The Sunshine Coast is one of Australia’s all-time favourite holiday destinations. It’s a huge place extending from the Glass House Mountains north to Rainbow Beach, and west to Kenilworth and the Blackall Range. Mooloolaba beach is located smack bang in the middle of it! However, Mooloolaba can often be overlooked when planning a Sunshine Coast escape, as people tend to favour Noosa Heads, Maroochydore or Caloundra instead.
Mooloolaba is a fantastic spot where you can relax and unwind while having access to a number of experiences you can’t find elsewhere on the Sunshine Coast, a thriving bar & foodie scene and some of the most picturesque beaches and parks in the world. We recently spent 3 nights in Mooloolaba checking out the best things it has to offer, Let me show you why Mooloolaba should be at the top of your list for your next beach escape.
Day One
Mooloolaba is located 100km north of Brisbane and the drive takes about 90 minutes if you take the highway the whole way. As we couldn’t check in to the hotel until 2pm we decided to enjoy lunch along the way.
Lunch at Banana Bender pub @ Aussie World
We have driven past the Banana Bender pub so many times when going up the coast, but since it changed from being the Ettamogah pub years ago we had never stopped in to see the changes. It was actually pretty cool and there is definitely something for everyone here. We had cocktails and lunch at the restaurant on the top floor and the food was delicious and the service was excellent.
If you are planning on coming up on a weekend or school holidays you should definitely make a booking, as it was pretty busy even on a standard week day. If you have kids in tow or time to kill, you can also visit the Aussie World theme park, which has definitely grown over the past few years and now has a whole bunch of fun looking rides.
Check out the Banana Bender pub here: https://www.thebananabenderpub.com.au/
Where we stayed – Breeze Mooloolaba
Breeze is Mooloolaba’s newest luxury resort that offers 1, 2 and 3 bedroom self-contained apartments with a Pool, Spa and BBQ facilities on site. Being a new resort, they were offering a fantastic via Luxury Escapes a few months ago and I managed to get one of their best rooms, located on the front side of the building facing the beach for an awesome price.
Breeze is located just a block away from the hustle and bustle from the main part of the esplanade, but still walking distance to everything. They have a great pool and BBQ area and everything is fresh and new. We really enjoyed our stay and would definitely recommend this hotel for a trip to Mooloolaba.
Check out Breeze Mooloolaba here: https://www.breezemooloolaba.com.au/
Sunset Cruise
Coastal Cruises Mooloolaba offers a daily sunset canal cruise that is excellent value and great fun. The cruise goes for around 90 minutes and includes a quick stop at the Seafood Markets to grab a super fresh and delicious seafood dinner for those who want it (extra cost). Noel and I already had dinner plans, so we just enjoyed a few (like about 10) drinks and the view while listening to the entertaining commentary provided by the skipper.
Check out the Sunset cruise here: https://www.cruisemooloolaba.com.au/cruise/mooloolaba-sunset-cruise
Dinner @ Dirty Moe’s
Dirty Moe's is a super cool diner near the Landmark Resort that offers great weeknight specials. We were here on a Tuesday night, which turned out to be Brisket night (Yum!). We got a generous serving of Brisket and two huge sides for $20 each!! It was a really popular spot, probably because of the great specials, so if you want to eat here I would recommend making a booking so you don't miss out.
The specials are listed on their website and they are definitely worth a visit whilst you are here!
Check out Dirty Moe’ here: https://www.dirtymoesmooloolaba.com/home
Day Two
Breakfast at Backstreet Cafe
We popped into the Backstreet Cafe, which was located close to our hotel for a quick but delicious breakfast. Noel liked the coffee here and it came with a chocolate freckle (which I ate). This is a great spot for a casual brekkie before you start your day.
Point Cartwright lighthouse & Lookout
The Point Cartwright lighthouse and lookout and located a short drive from Mooloolaba and definitely worth a visit while you are here. It is only a very short walk from the carpark up to the lighthouse and the views back to Mooloolaba, down the beach and out to the open ocean are spectacular. We also saw a number of whales making their way back down the coast from this spot, so if you are here between May-October keep a look out.
This would have also made a great picnic spot, so if you are looking for a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours definitely put this place on your list, pack a picnic rug and enjoy the great views.
Lunch at Taps Mooloolaba
We headed back to Mooloolaba to grab some lunch at Taps. Taps have "pour your own" beers and a great atmosphere. They also have a number of gaming consoles that you can use and Noel had a great time playing Mario Kart while we enjoyed our lunch.
The food was surprisingly good! They also have an amazing wing special on Wednesdays, so make sure you pop in on a Wednesday when you are around. They have Poutine with real cheese curds, so until we can travel again and get back to Canada then these were pretty close to the real thing!
