Experience Mission Beach

 

Mission Beach is one of the most popular coastal towns in Far North Queensland, attracting thousands of visitors yearly. If you’re looking for pristine tropical seclusion, you’ll struggle to find a better spot than Mission Beach. There are zero traffic lights, crowds, and chain stores.

FMission Beach has fourteen kilometres of magnificent coastline, scenery, and coastal villages. Moreover, two incredible natural wonders surround Mission Beach – the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef! You’ll find Mission Beach just two hours south of Cairns, and there are endless things to do and excellent day trips.

At Villa Amavi, we are determined to look after your well-being. Our retreat is at Mission Beach’s southern coastal village of South Mission Beach. Winding through the rainforest on top of a hill, offering spellbinding views of Dunk Island and South Mission Beach. You’ll experience complete relaxation with spaces for lounging on the terrace, meditation, yoga, pampering, art and creativity, and so much more! Our mission is for you to arrive and be able to say, “We came. We Saw. We loved.”

Villa Amavi offers plenty of opportunities to relax and unwind; we understand you may also want to explore the area. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best things to do in Mission Beach!

Experience the Great Barrier Reef

 

The Great Barrier Reef encompasses Mission Beach, one of the most incredible places to experience natural wonder. Of course, many tourists will head to Cairns to visit the Great Barrier Reef, but Mission Beach is far closer to the reef.

There are many excellent day tours from Mission Beach, including snorkelling and scuba diving tours. If you're lucky, you can see dolphins, reef sharks, and countless sea turtles.

Don’t worry if you’ve never scuba-dived, because you can learn or take an introductory dive at Mission Beach.

You can find the official information on a government website here: Guide To Mission Beach | Cairns & Great Barrier Reef (tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au).

Day trip to Paronella Park

 

Paronella Park is an excellent heritage-listed attraction near Mission Beach, spanning over 13 acres. Jose Paronella – a Spanish immigrant in Queensland – built the park in the 1930s.

The Catalan Castles inspired Jose Paronella, and he decided to create an entertainment area based on that. He planted over 7000 trees and created stunning Spanish-style architecture.

Visitors can enjoy various guided tours, including the darkness falls tour and the self-guided botanical walk. In addition, Queensland Tourism declared Paronella Park as the premier significant Queensland attraction in 2004.

Skydive over Mission Beach

 

Skydiving over Australia’s east coast is one of the most popular things to do, and backpackers and tourists will often choose Mission Beach as their skydiving destination.

Voted one of the Top 10 places to skydive globally, Skydive Mission Beachoffers tourists the chance to tandem skydive from 15,000 feet with views of 14km of beautiful white beaches, flourishing rainforest and tropical islands, before landing on Mission Beach. The views from the skydive are incredible, and you’ll enjoy birds-eye views of the gorgeous surrounding rainforests too.

You’ll drop at an incredible speed of up to 200km/hr as you freefall from 15,000 feet. Then, your instructor opens the parachute, and you’ll spend 5-7 minutes floating above the canopy witnessing the views.

Go hiking along the gorgeous Kennedy Walking Track

 

Do you fancy getting some vital exercise? If so, you’ll be happy to know that Mission Beach offers some incredible hikes. The Kennedy Walking Track is the most popular option. You’ll see amazing coastal views along the way and minutes away from Villa Amavi.

Along the trail, you will cut through various rainforests, beaches, and rocky headlands. It’s a fantastic spot if you’re looking for a place to spot turtles, dugongs, dolphins, and even crocodiles while taking in the rainforest and ocean views. If you love a bit of history, you’ll see the landing place of 1848 explorer Edmund Kennedy from the trail.

The hike is suitable for most fitness levels as you can take a relatively short walk to Lovers Beach, or the entire trek of 4 km to Tam O’Shanter Point. From there, you can continue for another 3.4km along the beach to the Hull River. Of course, you can turn around at anytime, as you come back along the same trek.  Make sure to take water, sunscreen, hat, and wear comfortable walking shoes as further on in the walk; you will cross different terrains.

Enjoy some local watersports

 

White Water Rafting

You might want to relax while at Villa Amavi, but you might also like some fantastic adventures.Wildside Adventures offers the perfect opportunity to enjoy some water sports in the local area.

Tropical Far North Queensland has some of the most incredible white-water rafting opportunities in Australia, and it’s home to the Tully River, which offers phenomenal white-water rafting fun.

Wildside Adventures base themselves in Mission Beach, but they can take you all around the area. They provide an expert team of guides, with years of safety knowledge and a determination to give you an excellent time!

 

Fishing and Boating 

For those Mission Beach fishing and boat enthusiasts, you won’t be disappointed. Many fishing and boat hire/charter places are located at mission beach. The boat ramp is also very close to Villa Amavi. Furthermore, you can bring your own boat with you (although taking them up the hill, isn’t so easy to park, so you will just need to be aware of that). For all your hiring needs, ‘Hooked Up Fishing Adventures’ and ‘Mission Beach Boat & Jet Ski Hire’ have you covered. For chartered fishing or snorkelling tours, you can visit, ‘Fishin Mission’ or ‘Mission Beach Charters’ for further assistance.

 

Jet Skiing and Kayaking

For those seeking adventure, there is a possibility to do Jet Skiing and kayaking off South Mission Beach. Hire services are available from ‘Mission Beach Boat & Jet Ski Hire’—a  great way to explore the islands and the coral sea with family and friends.   

Explore Dunk Island

 

Dunk Island is a true nature lovers’ paradise. Part of the Family Group of Islands and only  4km off the Mission Beach coast, and home to phenomenal beaches, reefs, and places to relax or hike. The island covers a total of 10,000 square kilometres, and the Great Barrier Reef surrounds it.

There are plenty of walking tracks around the island, including the hike up to Mt Kootaloo, which is well worth the trek with breathtaking views back to the mainland and out over the Family Group of Islands, including Dunk, Bedarra Timana, Wheeler, Coombe, Smith, Bowden and Hudson Islands.

Moreover, the island is one of the largest islands in the area. As a result, it’s home to an eclectic range of rare birds, with an estimated 100 rare and vulnerable birds living around the island. You’ll also see various skinks, tree snakes, and pythons on Dunk Island. You can get there by water taxi, tour or private boat hire.

    Other popular things to do:

    • Mission Beach Markets are open every first and third Sunday every month, from 7am-12pm. Additionally, there is a special market session held on the last Sunday of the month for six months, spanning from Easter to November. All these vibrant mission beach markets take place in Ulysses Park, situated beside the northern beach.

    • Mission Arts Gallery open daily 10am-2pm with art and craft from local artists website.

    • Laceys Creek day-use area offers a short rainforest walk and picnic area with BBQs.

    • Island Reef Helicopters offer spectacular scenic helicopter flights with various packages, departing from South Mission Beach, not far from Villa Amavi website.

    • Climbing Bicton Hill near Bingil Bay for incredible views
    • Visit the Mission Beach Aquatic Centre, which includes a 25M lap pool, indoor hydrotherapy pool and Billabong with Splash Pad. 
    • Check out Bingil Bay, the most northern town in Mission Beach, wonderful for great food and atmosphere.
    • Walk, picnic or relax on the local beaches, including South Mission Beach, Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach and Bingil Bay.

    Final Thoughts

     

    Mission Beach is the ultimate relaxed destination if you want to experience fantastic nature and leave behind the hustle of the major cities.

    Villa Amavi will give you the ultimate relaxation experience. If you’re also looking to add a bit of adventure, you’ll find plenty of options here for an incredible Mission Beach holiday!