Iluka Beach, Jervis Bay Territory: Is this white sand beach worth seeing?

Inside the Jervis Bay Territory, Iluka Beach is a white sand beach within the Booderee National Park. It’s worth seeing if visiting the territory anyway, and offers relatively safe swimming.

Where is Iluka Beach?

Iluka Beach is one of several stunning beaches within the Jervis Bay Territory – Australia’s smallest mainland territory. It is not as well known as Murrays Beach or Cave Beach, but it is one of the most easily accessible beaches within the territory.

Iluka Beach is essentially part of a trio, alongside Captains Beach and Green Patch. They merge into one, providing a white sand sweep, facing north-east.

Iluka Beach in the Jervis Bay Territory. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Iluka Beach and the Booderee National Park entry fee

This Australian white sand beach tends to be quieter than the nearby – and much more famous – Hyams Beach. That’s because Iluka Beach is within the Booderee National Park and the Jervis Bay Territory, rather than New South Wales. You have to pay a $13 entry fee per car to enter the national park.

Given that Jervis Bay has dozens of stunning white sand beaches – including Blenheim Beach and Callala Beach – that don’t require an entry fee, it’s reasonable to question why it’s worth paying to visit Iluka Beach. The answer that it isn’t worth paying to visit as a destination in its own right. But Iluka Beach is worth a visit in the two days that the Booderee National Park entrance pass covers anyway.

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Is it worth visiting Iluka Beach, Jervis Bay Territory?

Essentially, if you’re visiting the Jervis Bay Territory, then Iluka Beach may as well be one of your stops. Iluka Beach is one of the closest beaches to Jervis Bay Village, and often has stunningly clear water.

There are several places to pull up a car nearby. The parking spots along Iluka Road are only a few steps away from the beach. The gaps in the bushland double up as access tracks.

What makes Iluka Beach special is that green, bushland backing. It feels wonderfully wild, although it is also largely safe for swimming. There’s a reasonably steep drop, but waves tend to be small due to the protection of the headlands and Bowen Island further east.

6 Jervis Bay experiences worth booking now

See the dolphins and lounge above the water on a dolphin cruise with boom netting.
Explore the beaches, spotting wildlife on the way, with a sea kayaking tour.
Watch sunset on the beach, then explore the heavens with an astrophysicist on an evening stargazing experience.
Admire the migrating humpbacks on a whale-watching cruise.
Try cycling on the sand on a Culburra Beach fat-biking tour.
Discover the lesser-visited hideaways on a hidden secrets cruise.

Where to stay in Huskisson

The best Huskisson accommodation options are:

For a holiday park kids will love: Jervis Bay Holiday Park.
To be right in the centre of the action: Huskisson Hotel.
For a well-reviewed motel: Jervis Bay Motel.

This article came as a result of a Melbourne to Sydney coastal road trip in March/ April 2022. This trip was supported by Tourism Australia.