Holiday houses in Kings Beach

A seaside suburb in the town of Caloundra, Kings Beach can lay claim to being the historic heart of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It was here on its namesake stretch of sand that the first surf life-saving club in the region was established in the 1930s. The lovely Spanish Mission-style changing pavilion and kiosk, built in 1937 on the northern headland of Kings Beach to cater to the emerging trend of swimming in the sea, is still in use today. The restored building sits next to the modern surf life-saving club and a striking public lap pool, built on the rocks overlooking the waves. It’s a great spot for checking out local surfers in action: Kings Beach has the best surfing conditions in the area. East of the beach, a pathway leads around the rocky headland to the neighbouring Shelly, Moffat, and Dicky beaches. To the west is Caloundra’s town centre and shopping precinct, tiny Bulcock Beach and, across a fast-moving tidal channel, the national park and sand dunes of Bribie Island.

This beachside destination has long been a popular holiday spot for residents of Brisbane and the colder southern Australian cities. Kings Beach and the rest of Caloundra can get crowded during the summer school holidays, from mid-December until the end of January, as well as the Easter long weekend. Summer days in subtropical Kings Beach are hot and humid, and the nights are balmy when the sea breezes drop off.

The sweet spot for visiting Kings Beach is in spring, from September to November, when you’ll experience warm, dry days before the end-of-year holiday crowds take over the sand. The Caloundra Music Festival is held at the Kings Beach Amphitheatre over four days in early October, right in the middle of that golden run of spring days. And if you come for the surfing, you’ll encounter consistently cleaner breaks during winter, but the surf is usually rideable all year round.

Pumicestone Passage

A channel of water separating Bribie Island from the mainland in Moreton Bay Marine Park, Pumicestone Passage stretches from the southern tip of Caloundra south to Deception Bay. Grab a kayak or stand-up paddleboard to explore this sheltered passage, home to turtles, dolphins, dugongs, and dozens of species of shorebirds.

Caloundra Coastal Walk

From Kings Beach, you can follow a scenic coastal walking path south along Pumicestone Passage to Golden Beach. The return journey takes around two hours on foot. You can also follow the coastal walk north from Kings Beach as far as Mooloolaba, a four-hour hike one-way.

The markets

Caloundra hosts two regular markets that are around a 15-minute walk from Kings Beach. At Caloundra Street Fair, held each Sunday morning in the town centre, you can browse local handmade jewellery and artworks and grab brunch. And at Bulcock Beach’s Caloundra Twilight Market, on the last Friday of the month, you’ll choose nearly two dozen food stalls for an al fresco dinner.