Phillip Island Beaches: Here Is Your Ultimate Guide

Fishing, surfing, swimming, sunbaking: the choice is yours on Phillip Island’s plentiful supply of beaches.

Home to Victoria’s first National Surfing Reserve, Phillip Island is a bit of a surfer’s paradise, but there’s plenty of coastal real estate for other activities too. Generally speaking, the sheltered north side of the island is great for swimming and stand-up paddleboarding, while the south side features more wild surf beaches, better suited to surfing and bodyboarding.

Planning a visit? Read on to learn about six of the best Phillip Island beaches to escape to.

Smiths Beach

Home of the fabled ‘Express Point’, a barrelling reef break that’s suitable only for experienced surfers, it’s known to many locals as the island’s premier wave. There’s plenty of white water action for beginners and bodyboarders too, however, with a number of surf schools offering lessons (try Girls on Board, Island Surfboards or Archy Surf) and surf shops with boards and wetsuits for hire. The one-kilometre-long beach is also great for a spot of family rock pooling – during low tide, there are pools to explore at both ends of the beach, and some are even large enough to snorkel in. After a morning spent in the sun, sand and sea, power up with a well-earned Allpress coffee and housemade sausage roll at the Smiths Beach General Store.

See also: neighbouring YCW Beach, which has plenty of gentle and consistent swells.

Red Rock Beach

As the name suggests, this golden arc of silica is backed by – and peppered with – jagged, brick-red rocks. Not to be confused with ‘Red Rock’, in the island’s south-east, Red Rock Beach is a sheltered and scenic setting on the island’s north that’s great for brisk beach walks come sunrise or sunset, for lazy family picnics, and for hopping between wildlife-rich rockpools. The shallow and clear waters make it one of the safer spots for swimming too. Keen anglers also frequent these parts, which are popular for rock fishing, often reeling in King George whiting, snapper and flathead.

Cape Woolamai Surf Beach

A vast stretch of sand – the longest and most exposed on all of Phillip Island, in fact – Cape Woolamai is where you’ll find some of the best beach breaks in Victoria, with waves consistently measuring around 1.7 metres. Seasoned surfers will enjoy the long lefts and rights that peel over the wide banks.

Although the waters are patrolled by the Woolamai Surf Lifesaving Club during the summer months, the surf here is notoriously dangerous, so those looking for somewhere to take a dip are better off taking their beach towels to a different belt of sand.

Cape Woolamai Surf Beach — Cape Woolamai is where you’ll find some of the best beach breaks in Victoria. (Image: Visit Victoria)

The beach is surrounded by the Cape Woolamai State Faunal Reserve, which is a great spot for a ramble or two: exploit one of the four coastal walking track loops, and admire the surf from the safety of the lookout points above (Cape Woolamai is Phillip Island’s highest point). There’s a small kiosk turning out hot coffees and cold ice creams too.

Kitty Miller Bay Beach

Primed for adventures both above and below the waterline, this snug little bay welcomes surfers, snorkelers, beach walkers, swimmers and fishermen. You can even take a little expedition to see the rusted remains of the SS Speke, which was shipwrecked on this very shore in 1906. Take your little ones and collect some shells, or inspect the beach’s many rock pools. The only downside to Kitty Miller Bay Beach is the lack of facilities: there are no toilets, showers or shops in the vicinity, but it’s only a 10-minute drive from the main township of Cowes.

Forrest Caves Beach

Offering visitors something a little different, this southern beach, which is effectively part of Cape Woolamai Surf Beach, has some secret features that can only be accessed during low tide: sea caves. Formed by erosion of the red basalt rocks over many years, you can wander through these hollowed out chambers and gaze up through naturally formed holes in its ceiling. From the Forrest Caves Car Park, it’s around a 45-minute walk, round-trip.

Man wanders through Forrest Caves. — Wander through the hollowed out chambers of Forrest Caves.

Due to its strong currents, high waves and rips, Forrest Caves Beach isn’t best suited to swimmers, but surfers and anglers often drop by. And throughout spring, summer and autumn, a plethora of feathered visitors stop by: the beach’s large sand dunes become home to thousands of short-tailed shearwaters between October and April, while hooded plovers come to nest on the beach between August and March.

Cowes Beach

It wouldn’t be right to list Phillip Island’s best beaches without naming what is arguably its most popular sweep of sand: Cowes. A small swimming beach that’s right in the thick of the action, Cowes Beach is just a few steps from the township’s shops and cafes, making it a great spot for a lazy afternoon of sunbaking or a picnic. And once you’ve had your fill of sunshine and saltwater, pootle along the jetty and peer into local anglers’ buckets before hitting Thompson Avenue for a cool glass of crisp rosé at one of the bars or pubs.

Now read our guide to the top things to do in Phillip Island.

Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place.

Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat.

After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.

The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

Setting sail from Mildura

Murray River birds — Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.

My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.

Stop one: Echuca

19th-century paddlesteamers — A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star , is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.

The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.

Stop two: Barmah National Park

Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.

The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.

Stop three: Cobram

Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange.

The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.

Stop four: Albury-Wodonga

First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk — First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town.

Playing there

BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura — Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists.

Eating there

Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.

A guide to Phillip Island’s beaches for your next day out