Things to do in Kingscliff, NSW: How to plot the perfect visit

The best things to do in Kingscliff, NSW, include surfing lessons at Kingscliff Beach and snorkelling tours to the Cook Island Aquatic Reserve.

The best things to do in Kingscliff, NSW, are predictably coastal. This town on the Tweed Coast, north of Byron Bay and south of the Queensland border, is a major surfing hotspot.

This is partly because beaches face in several directions, with the main beach curving round from near north-facing to south-east facing. The best spot to surf shifts depending on the winds.

Kingscliff Beach in Kingscliff, New South Wales. Photo courtesy of Destination NSW.

Things to do in Kingscliff, NSW: Surfing lessons at Kingscliff Beach

That main, dune-backed beach is an absolute cracker too, stretching 6.4km around Wommin Bay. In the north, near Fingal Head, it is known as Dreamtime Beach. At the southern end, towards the mouth of Cudgen Creek and Cudgen Headland, it is known as Kingscliff Beach. It’s at this southern end that you’ll find the Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club. Swim between the flags near the surf club, as Kingscliff Beach and Dreamtime Beach can have some nasty rips.

Five fabulous Tweed Coast experiences to at least consider booking

Tweed River lunch cruise – with wildlife viewing in the rainforest.
Crab-catching tour in Tweed Heads.
Farm tour at Tropical Fruit World – with wildlife spotting cruise.
Progressive four course meal across four top Kingscliff restaurants.
Husk Distillers distillery tour – with tastings.

If you’ve never surfed before, In2Surf Surf School offers one-and-a-half hour beginner lessons for $55 per person. It’s the same duration and price for the Salty Girls Surf School, but this is a female-only surf school.

Things to do in Kingscliff, NSW: Cook Island snorkelling tours

Surfing is not the only watersport you can try out in Kingscliff. Watersports Guru on Cudgen Creek hires out stand-up paddleboards and kayaks, which you can take south towards Cabarita Beach.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Watersports Guru runs snorkelling tours to the Cook Island Aquatic Reserve. These tours are one of the best things to do in Kingscliff, and arguably on the whole Tweed Coast. The tours head to Cook Island, which is just off Fingal Head. This is a notoriously good place to see green turtles, and they’re usually the highlight while you’re underwater.

Come between May and November, and you might have to brave colder water. But there’s also a good chance of seeing migrating humpback whales.

Restaurants and cafés in Kingscliff, NSW

Kingscliff hits that happy mix of having enough cafés and restaurants to feel alive, without feeling close to being overdeveloped. The Kingscliff Beach Hotel is the centre of the action, but there are plenty of other options. The Salt Mill and the Red Monkey Café are favourites. You can also sleep right by the beach at the Kingscliff caravan park.

If staying in Kingscliff, there are a few other attractions in the Northern Rivers region that are worth a look. These include Tropical Fruit World farm tour in Duranbah, Pipit Restaurant in Pottsville and Husk Distillers in Tumbulgum.

The Kingscliff to Byron Bay drive takes around 44 minutes.