Rainbow Beach, QLD 4581

Rainbow Beach is a small coastal town with its unique colored sands that you can admired while 4wding up to Double Island point. There's so much to do from surfing, hiking the many local walking tracks, swimming local freshwater creeks and waterholes. For eating out you have several cafe's, the local pub and clubs. I personally love calling Rainbow Beach home with its amazing community and small town laid back atmosphere.
Britney Bell Raine and Horne Tin Can Bay Property Sales Agent

Rainbow Beach is gorgeous, the beach itself has plenty of space for everyone and there is Double Island Point to the south and Fraser Island to the north. Really popular with families as there are plenty of things to do without having to spend money: visit the Carlo Sandblow, go fishing, bushwalking, surfing, swimming and 4WDing. The town itself has lots of great cafes, a Pub, Surf Club, Sports Club, icecream shop, pharmacy, bakery and a couple of grocery stores. A great place to live, work and visit.

Rainbow beach is amazing. The location of its Surfer and lifesaver club is great so the view from there is amazing, the best view I have had from a SLSC. The food at Rainbow beach SLSC is very fresh and reasonably cheap, eating there was one of the best food experience I have ever had. The facilities at Rainbow beach are great. Also, Rainbow beach is clean, not crowded, with lifesavers on duty. The only problem was Google led us drive out to A1 then to Sunshine coast, so it took us a long time. It would be much better if there is a straight road to Sunshine Coast.

Our first time up to rainbow beach
Everyone brags how nice it is
Well I can say alot of the locals are rude
Don't ever stop at the fish and chips shop past the Ranger station, owner is rude and the laundromat next door washing machine are not good, don't get caught out by this $1 for 5 minute thing it's $5 to start and only $1 dollar coins, and U would think a laundry mate would have change machines nope
Only nice people I've meet was the ladies who run the hardware shop and tourists people
Never again

Rainbow has immense natural beauty. This is undeniable.

But the town has many uneducated bogan types who are quick to judge to a level that is, frankly, paranoid.

If you dont drive a 4wd and are not rough as guts, you will be treated to a variety of judgements ranging from the mild "city wankers" to crazy paranoid accusations.

I stopped at the foreshore one day to have a coffee in my car and admire the gorgeous view out to Double Island and I kid you not I had the local police warn me that there was a kids park behind me and that a man had told the officer he was going to attack me, alleging I was a paedophile. What's worse, instead of warning or arresting the man for threats of violence the officer asked me to move.

Some of the locals are just batshit crazy. The man living next door to where I was staying kept giving me dirty looks the whole time I was there and made crazy accusations about me looking at his wife when I was looking at the beautiful view from my balcony of Fraser Island and the surrounding ocean.

Make no mistake, if you do not look like a country bogan you will encounter problems.

I must say, however, there are many extremely friendly locals as well. It's a mixed bag.

The staff at most of the food outlets in particular are lovely.

The walks in the national parks and on the beach are second to none.

If you have a thick skin and can tolerate bogan non-sense it is well worth a look for the tremendous natural beauty.

But if you prefer a safe civilised judgement free experience Noosa is a much better option.

'A local town for local people'. If you fish, camp and 4 wheel drive you r very welcome at rainbow. If you don't, only your money is welcome. Backpackers, lone travellers and particularly independent women be careful in this town. There are some very nice people but by many you will be treated with suspicion and contempt regardless of your actual, respectful behaviour. Your welfare is of no concern to the local authorities that is interested only exercising its power in an indiscriminate way (like a child with a new toy) and in looking after business objectives -even in times of crisis where all levels of government should liase with each other and the community! In addition to this crass approach, you will encounter defensive and hostile response to constructive criticism. This reflect a real and shocking, short sightedness that needs to be addressed and that will instead lead to loss of business. I have known this town for more than 30 years and yes it has beautified the main street and has good toilet facilities near the beautiful beach but i have sadly come to the conclusion that the beauty of the area is significantly mediated by such limitations. I am relieved to have abandoned any interest in the town as either a potential getaway and/or even just purely investment/ development. Natural beauty - big tick but sorry- its not all that's on my list. I will be letting others who are looking for similar opportunities know this and i strongly advise certain types of travellers to not stay longer than is necessary for your own sake. It is clear that on the whole, the town is still ultimately more comfortable this way anyway. Unlike the town reserving the right to discriminate based on unfounded prejudice - i reserve the right to discriminate based on very well founded prejudice!

I live in Tasmania. I had never been to Rainbow Beach.
I love it.
It's a fantastic place to relax.
It's especially great for kids as it's safe riding around and walking.
The beach is really clean and unspoilt.
It's is set in a wonderful, natural environment.
It is worth a look, especially as Fraser Island is right next door.
Great place for singles in summer.

Rainbow Beach is one of the last surf beaches before the start of the Great Barrier Reef and is 265 kms north of Brisbane. Rainbow Beach has some great views of Fraser Island which is only 700 meters off shore. Rainbow Beach has a good Surf Life Saving Club and the beach is patrolled during the summer season. There are good shopping facilities which include specialty shops and takeaway food outlets. A little off the beaten track Rainbow Beach is a Mecca for holiday makers and offers great accommodation in caravan parks, hotels and motels. Swimming, diving, surfing and fishing are popular and there are bushwalking tracks for those who want to get away from the beach. Property prices have risen dramatically in the past few years.

Rainbow Beach is a popular camping town. Very laid back and is the support town for the very popular 'free' camping beaches of Rainbow Beach and Double Island Point. I say free because you just go and camp amongst the sand dunes but you do actually pay a small service fee to the ranger.

Rainbow Beach township is small and the residents lead a fairly relaxed sort of lifestyle. There really is not much in town and fishing, boating and camping are the main attractions to the area. Most other services for Rainbow Beach come from Gympie, some 90 kms inland.

Everyone who goes up the beaches to camp are driving 4WD so there is also strong support for that service in the area. Vechicles need digging out now and then, they need underbody washing when they come off the beach, and campers need to be able to get their supplies from the township.

Needless to say the summer is very busy, with Christmas being the peak season. In fact if you are going up the beach for Christmas or Easter you really need to go a few days early to pitch your tent because it has become that popular. There is vehicle access down to the beach but when campers are taking all their belongings up they usually go through Tewantin, onto the barge and drive up the beach from there.