Things to do in Mission Beach, QLD: Your free, insider guide

The best things to do in Mission Beach, Queensland include the Bicton Hill Climb, beach skydives and Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tours.

Mission Beach, Queensland, is arguably the most attractive holiday town between Townsville and Cairns. It is close to the Great Barrier Reef and surrounded by rainforest, with several National Park walks to enjoy.

To book your Mission Beach accommodation, check out the options here.

Mission Beach is made up of four separate beach villages, spread out over 14km. From north to south, these villages are Bingil Bay, North Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach and South Mission Beach.

Mission Beach, Queensland, has 14km of beaches. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.

Things to do in Mission Beach, Queensland: Bingil Bay walks

Therefore, the things to do in Mission Beach are best tackled village by village. At Bingil Bay, the highlight is the tiny Clump Mountain National Park. Here, the 3.9km loop circuit to the top of Bicton Hill is the main attraction. It heads through lowland rainforest towards tremendous views out over the family islands. Be careful – you might encounter a cassowary here.

Less taxing is the Cutten Brothers Walking Track, which hugs the coast from the southern end of Narragon Beach. It’s a notoriously good place for spotting birds and butterflies amongst the ferns, and joins on to the Ulysses Link Walking Track towards North Mission Beach.

For beach time in Bingil Bay, Narragon Beach is the less crowded option and has a park behind it.

5 great Mission Beach experiences to book in advance

Small group Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruise – with pristine snorkelling on the Outer Reef, barbecue lunch and snorkelling equipment provided.
Hull River National Park eco cruise – spotting wildlife in the mangroves.
Full day sports rafting on the Tully River – tackle the rapids while rafting through the rainforest.
Skydive from 15,000ft – and land on the beach.
Dunk Island day trip – with plenty of time for rainforest hikes.

What to do in North Mission Beach

North Mission Beach is arguably the busiest part of Mission Beach. This is where you’ll find the Visitor Information Centre, Castaways Resort and the Mission Beach Hideaway Holiday Village.

The beach is patrolled near the Castaways Resort, and there is a stinger net for safer swimming during the marine stinger season. This theoretically keeps the local crocodiles out, too.

Skydive Mission Beach is also based at North Mission Beach. The company offers tandem jumps from up to 15,000ft.

You’ll also find Mission Beach Bike Hire along Porter Promenade. This bike rental company hires out both mountain bikes and fatter-tyred beach bikes. The latter, of course, are ideal for exploring the beach.

The best mountain bike trail in Mission Beach is the Licuala-Musgravea Track through the Djiru National Park. This connects the Licuala day use area and the Lacey Creek day use area, through lowland rainforest and past plenty of palm trees. The trail is mainly flat, and follows an old timber-hauling trail.

Why Mission Beach is the best place to skydive in Australia

Mission Beach is the best place to skydive in Australia because:

You can jump from 15,000ft – which means extra freefall time.
On the way down, you see the rainforest on one side, and the Great Barrier Reef on the other.
The Mission Beach skydive lands on one of the most incredible beaches in the country.

Find out more (and book if you want to)

Things to do in Mission Beach, Queensland: Wongaling Beach and South Mission Beach

Wongaling Beach is considerably quieter, but has plenty of apartment accommodation and a picnic area behind the beach.

South Mission Beach has more to it, and if you want to hire a boat to go to Dunk Island, Mission Beach Boat Hire is your best bet. This boat rental company is next to the Tasman Holiday Park and Beachcomber’s Coconut Café.

The other highlight of South Mission Beach is the Kennedy Walking Track. This 4km one way track is part beach walking, part forest walking. There are several lookouts along the way, where you can try to spot turtles, dolphins and dugongs. You might see wallabies and cassowaries in the rainforest sections, too.

Mission Beach tours

There are a few tour options from Mission Beach as well. Mission Beach Charters offers Dunk Island transfers, fishing charters and Great Barrier Reef snorkelling trips.

Mission Beach Dive runs a PADI diving school, but also diving and snorkelling trips to the Great Barrier Reef. And, if you prefer your boat trip to be considerably more hair-raising, Raging Thunder offers Mission Beach pick-ups for its Tully River white water rafting trips.

Mission Beach accommodation

Mission Beach accommodation options include the beachfront Castaways Resort, the more wallet-conscious Mission Beach Resort and the bargain Dunk Island View Resort.

The drive from Cairns to Mission Beach takes just under two hours.

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