While you wouldn't visit Mooloolaba for the nightlife, if you are looking for a late night dinner or place to have a few drinks Taps are open very late every night of the week and the kitchen churns out food until Midnight.
Check out Taps here: https://www.tapsaustralia.com.au/
Beach/pool chill/relax time!
After a big morning, we headed back to the hotel to enjoy some R&R time by floating around in the pool and spa. We were going to go out for dinner but were still so full from lunch, so we decided to watch movies and order some late night Uber Eats instead!
Day Three
What is Art? Cafe
After a couple of days of eating all things hearty and deep fried, we were after a lighter breakfast this morning. We headed to the "What Is Art cafe", which is Mooloolaba's newest Acai & Poke bar just across the road from the patrolled section of the beach. We both enjoyed a delicious Acai bowl.
Behind the scenes tour @ Sea Life Sunshine Coast
You can't come to Mooloolaba without going to SeaLife (previously known as Underwater World). We had booked ourselves in for the "Behind the Scenes" tour, which promises to take a maximum of 6 guests into the non guest areas, including the turtle rehabilitation hospital, to show them how everything operates.
There was only us and one other lady on the tour and we were first taken to see the sharks and giant stingrays that most people only ever see from the underwater tunnel. However, we got to see these guys from above and REALLY up close. We visited the two turtles who were currently in intensive care (and doing really well!) and then finished the tour by seeing all the different stages of development in the Jellyfish nursery. The tour only costs $10 more than general admission and is 110% worth doing. Due to the limited spots available you should definitely book this in advance. There is no photography allowed whilst on the tour, so all the pics above are from the general admission areas of Sea Life only.
After our tour concluded, we went to watch the Seal show (a must do) and then spent some time looking at the penguins, walking through the underwater tunnel and checking out all the other cool critters that call this place home.
Due to COVID capacity limits, you must pre-book online for every session. You should plan to spend at least 2-3 hours here.
Check out Sea Life here: https://www.visitsealife.com/sunshine-coast/
Lunch at Rice Boi
Rice Boi is an asain fusion restaurant located at the Mooloolaba wharf and has managed to become a bit of a Mooloolaba institution. Just like SeaLife, no trip here would be complete without a visit. We came for lunch after we finished at the Aquarium and really enjoyed every single thing that we ordered. I don't think you can go wrong here.
Rice Boi do not take bookings (with the exception of large groups), so you may be in for a little bit of a wait to eat here but I can promise you that it is worth it.
Check out Rice Boi here: https://riceboi.com.au/
Aquaduck Sunshine Coast
Just outside the front entrance of Sea Life is the AquaDuck departure point. It looked like lots of fun, and if the sunset cruise is not for you the Aquaduck seems to do a pretty similar canal cruise. They had a family ticket that seemed like a pretty good deal, so if you are coming with kids this might round out a really fun day for you.
Check out the Aqua Duck here: https://www.aquaduck.com.au/sunshine-coast
Dinner from Bella Venezia Restaurant
Bella Venezia is a super swanky restaurant with a great interior and they have won lots of awards. If you are celebrating a special occasion or just feel like treating yourself to a bougee dinner while you are on holidays, this is definitely the spot for it.
They also offer takeaway, so instead of dining in, we opted to grab our food to go and enjoy a sunset dinner on our balcony for our last night. We got both their pizza and pasta and both were delicious. Just be aware they seem to like adding anchovies and olives to a lot of things that you wouldn't expect anchovies and olives on (ie meatlovers pizza) so be careful to check the menu and ask them to customise the toppings to your liking, which they are more than happy to do.
Check out Bella Venezia here: https://www.bellavenezia.com.au/
Day Four
Adventure Rafting Whale Watching Tour
Forget boring old whale watching cruises on big slow boats with hundreds of people, they are so 2019! Adventure Rafting offers the most exciting and personal whale watching tour you could possibly imagine. Taking a small group of just 9 passengers you are guaranteed uninterrupted views and up close and personal views without the crowds! The completely open design of the vessel, along with its low position in the water, offers our guests an unparalleled, unobstructed Whale Watching experience.
It was coming towards the end of the whale watching season, so we spent about an hour splashing through the waves in the jet boat before we found a mumma whale and her baby splashing around and generally being very cute. They were so close to us and it was amazing to be in the small, open boat rather than on a big vessel with lots of other people. As along as you don't have any back issues and you aren't pregnant, this is a great tour to do!
Check Out Ocean Adventure Rafting here: https://adventurerafting.com.au/
And there you have it! A great way to fill in 72 hours in this beautiful part of the world. What are your favourite things to do in Mooloolaba? Let me know if the comments and I will check them out next time we are there!!
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