📍 How To Get To Rainbow Beach, Australia? Can You Get There By 2WD Or Do You Need A 4WD?
WONDERING HOW TO GET TO RAINBOW BEACH, QUEENSLAND?
Rainbow Beach is one of Queensland’s most breathtaking seaside towns. And for good reason. Surrounded by the two mainland sections of the expansive Great Sandy National Park, this idyllic seaside destination is revered for being the gateway to some of the state’s most epic coastal terrain. The frontrunner is the magnificent Coloured Sands, the long stretch of soft sandy sea cliffs of various red, yellow and grey hues that start just south of the town and extend 16km to Double Island Point, and is the reason for the town’s name. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
It is also the southern gateway to the third and most famous section of the national park, K’gari, which covers the entirety of the island of the same name (which formerly went by Frasier Island), where there are even more breathtaking landscapes to discover. And between those two places lie the rustic beachfront campgrounds of the third section, the Inskip Peninsula, showing why it’s little wonder these places get so much attention.
But what about travelling to town and the remote places in the national park? Can you get to these places by 2WD? Or do you need a 4WD? Well, that’s a multi-faceted question, so keep reading to find out how to get to Rainbow Beach and what vehicle you need to get to its best attractions.
👉 Key takeaways for visiting Rainbow Beach:
- You can reach the town in a regular 2WD vehicle.
- There’s a back route from Noosa North Shore that requires a 4WD.
How To Get To Rainbow Beach.
Can You Get To Rainbow Beach by 2WD? Or Do You Need A 4WD?
Yes! You can reach the gorgeous coastal town of Rainbow Beach with a conventional 2WD vehicle. But you also can’t. Let’s dive deep into what that means.
There are two ways to get to this iconic Queensland destination. The main route into town is turning off the Bruce Highway (A1) from Gympie and travelling along Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach Road. It’s a fully-sealed road, meaning everyone with a licensed road vehicle can easily access this gorgeous coastal heaven. You could even go there by with the touring bus company, Greyhound Buses.
But that’s not the only way to get to this spectacular seaside hotspot. It is also reachable from the equally picturesque town of Noosa with a little more effort. First, you’ll need a 4WD, obtain a beach driving permit, board a ferry to reach Noosa North Shore, then drive along Teewah Beach before exiting at Freshwater Lake/ Campground or the Leisha Track at the northern end near Double Island Point, then follow the rugged roads from there, which is a more scenic and adventurous way to go.
Do I Need A 4WD To Get To Cooloola?
Cooloola is the biggest of the three sections of the Great Sandy National Park. It starts just south of the Rainbow Beach township in the Gympie region and finishes at Noosa North Shore in the Sunshine Coast.
While you will need a high clearance 4WD to reach most places within this breathtaking coastal wilderness, there are several incredible attractions that have car parks easily accessible by conventional 2WDs. These include Seary’s Creek, Carlo Sandblow and Poona Creek.
Best of all, the Coloured Sands start only 1km south of town, meaning that most visitors can see the spectacular hues of this iconic landscape without needing a 4WD.
Can You Get To Double Island Point Without A 4WD?
Double Island Point is the only headland in the vast Cooloola Section of Great Sandy National Park. If you want to drive there, a high clearance 4WD is required. You can either do the iconic 16km beach drive along the spectacular 40m high Coloured Sands sea cliffs or head down Freshwater Road past the campground and lake of the same name to end up on Teewah Beach, then track north, exiting at Leisha Track. Or combine them together for a scenic loop.
Alternatively, you can embark on an epic hike to see it. Just be wary of what time the tides come in if travelling along the beach because there’s nowhere to get off it for about 14/15km if you get caught out when it’s high. It might be okay on a regular day, but soft sand always sucks to walk on, especially for long distances, and if there’s a king tide, that can spell more trouble.
Do You Need A 4WD To Get To Inskip Peninsula Recreation Area?
The road to Inskip Peninsula is sealed. Therefore, all road-legal vehicles can go there. However, all the campgrounds have a sandy base, some quite soft, making most of them designated for 4WDs only.
Thankfully, a couple have areas that are firmer for conventional vehicles, such as M.V. Sarawak, and I’ve stayed at M.V Sarawak West in my 2WD before, so you’re looking to camp by your car at one of those places, keep closer to the road than the ocean.
Alternatively, you could park on the side of the road and walk a short distance to your campsite. Looking at Google Maps on Street View is a great way to determine if there is roadside parking next to the campground. However, I don’t know if parking like that is permitted.
Conclusion: Do you Require A 4WD To Get To Rainbow Beach?
You can get to Rainbow Beach with a conventional 2WD vehicle along the sealed roads from Gympie, making it accessible for everyone. However, you can also get there in a 4WD by driving along Teewah Beach from Noosa North Shore, which is a more rugged and adventurous way to travel.
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