrook.
The Twin Falls Circuit was the perfect starting point, featuring two waterfalls and trails that wind behind one of them. You’ll also get to experience walking through a rain forest. After hiking here, take a short detour to the Best of All Lookout for an incredible view over New South Wales. Finally, wrap up your full day with the Purling Brook Falls Circuit, a bigger falls that looks straight out of Jurassic Park and offers a spot for a quick swim on a hot day.
There aren’t a ton of restaurant options up here, so I would recommend packing plenty of snacks and maybe a picnic.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Located in the Brisbane suburb of Fig Tree Pocket, Lone Pine is a great little animal sanctuary that allows you to get up close and personal with those famous Australian animals. Smaller and more intimate than Australia Zoo (not to mention MUCH cheaper), we found it to be a pleasant surprise. Our kids were more than satisfied with the place, and were quite happy with the numerous zoologist talks and demonstrations that were on throughout the day.
We didn’t purchase any of the add on experiences and still felt like it was more than enough exposure to the animals. The lorikeet feeding and falconry show were favorites for our kids. It was great, as it satisfied our kids urge to see animals while being a bit less of a financial commitment than Australia Zoo.
Bribie Island
While the beaches don’t have quite the drama of Noosa and Straddie, the ease of access makes Bribie a great fit for a last minute plan. Access quiet, remote beaches within Bribie Island State Forest, or head to Woorim Beach for access to excellent changing facilities, bars, restaurants and life-guarded sections of the beach. We also loved Brennan Park and the downtown shops in Bongaree on the west side of the island for some time in the shade under those huge trees, ice cream and used books shopping.
Noosa National Park
Absolutely stunning town and National Park about 2 hours from Brisbane. It’s an incredible place – fantastic central life-guarded beach, numerous restaurants, surf shops galore – with one big problem: PARKING! It’s difficult to find parking here, especially on busy days. My biggest advice would be to arrive as early as possible and attempt to find parking in the Noosa National Park Car Park, which offers up to 4 hours parking.
From here, take the Noosa Coastal Walk out to some of the most beautiful Australian beach scenery you can dream of. Tea Tree Bay Beach was a personal favorite spot of ours, but you’ll see so much beauty. The Boiling Pot, Granite Bay Beach and the Fairy Pools complete the walk, which is well worth the time. Highly recommend spending an hour or two hanging in your favorite spot and enjoying the waves and scenery. Keep in mind that these beaches are not guarded, so make sure to pay attention to ocean warnings that day.
If you have trouble attaining that coveted National Park parking spot, don’t worry. You can always find 2 or 3 hour parking elsewhere in the town, enjoy the main beach (which is also beautiful, just much busier) and then try again in the late afternoon, when we found a spot with much greater ease and got the bonus of enjoying sunset over Tea Tree Bay.
Booloumba Creek in Conondale National Park
Some of the most beautiful water we saw in Queensland was found at Booloumba Creek! We parked our car outside of the park and walked in (prepare to cross two small creeks either on foot or with your 4WD) to the Booloumba Creek Day Use Area. Near the camping grounds, you’ll find easy swimming access to the creek. The water is an incredible color and provides refreshing and fun swimming. Our kids loved jumping off rocks and into the deep sections of the creek. We also did the Gold Mine Track trail that leaves right from the Day Use Area and takes about 2 hours – just enough time to build up a good sweat for the creek swimming.
Kondalilla National Park
More hiking, waterfalls and swimming await in Kondalilla (sensing a theme?). Tucked between Montville and Flaxton in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, this small national park makes for an easy morning stop that you can pair with some exploration of the many adorable mountain towns surrounding it. We did the Kondalilla Falls Trail, which wanders through rain forest and leads to the perfect swimming hole – our perfect day! We then stopped in Montville for coffee and lunch, before driving through some additional mountain towns. A great day.
Truly, I was amazed by all the amazing places surrounding Brisbane. I would love to hear if there were some great day trips that we missed and should look to prioritize next time. What a special place in the world – can’t wait to go back!
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