This Queensland hotspot has been dubbed the ‘new Noosa’

Peregian Beach is a laid-back, stylish coastal village on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, fast becoming known as the “new Noosa”. Photo / Tourism Noosa
The Queensland coastal hotspot of Peregian Beach has been dubbed the “new Noosa”, writes Kristie Kellahan.
“Heading to Noosa, are you, love?” The customer service agent at Sunshine Coast Airport assumes she knows where I’m going after I pick up a rental car. She’s partly right: I do intend to drive to Noosa’s Hastings Street a few times over the next week to shop the boutiques and dine at favourite restaurants, including Season and Bistro C.
But right now, family and luggage in tow, I’m headed to one of the Queensland Sunshine Coast’s under-the-radar gems, an idyllic beachside suburb that’s been dubbed the “new Noosa”.
READ MORE: Five best things to do with kids on the Sunshine Coast.
Peregian Beach, just a 12-minute drive from Noosa, has the laid-back vibe of an Aussie coastal town from an earlier time. The surf life-saving club is a social hub, hosting popular markets on the first and third Sundays of the month. The local IGA supermarket sells good takeaway coffee and hot chips as well as groceries, and the ice cream shop is doing a roaring trade.
One of a string of gorgeous beaches between Coolum and Noosa, the suburb is also home to plentiful parks, where wildflowers bloom in a riot of colour.
It’s not all bare feet and ocean breezes. There’s a sophistication to the boutiques and restaurants in the village square, no doubt the reason many have started bandying about the “new Noosa” tag.
We browse the well-curated selection at Annie’s Books, finding plenty of local authors and subject matter, and seek inspiration in the eclectic objects and homewares at Bedouin Traders. There are vintage treasures galore at Antiques and Possibilities. And for fans of mid-century modern furniture and design, a stop at Midmodoz is essential.
Sitting at an outdoor table at Bask, a paddock-to-plate restaurant, we share delicious small plates of yummy things: pancetta-wrapped new season asparagus with wattle-seed butter, burrata with Serrano ham, and juicy Mooloolaba prawns. Bask first opened in 2021 in Eumundi, and was quickly embraced for its locally sourced seasonal cuisine. Eighteen months later, it had earned a Chef’s Hat from the Australian Good Food Guide.
Right next door is popular Periwinkle, an astonishingly good modern French-Mediterranean restaurant. Be sure to book ahead for a table on Friday and Saturday nights, when it gets very busy. No sooner had we demolished a dinner of steak frites, duck confit and spanner crab linguine than we were making plans to return for one more meal before the end of our trip. The warm sourdough baguette with garlic confit butter is reason enough to go.
Comparisons of Peregian to stylish Noosa have rapidly increased since the opening last year of Essence Peregian, an upscale boutique hotel and holiday home resort.
Developer and owner Tony Scanlon had the vision to elevate the young township of Peregian Beach with the addition of a luxurious, contemporary resort at the edge of Noosa National Park.
“Peregian Beach is the best location on the Sunshine Coast,” Scanlon says. “What originally drew me to this area was Peregian’s pristine beach, the national park on our doorstep and the unique village atmosphere.”
Plans for the prime site took two decades to evolve from “go” to “whoa!”, a labour of love Scanlon is proud to say brings the best of the best of what’s on offer in the local area to everyone who visits the resort.
The result is spectacular, with 22 designer hotel studios to choose from, as well as a number of two-bedroom apartments with fully equipped kitchens. Interior design celebrates the simplicity and elegance of white and neutral shades with natural materials. Many have views of the forest treetops, while the white sand of Peregian Beach is just across the road. There are two glamorous resort pools, a pool bar and a well-equipped fitness centre.
For the family or group of friends travelling together, Essence’s collection of 20 architect-designed holiday homes will appeal. We stay in the three-bedroom, two-storey Marram house, so well-appointed it would tempt many to move in permanently. Think Miele appliances, artworks from acclaimed local artists and a private garden with barbecue and daybeds.
Priced from A$800 ($865), Marram sleeps a maximum of six people. Other houses in the complex offer four and five bedrooms, some with a private pool.
Staying in Peregian is such a great choice for our Sunshine Coast getaway – we head to Noosa less than we thought we would. It’s an easy drive (there’s also a public bus between the two towns) and we do make the trip a couple of times in a week for a sensational seafood curry at Season and a stroll along Hastings Street. On other days, life is far too sweet in Peregian to venture very far.
Peregian Beach
Fly non-stop from Auckland to Brisbane Airport in approximately three hours and 50 minutes with Air NZ, Jetstar and China Airlines. From Brisbane Airport, the drive time to Peregian Beach is approximately 90 minutes.
Air New Zealand offers non-stop flights between Auckland and the Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore) seasonally between July and October.
From December 2024, a year-round Auckland-Sunshine Coast Airport route will be operated by Jetstar.
The drive time from Sunshine Coast Airport to Peregian Beach is 20 minutes.
visitnoosa.com.au
essenceperegianbeach.com.au.
The writer was a guest of Essence Peregian Beach.