Australia's 8 greatest surf spots

The best breaks and swells of Australia's never-ending, sun-drenched coastline.

AUSTRALIA IS RENOWNED AS one of the world’s premier surfing destinations. Its 37,000 km coastline is blessed with beach, reef and point breaks to challenge the most experienced board-rider. For the less adept, there are countless easy-rolling swells that beginners can paddle onto safely and with confidence.

SEE A GALLERY of the 8 greatest surfing spots!

There are Surfing Australia accredited surf schools that operate at or near all of these locations, so learn-to-surfers can experience them too. For more information, visit Surfing Australia. Your own magic surfing experience could happen just about anywhere, but for the best of the best of Aussie waves, these are some very worthy contenders.

1. North Coast – Angourie to Byron Bay, NSW
When the surfing counter-culture took hold in Australia in the late 1960s, the NSW north coast quickly became the promised land... more

2. Noosa – Point Break, QLD
One of the best and most photogenic long-board breaks in the world, the point at Noosa is capable of producing a genuine 200 metre... more

3. Snapper Rocks, QLD
Snapper Rocks is a sand bottom point break considered as a world renowned surfing spot on the Gold Coast. Snapper, located at Rainbow Bay, is home to the world-famous... more

4. Seal Rocks and Pacific Palms, NSW
Lighthouse Beach and Treachery Beach at Seal Rocks are south-facing and known for generating epic waves when a south swell rolls in. Just 22km up the road... more

5. Northern Beaches, NSW
Beginning at Manly Beach and running 20km north to Palm Beach, Sydney’s northern peninsula offers a succession of surf beaches... more

6. Torquay – Bells Beach, VIC
Historically and spiritually, Bells Beach is the home of Australian surfing and today is still the site of the country’s oldest and most prestigious professional... more

7. Crescent Head, NSW
The coastline beginning just north of Port Macquarie through to Crescent Head is accessed via Point Plomer Road, which ribbons the coast... more

8. Margaret River – Yallingup and Prevelly Park, WA
260km south of Perth, the tiny resort village of Yallingup marks the beginning of the famed Margaret River winery region, where wine enthusiasts and ‘waxheads’ (board-riders) have long converged... more

FULL GALLERY:  Australia's 8 greatest surfing spots

Cameron Wilson is a travel writer based in Sydney. A former part of the team behind the Rough Guides he writes for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Condé Nast Traveller, The New York Post and the UK's The Independent newspaper. This is an edited version of an article first published by Tourism Australia.

LINKS
The AG Outdoor guide to surfing
Australia's favourite beaches