The Best Things To Do In Cocos Keeling Islands

The ‘Welcome to Paradise’ brochures handed out at Cocos Keeling Islands’ airport after half a day’s travel from Perth perfectly encapsulates Australia’s most remote group of 27 islands that hang in the Indian Ocean like a sparkling tiara.

One of three Australian external territories, those lucky enough to experience its unhurried landscape either stay or lose no time hurrying back; one escape to the deserted sand-draped isles isn’t nearly enough.

Be warned though, Cocos Keeling is a hard addiction to break. Picture snorkelling in aquarium-clear waters, swishing in hammocks hooked to palm trees, or simply strolling along the water’s edge, splashing up surf. Whether you crave well-earned R&R, a dab of adventure, or losing yourself in the islands’ rich natural environment, we’ve checked out the following what-to-do and where-to-eat options.

Underwater adventures

Cocos’ horseshoe-shaped islands sit in one of the world’s most azure archipelagos, giving the illusion a higher power perhaps created them for ocean lovers.

Join Cocos Dive and book an underwater sea-scooter tour or venture deeper with a dive. Either way, you can explore the islands’ wrecks where teems of tropical fish flit and dart through coral-encrusted hulls.

Swimming with manta ray with Cocos Dive on Cocos Keeling Islands — Swim with manta rays with Cocos Dive. (Image: Karen Willshaw)

Since Parks Australia declared the marine park a sanctuary in March 2022, you’ll be snorkelling in waters set to remain pristine and protected.

Swimming with turtle on Cocos Keeling Islands — If you’re lucky, you could swim with a turtle. (Image: Supplied)

For an experience with a difference, join a motorised canoe tour and discover the untouched islands with Cocosday .

You’ll skim across the lagoon in a motorised canoe, moor at an idyllic isle and indulge in a gourmet champagne picnic. Have your video ready to record the famous Cocos hermit crab race – the commentary alone is a hoot.

Hermit Crabs on Cocos Keeling Islands — Watch the Cocos hermit crab race. (Image: Supplied)

Bring your snorkel and sense of adventure – the current will carry you around the tip of Pulu Maraya, a tranquil tidbit of an island where coral overflows with magical marine life. For a memorable experience, swim alongside their incredibly handsome shells.

Cocosday Motorised Canoe Safari — The motorised canoe safari is an unmissable experience. (Image: Supplied)

Catch-of the-day

If fishing pumps through your gills, jump on half a day’s trip with Cocos Blue Charters and snag a catch for dinner.

Not into game fishing? Admire the star-studded sea life through the boat’s glass panel instead. Bring your snorkelling gear if you want to come eye-to-fish-eye with Cocos’ vibrant sea life.

Cocos Blue boat in the Cocos Keeling Islands — Take the boat out with Cocos Blue Charters. (Image: Rachel Claire Photographer)

The owners will also moor at surrounding islands for any history buffs on board. Both Prison Island – once home to a harem – and Horsburgh Islands – where the Australian Army established a base during the Second World War – have intriguing pasts.

Prison Island on Cocos Keeling Islands — Prison Island has a fascinating past. (Image: Jaxon Roberts)

Dress to get wet and explore the islands’ Eastern Atolls with Cocosday Tours. Snorkel around coral reefs brimming with exotic fish or choose an outlying island to bask and beachcomb to your heart’s content.

Cocos Keeling Islands aerial shot — Snorkel around coral reefs in the Cocos Keeling Islands. (Image: Ryan Chatfield)

A couple of onboard stand-up paddle boards will help you work up an appetite for the included champers and nibbles.

Cocosday Tours also offers fishing tours around the reef flats. Using their high-quality fishing gear, you can catch coral trout, bluefin trevally, red bass or yellow lip emperor.

Sports fishing on Cocos Keeling Islands — Go fishing in Cocos. (Image: Josh Cheong)

Take to the air

From July to September, trade winds bring perfect conditions for kite surfing. Fly like a bird over West Island’s curvaceous shoreline with Zephyr Tours or Ape X Kiteboarding – it’ll be an adventure like no other with these experienced kite school tour operators.

The instructors will show you the ropes and have you soaring over a translucent lagoon spotting turtles, black-tip reef sharks and shoals of fish.

Both Zephyr and Ape X Kiteboarding are one-stop shops offering packages including accommodation, transport and island adventures along with unlimited kite lessons.

Aerial Kitesurfing on Cocos Keeling Islands — Cocos Keeling has perfect conditions for kite surfing. (Image: Rik Soderlund)

Artistic endeavours

Step down into the hull of a restored barge of Big Barge Art Centre , lined with one-off art pieces made from washed-up flotsam and jetsam.

Local artist, Emma Washer pulled the colossal broken-down ship, the Biar Selamat (meaning ‘let’s be safe’) from the overgrown jungle back in 2001.

