Beaches
Southern Ocean Coves
The best beaches in Fleurieu Peninsula
From the turquoise coves of Second Valley to the wide drive-on sands of Aldinga and the sheltered cup of Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot, the Fleurieu's beaches are as varied as its landscapes.
The Fleurieu Peninsula has two very different coastlines, and that's what makes its beaches so good. On the sheltered Gulf St Vincent side you get calm, swimmable water and long stretches of sand — Aldinga, where you can still drive onto the beach, plus Sellicks, Maslin, Moana and the dramatic cliffs and jetty ruins of Port Willunga, home to the wreck of the Star of Greece.
Around the southern tip and along the Encounter Coast, the wild Southern Ocean takes over. This is the surf and big-sky country of Goolwa Beach, Middleton, Waitpinga and Parsons Beach, where the swell rolls in uninterrupted. In between sit the gentle, family-friendly coves: Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot, Normanville, Second Valley and the rock pools of the western beaches.
Before you go, check the tides and conditions — the Gulf beaches are best around high tide, while many surf beaches have strong rips and are unpatrolled. Plenty of beaches are dog-friendly and have easy parking, making the Fleurieu one of the most rewarding stretches of coast in South Australia for a swim, a surf, a walk or simply a sunset.
Browse beaches by area
16 places
Aldinga Reef Aquatic Reserve
One of South Australia's most accessible snorkelling reefs
A protected limestone reef system off Aldinga Beach and Port Willunga, fully protected since 1971 and home to wobbegongs, blue devils, schools of reef fish and dolphins.
Boomer Beach
Port Elliot's big-wave reef break
A dramatic reef break at the western end of Port Elliot, named for the thunderous sound of its crashing waves. A classic South Australian surf spot for experienced riders.
Carrickalinga Beach
A wide white-sand beach north of Normanville
A wide, flat, white-sand beach stretching 3km along the Gulf St Vincent north of Normanville - safe for swimming, excellent for beach walks and one of the Fleurieu's best family beaches.
Encounter Bay
Where Flinders met Baudin in 1802
A sweeping bay on the Fleurieu's south coast, named by Matthew Flinders after his 1802 meeting with French explorer Nicolas Baudin - and today the heart of the Victor Harbor foreshore.
Fishery Beach
A sheltered fishing beach a few kilometres east of Cape Jervis, the site of an 1840s whaling station and the shipping port for the historic Talisker Mine.
Goolwa Beach
Eighteen kilometres of open Southern Ocean sand
Goolwa Beach is the southern end of an 18-kilometre stretch of wave-pounded Southern Ocean sand running all the way to the Murray Mouth, with a patrolled swimming area and a legendary (and legal) 4WD beach drive.
Green Bay
A secret cove between the Port Elliot headlands
A tiny tucked-away cove between Rocky Bay and Knights Beach, reached via the Harbourmasters Trail. Calm days bring crystal-clear water for snorkelling; rough days bring dramatic wave shows.
Kings Beach
A hidden beach at the foot of the Waitpinga Cliffs
A small, hidden beach framed by dramatic sandstone cliffs in Newland Head Conservation Park - reached by a short walking track from the carpark.
Knights Beach
World-class bodyboarding and a sheltered swim
Knights Beach sits on the eastern edge of Port Elliot's headlands and is rated among the top bodyboarding breaks in the world when a south-southeast swell is running. On smaller days it offers a safer family swim than neighbouring Boomer Beach.
Middleton
Surf beach village between Port Elliot and Goolwa
Small beachside village between Port Elliot and Goolwa on the Encounter Coast, with one of the Fleurieu's most consistent surf breaks and a famous pub.
Middleton Beach
The Fleurieu learn-to-surf beach
A long, gently-shelving sand beach between Port Elliot and Goolwa, widely regarded as the best learn-to-surf beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Morgan Beach
A small 800m sandy cove beneath 50-metre bluffs near Cape Jervis, popular for fishing, swimming and sunset views past the Starfish Hill Wind Farm.
Myponga Beach
A quiet, secluded beach below Myponga Reservoir reached via a steep dirt road - one of the truly off-the-beaten-track beaches on the Fleurieu west coast.
Newland Head Conservation Park
A coastal reserve south-west of Victor Harbor protecting Waitpinga Beach, Parsons Beach and the spectacular cliffs of the Wild South Coast Way - the Heysen Trail's most dramatic Fleurieu section.
Parsons Beach
Wild, remote surf beach at Newland Head
A wild, remote surf beach at the western end of Newland Head Conservation Park, best known for its powerful reef break and its seclusion.
Tunkalilla Beach
A wild 5km Southern Ocean surf beach inside Deep Creek National Park, accessible via Tunkalilla Road and the Heysen Trail - one of the most remote beaches on the Fleurieu.