Southbank artificial beach, Brisbane: Streets Beach swimming

It is free to swim at the man-made Streets Beach on Southbank, Brisbane. It’s likely to be busy, though – the massive Brisbane artificial beach is hugely popular.

Why visit Southbank, Brisbane?

Southbank in Brisbane is undeniably the Queensland capital’s tourist focal point. Across the Brisbane River from the public art-packed CBD, Southbank combines carefully designed gardens with a host of restaurants and ice cream outlets. Southbank is designed as a place to hang out, but if you’ve got kids in tow, you’re inevitably going to end up at Streets Beach.

Big lagoon-style artificial beaches are a fairly big thing in Australia. You can find them in Darwin, Cairns, Airlie Beach and Hervey Bay, for example.

What makes the Streets Beach man-made beach so unusual is that it’s in the inner city, rather than on an esplanade just back from the coast.

9 brilliant Brisbane experiences to book in advance

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary tickets (or entry plus river cruise combo) – hold a koala and see lots of adorable native wildlife.
Brisbane River cruise – see the key sights and learn about the city on the way.
Story Bridge Adventure Climb – walk along the top of Brisbane’s famous bridge, with 360 degree views.
Combine the Southbank Parklands, City Botanic Gardens and Kangaroo Point Cliffs on a fun Segway tour.
Helicopter flight – see the city from a bird’s eye view.
Kayaking tour – choose the night tour to see the city light up, the day tour to enjoy the sunshine.
XXXX brewery tour – see how Australia’s most famous beer is made.
Guided wine flight tasting – get an Aussie wine introductory course.
See Brisbane’s spooky side on a city centre ghost tour.

Artificial beach in Brisbane

Streets Beach on Southbank, Brisbane — It is free to swim at Streets Beach on Brisbane’s Southbank. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.

Essentially, Streets Beach is a giant open-air swimming pool with some sand plonked next to it. But this is a city where the beach suburbs aren’t all that much to write home about. The walk from Manly to Wynnum might be pretty nice, but the actual beaches themselves are disappointing.

Therefore a big artificial beach just across from the City Botanic Gardens becomes highly tempting. Streets Beach offers 2,000 square metres of water, and 4,000 square metres of sand, surrounded by subtropical plants.

6 supreme Brisbane day trips that will improve your holiday

Moreton Island day trip – with kayaking, sandboarding and snorkelling or with dolphin-feeding and desert dunes adventure.
Springbrook National Park glowworms and rainforest tour – including Tamborine Skywalk.
Eumundi Markets day trip – Australia’s best markets, plus the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and Noosa.
North Stradbroke Island day tour – with cruise, wildlife spotting and guided walk.
Tamborine Mountain winery tour – with gourmet lunch.
Maialia rainforest walking and wildlife tour – visit lesser-known D’Aguilar National Park.

Brisbane’s man-made beach: Is it safe to swim at Streets Beach?

One important factor is that it is safe to swim at Streets Beach. Brisbane’s man-made beach is patrolled by lifeguards year-round. It’s also fun to swim at Streets Beach.

If the kids get bored of splashing, there are two other water play spaces next to it. Children are generally happy flitting between the Streets Beach, Boat Pool and Aquativity Water Play Park for most of the day.

Crucially, in a country where travel can be quite expensive, it doesn’t cost anything to swim at Streets Beach. Swimming at Brisbane’s artificial beach is free of charge. Now, this is great in terms of saving money, but not so much in terms of peace and quiet. Streets Beach on Brisbane’s Southbank is likely to be busy when you get there. Very busy…

You can get to the Streets Beach on the Brisbane free ferry.