Holiday houses in Bribie Island

Packed into just 38 square kilometres, Bribie Island is connected to Queensland’s mainland by bridge and serves up a smorgasbord of holiday experiences. With surf beaches to the west and protected calm waters to the east, the island attracts everyone from nature lovers to boaters and foodies. With a thriving cafe, restaurant, and bar scene as well as a Bribie Island holiday rental to suit every budget, the city is known for being one of the area’s best-kept secrets.

If your love of the great outdoors involves getting up close and personal with nature, head east to experience the protected Pumicestone Passage, an ecologically protected waterway where sightings of dolphins, dugongs, turtles, and seabirds are commonplace. The island’s national park, which covers almost a third of its land mass, is another spot to explore. Its rich diversity of flora and fauna is home to some of Australia’s favourite landlubbers, including kangaroos, wallabies, emus and dingoes. Head to Woorim Beach for white sands, surfing, and bodyboarding, or south to Bongaree to swim in calmer waters.

If you’re looking for a Bribie Island holiday rental and can’t work out the best time to book, you won’t be alone. While many holiday destinations have seasonal appeal, the Sunshine Coast, as the name promises, delivers temperate, warm weather year-round. If you’re planning on off-roading, the drier months in the latter half of the year will pose the fewest challenges. If wildlife spotting is your goal, book between July and October when the whales make their annual pilgrimage past the island. The summer months are Bribie’s busiest and warmest, but, with miles of beach and national parkland, it’s never hard to get off the beaten track and find a cool swimming spot, even without the four-wheel drive.

Butterfly Sanctuary

Don your most colourful clothes and get ready to experience a little bit of magic in Bribie Island’s butterfly sanctuary. This outdoor garden sanctuary is home to hundreds of brightly coloured butterflies, caterpillars, and chrysalises. Watch these captivating creatures fly among the flowers, and if you’re lucky, land on you. The sanctuary is open all day, but early afternoon is the best time to visit, when the butterflies are at their most active.

Bicentennial Trail

Starting at the Community Centre, this trail winds its way through eucalyptus forest, paperback wetlands, and rare wallum heathlands. The sandy track features blooming banksia, palm grove, and dainty melaleuca, and you can expect to see colourful island birds including rainbow bee-eaters and red-backed wrens. At a gentle pace, the circular walk is just under four kilometres and takes about an hour, allowing time to take in the island’s natural treasures on the way.

Bribie Island Seaside Museum

Immerse yourself in Bribie Island’s past, present, and future at this museum dedicated to all things Bribie. There’s a cinema showcasing a selection of films about the island, a huge collection of preserved fish that are indigenous to the area, and a treasure trove of historical facts and finds that uncovers the social history of the island people including their role in World War II. The museum also holds regular events to entertain its younger audience.