What are the best things to do in Dicky Beach, Queensland?
The best things to do in Dicky Beach, Queensland, are learning to surf and dining with a cheap beer at the Dicky Beach Surf Club.
Dicky Beach is one of the most beloved beaches on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, at least partly because it’s a good place to learn to surf.
Surfing lessons at Dicky Beach
Dicky Beach competes with Kings Beach and Bulcock Beach to be the most popular hangout in Caloundra, at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast. As the name would suggest, the focus here is on the sand and sea. The beach is about 800 metres long, with rips at either end but relatively safe swimming in the middle. Swells are fairly consistent, but by the time they reach the beach break, they’re generally low enough for novice surfers to get good practice on.
Caloundra checklist: 5 fab experiences to book in advance
1. Kayak hire or paddleboard rental at Golden Beach. 2. Self-guided scavenger hunt. 3. Half day Pummicestone Passage jetski tour. 4. Waterways cruise. 5. Two hour Efoil lesson.
The North Caloundra Surf School operates some lessons at Dicky Beach, although its primary base is Kings Beach. Beginner group lessons last an hour-and-a-half, and cost $50.
Dicky Beach Surf Club
The other main reason to visit Dicky Beach in Caloundra is the Dicky Beach Surf Club. As with the Currumbin Surf Club on the Gold Coast and Mooloolaba Surf Club further north in Mooloolaba, this is only ostensibly a base for lifeguards.
It operates as a private members’ club, which gives it tax breaks and different licences to bars are restaurants. Anyone who lives more than 5km away is allowed to sign in as a guest, which essentially makes it a cheap bar for anyone not from the area.
12 fantastic Sunshine Coast experiences to book now
- Taste coffee and ginger, do rainforest walks, and visit the best lookouts on a highlight-packed hinterland tour.
- Take a serene Noosa Everglades cruise along the mirror-like waterways – or canoe through the Everglades.
- Learn to surf at a Sunshine Coast surf school – or try paddleboarding instead.
- Combine sight-seeing and thrills on a fast boat tour.
- Go e-mountain biking on the downhill trails of Tewantin National Park.
- Kayak with dolphins as part of a beach 4WD tour.
- Explore the Sunshine Coast from above on a seaplane flight.
- Take an indigenous cultural tour – with bush tucker tasting.
- Visit the region’s best craft breweries and distilleries on a drinks tasting tour.
- Go jetskiing through the gorgeous Pumicestone Passage.
- Taste wines, cheeses and chocolates on a hinterland food tour.
- Watch migrating humpbacks on a whale-watching cruise.
Surf Club menu
The restaurant at the Dicky Beach Surf Club is worth a look, too. It doesn’t do anything too fancy, but serves up hearty Australian meals. Options include the chicken parma, battered snapper, grilled barramundi and chargrilled rib fillet. More spicy options include the beef korma curry and pulled pork tacos. Main dishes cost from around $22, but you can see the full menu on the surf club website.
If you’re pickier about your beers, head a little further south to Moffat Beach where the Moffat Beach Brewing Co serves up its craft brews.
If you plan to stay in Dicky Beach, then the Dicky Beach caravan park is likely to prove the cheapest option.
More Australian beach hangouts
Washerwomans Beach in Bendalong, NSW.
Toowoon Bay Holiday Park in Toowoon Bay on the Central Coast, New South Wales.
Mount Martha Beach on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.
Johanna Beach on the Great Ocean Road.
White sand beaches in Orford, Tasmania.