← Brisbane Marathon·2 nights

Noosa: Two Nights on Hastings Street

Two nights beside Main Beach, with a sealed coastal path into Noosa National Park where koalas sit in the trees and humpbacks pass offshore from June.

Duration2 nights
TransitJust under 2 hr by car via the Bruce Highway, or train to Cooroy or Nambour plus a connecting bus
DepartsBrisbane

After the Brisbane Marathon: Noosa

The Route: Brisbane → Noosa Heads → Sunshine Coast Airport or Brisbane Airport Logistics: Hire car or train plus bus. North up the Bruce Highway to the top of the Sunshine Coast, two nights, then out through the nearer airport. Marathon Month: June Duration: 2 nights

Brisbane ──(just under 2 hrs by car, Bruce Highway)──> Noosa Heads
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Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY) ◄──(about 30 mins by car)────┤
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Brisbane Airport (BNE) ◄──(about 2 hrs by car)────────────┘

The Brisbane Marathon finishes in the City Botanic Gardens, and Noosa Heads sits about 160 km north at the top of the Sunshine Coast. Two nights here give the legs a full day with nothing to do but walk slowly along a beach and a sealed headland path.

June in Noosa: winter on the Sunshine Coast, with mild days, cool evenings and the start of the humpback whale season. Humpbacks travel along this coast between June and November on their way to and from their northern breeding grounds, and the headland paths of Noosa National Park look straight out over their route. Early June is the beginning of the season, so sightings are possible rather than certain. The school-holiday crowds of summer and Easter have gone.

By car, the drive takes just under two hours: north on the Bruce Highway, off at the Eumundi Noosa Road exit and into town on Eenie Creek Road. Without a car, take a Queensland Rail train to Cooroy, the closest station to Noosa, and a connecting bus of about 15 minutes, or to Nambour, which has regular buses to Noosa. The whole trip by public transport takes two and a half to three hours; check connections on the Translink journey planner.

Nights One and Two: Noosa Heads

Hastings Street is Noosa's main street, a short strip of hotels, restaurants and cafés a couple of steps from Main Beach. Everything in this itinerary is within walking distance of it.

The primary recovery walk is the coastal walk into Noosa National Park, which starts at the Noosa Headland day-use area at the end of Park Road, a short walk from Hastings Street. The first 300 m to Boiling Point is sealed and step-free. The path stays sealed on to Dolphin Point, about 2.4 km from the start, though a few short stretches are steeper than 1 in 10. Look up into the trees along this section: koalas are sometimes seen resting in the branches above the path. Beyond Dolphin Point the track becomes unsealed, with steps and steep sections on the last stretch to Hell's Gates, 2.7 km from the start. On the day after arriving, walk the sealed section to Dolphin Point and back, just under 5 km at an easy pace, and turn around there. The full return walk is 10.8 km and graded as a four-hour hike; leave it for another trip.

Main Beach itself, in front of Hastings Street, is the flat option: firm sand at the water's edge and a boardwalk along the front.

Where to stay: Netanya Noosa sits on the beachfront at Hastings Street, directly on Main Beach. Elysium Noosa Resort, part of Accor's MGallery collection and formerly the Sofitel, is on Hastings Street a short walk from the national park entrance.

Where to eat: Sails serves fine dining with views over Main Beach, which suits a proper dinner on the second night. Bistro C, also on the beachfront, is the more relaxed seafood option.

Getting Home

Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY) at Marcoola is about 30 minutes south of Noosa by car and has direct flights to Sydney and Melbourne. For international departures, drive or take the train back to Brisbane Airport (BNE), about two hours by road; if returning a hire car there, allow extra time for traffic on the Bruce Highway approaching Brisbane.