Emma devoted over 10 years to turn her vision of creating an art gallery into a reality. The 19-metre-long art centre now sits in a prime beachfront location and offers various workshops on recycling washed-up waste.

The Big Barge & Sula Sula Servery — Visit the Big Barge Art Centre for some creativity and culture. (Image: Supplied)

All-things-coconut

Join a farm-based tour of the Wild Coconut Discovery Centre and see behind the scenes of a coconut production centre during a 1.5-hour demonstration. Learn about the timeworn techniques the farmers employ to create their products.

Cocos is laden with coconut palms – you’ll discover how they are utilised to make a range of goods, including tasty coconut chips and delicious ice creams. And you’ll get to enjoy free tastings afterwards in the farm shop.

T-off with locals

Scrounger’s Golf is played every Thursday afternoon across the airport’s international runway. It’s an island initiation must-do, like taking the Polar Plunge in Antarctica, though not nearly as cold.

The nine-hole round is all about teamwork, boardies, beers and banter, rather than getting a ball on the putting green.

Make your way to the Donga, West Island’s local club, sign up, grab some coldies, and hire your clubs, ready for tee-off at 3.30pm.

Cocos Keeling Islands golf course — Play golf across an international runway, just to say you have. (Image: Lynn Gail)

Eating on West Island

After exploring deserted beaches, luxuriating in warm crystalline waters whiling away hours in contented bliss, you’ll no doubt be thinking about satisfying your taste buds. With Cocos’ land mass measuring a mere 14 square kilometres, restaurants are limited. However, there’s a good range of Australian, International and Malaysian fare available.

Watch the fading sun dance through waves from your lantern-lit table at Surfer Girl Brewery . Surfer Girl Brewery offers a range of delicious dishes and great cocktails. Chalk your name up on the outside blackboard or drop in to book. The restaurant also opens for breakfast periodically throughout the week – try their tasty avo and bacon toasties with freshly brewed coffee.

Coconut drink from Surfer Girl Brewery — Surfer Girl Brewery offers a range of delicious drinks. (Image: Supplied)

Pull up a stall next to the locals at Salty’s Grill & Bakery , located externally at the airport. Get your caffeine fix, fresh croissant, pastry or toastie in the mornings. Pop in on Tuesday and Sunday for pizza night, or Friday for fish and chips night. Salty also serves up freshly made sourdough on plane days.

The Big Barge Art Centre’s Sula Sula Servery, a boho-styled cafe built from recycled boat timbers, serves a range of drinks and tasty treats to enjoy as the waves roll in. Check opening hours with the Visitor Centre on West Island.

Add Tropika Restaurant at the Cocos Beach Resort. Buffet style Malaysian and Australian, breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days.

Open daily from 5pm onwards, the Cocos Club is a family-friendly hub, pub and foodery rolled into one. Relax with a cocktail or coldie and play a game of pool as you catch up with locals. They’ll tell you where the surf’s up and where the fish are biting.

Get intimate with your loved one by ordering a delicious spread with Cocos Picnics . They’ll put together a delicious, handmade grazing platter for you to indulge in – your only decision will be which deserted, soft sandy beach to hideaway on.

The basket is filled with gourmet goodies, rugs, cushions, candles and fairy lights – there’s even a pack of cards, a low-ground picnic table and a speaker for your playlist as you lay back to unwind under lazily swaying palms.

Eating on Home Island

Catch the ferry across from West Island for an authentic Malaysian dining experience at Kampong Cafe & Restaurant .

After exploring Home’s Island peaceful Kampong (a traditional Malaysian village) continue your cultural immersion at Island Brunch Cafe with their western-infused Cocos Malay dishes and speciality iced drinks.

Order a takeaway and dip your toes in the water at the lagoon’s edge. The sweeping layers of aquamarine hues are incredible. Pinch yourself to ensure you’re not at home daydreaming, turning pages of a glossy visit-paradise holiday brochure.

Home Island Cooking Cocos Keeling Islands — Enjoy an authentic Malaysian dining experience on Home Island. (Image: Supplied)

Time your visit to Margaret River just right, and you can spend the ultimate weekend wining, dining and exploring the region with Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover.

Wine, world-class produce, surf, sun and beaches: it’s an alluring combination. And the reason so many pin the Margaret River region high on their travel hit-lists. There’s drawcard after drawcard to the southwestern corner of Western Australia, and the Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover food and wine festival showcases the best of it over the course of one weekend in November. It’s never been easier to sip, see and savour the Margaret River region.

In partnership with Pair’d Margaret River Region, Range Rover invites you on a seven-day itinerary of refined adventure, where luxury and exploration go hand in hand. It’s the perfect WA road trip, and there’s no better way to do it than in a Range Rover.

Day 1

the pool at Pullman Bunker Bay — Check into Pullman Bunker Bay.

There’s no more popular West Australian road trip route than that between Perth and the Margaret River Region. It’s an easily digestible, three-hour drive, with worthy pit stops along the way.

Make the first of them one hour and 15 minutes in, at Lake Clifton. Here, find a 2000-year-old living thrombolite reef. Drive for a further 40 minutes and chance meeting some of Bunbury’s dolphin population at Koombana Bay.

Pullman Bunker Bay is the final stop, just over three hours south of Perth. This beachfront, five-star resort is the ultimate base for exploring the Margaret River Wine region.

Day 2

After a leisurely morning breakfast with an ocean view, start your Range Rover and head towards the Dunsborough town centre. Browsing the decidedly coastal-themed goods of the town’s many independent boutiques is a great way to while away the hours, breaking up the sartorial with an artisan gelato snack stop, or some good old-fashioned Australian bakery fare.

Leave room; you’ll need it for the Good Natured Gathering dinner at Wayfinder. Indulge in a four-course feast by chef Felipe Montiel, which uses produce from the winery’s market garden to enhance a selection of sustainably sourced seafood and meat. But food is just the support act. It’s organic wine that’s the star of the show, generously poured and expertly paired to each dish.

Day 3

Settle in for cabernet at Cape Mentelle Winery.

With a grand total of 20 wines from vintage 2022 to try, it’s a good thing Cape Mentelle’s International Cabernet Tasting kicks off early. Make your way to the estate for a 10:00 AM start, where a global selection of wines will be poured blind, before a long lunch by Tiller Dining is served.

Given that the Margaret River is responsible for more than 20 per cent of Australia’s fine wine production, it’s only right to delve into it while in the area.

Continue exploring the region via taste and terroir aboard Alison Maree, a whale-watching catamaran, as you cruise Geographe Bay . Admire the rolling green hills and crisp white beaches of Quindalup in sunset’s golden light, all the while sipping through the Clairault Streicker catalogue and dining on canapes.

For a more substantial dinner, venture into Busselton for a seven-course British x Australian mash-up , courtesy of Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion) and Oliver Kent (Updown Farmhouse, UK). They’ll be putting their rustic yet refined spin on the likes of local marron, wagyu and abalone – championing the simple beauty of the world-class ingredients.

Day 4

Wrap your fingers around a wine glass and wiggle your toes into the sand at Pair’d Beach Club x Range Rover on Meelup Beach. Sit down to an intimate wine session with sommelier Cyndal Petty – or a four-course feast by Aaron Carr of Yarri – and revel in the open-air beach club, bar and restaurant’s laidback coastal vibe. It’s a whole new way to experience one of the region’s most renowned beaches.

Follow up a day in the sun with a casual Italian party at Mr Barvel Wines . Purchase wines –including the elusive, sold-out Nebbia – by the glass and enjoy canapes with the towering Karri forest as a backdrop.

If you’d prefer to keep it local, head to Skigh Wines for the New Wave Gathering , where the region’s independent wine makers and their boundary-pushing wines will be on show. Street-style eats, a DJ and complimentary wine masterclasses complete the experience.

Day 5

pair'd Grand Tasting — Taste your way through Howard Park Wines. (Image: C J Maddock)

Spend the morning at your leisure, driving the winding roads through the Boranup Karri forest in your Range Rover. Soak in the views at Contos Beach, and call into the small cheese, chocolate and preserve producers along the way.

Make your next stop Howard Park Wines for The Grand Tasting presented by Singapore Airlines . Numerous wine labels will be pouring their catalogues over four hours, accompanied by food from chefs Matt Moran and Silvia Colloca, with live opera providing the soundtrack.

Cap off a big weekend with one last hurrah at Busselton Pavilion. Six ‘local legends’ – chefs Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion), Mal Chow (Chow’s Table), Aaron Carr (Yarri), Ben Jacob (Lagoon Yallingup), Corey Rozario (Dahl Daddies) and Laura Koentjoro (Banksia Tavern) – will be preparing a dish each. Dance the night away as vinyl spins and the sun sets on another day.

Day 6

Ngilgi Cave western australia — Head underground. (Image: Tourism WA)

After a busy few days of wining and dining, it’s wise to observe a rest day. There’s no easier task than unwinding in the Margaret River Region, also famous for its high concentration of world-class beaches.

Relax on the grassy knoll as you watch the region’s most experienced surfers braving the World Surf League break at Surfer’s Point, or don your own wetsuit and try out one of Gracetown’s more beginner-friendly waves. Swimmers will find their Eden at Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay, or Point Piquet, where the sand is brilliantly white and the water as still as a backyard swimming pool.

Not into sun, sand, and surf? Head underground at Mammoth Cave, just one of the region’s many stalactite-filled caves.

Day 7

Burnt Ends event at Pair'd — Farewell the Margaret River.

Pack up your Range Rover with new favourite wines and newfound memories, ready for the three-hour journey back to Perth.

Prebook your discovery journey through the south-west corner of Western Australia with Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover.

The best things to do in the Cocos Keeling Islands