THE BEST OF WHAT’S NEW IN NOOSA IN 2023
Where to stay, eat, drink and visit in Noosa in 2023
Be among the first to experience the best new venues, events and experiences in Noosa in 2023! With new venues popping up throughout the region, there has never been a better time to escape to Noosa and get reacquainted with a better way of life. Discover unique new, boutique stays, creative eat and drink experiences, and world-class events this year in Noosa.
STAY:
Noosa Sport Fishing Lodge
A brand-new concept for Noosa, the Noosa Sport Fishing Lodge is a luxury lodge nestled peacefully on the banks of the Noosa River at the Noosa North Shore, accessible by boat or car ferry, just moments from Tewantin. Packages are tailored to suit the needs of guests and can include daily fishing expeditions from Fraser Island to the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, on the lodge’s purpose-built 30-foot vessel, Good Company. Guests stay in luxuriously appointed suites, with capacity for up to six people, with catered dining and drinks included, as well as an array of add-on experiences available on request.
Spicers Private Collection
Spicers have added to their Private Collection of high-end Noosa properties, with the addition of two new premium properties in the region. In Noosaville, you’ll find The Howard, a family-friendly, villa stay located just steps from the Noosa River foreshore, with retro art-deco styling. In Doonan, you’ll find Magani Doonan, a luxe architectural home that can cater to large groups, with expansive views over the Noosa hinterland and coast. These stylish properties join First Point Noosa, an exclusive holiday home perched seaside on the tiny enclave of Little Cove.
Essence Peregian Beach
Opening in Autumn of 2023, Essence Peregian Beach promises to bring a new stay experience to the trendy coastal village of Peregian Beach, with a 32-room luxury boutique hotel and selection of 20 holiday homes. With its chic on-trend interiors and peaceful bushland setting just moments from the laid-back vibes of Peregian Beach Village, Essence will comprise a selection hotel accommodation, one and two-bedroom suites and apartment-style rooms, as well as three-to-five bedroom coastal-chic holiday homes.
The Crocodile Hunter Lodge
Immerse yourself in a truly unique conservation-inspired getaway, with a stay at the brand-new Crocodile Hunter Lodge, a luxury cabin experience within the sprawling bushland grounds of Australia Zoo, south of Noosa. With a 25-metre infinity pool, culinary dining experience at Warrior Restaurant & Bar, rustic outdoor event spaces and luxury one-bedroom cabins dotted throughout the bushland setting at the foot of the towering Glass House Mountains, this is a unique hideaway stay that will get you back in connection with nature.
EVENTS:
Floating Land: Us and Them (24 June – 30 July)
Back in 2023 with Floating Land: Us and Them, this biennial art festival transforms some of Noosa’s best known natural spaces into boundary-pushing outdoor art galleries, at one of Australia’s largest art-in-the-environment events.
Noosa Festival of Surfing (3 – 12 March 2023)
Following an epic 30th anniversary celebration in 2022, the event is bringing the joys of surfing to Noosa again in March 2023. Expect rounds of surfing comps, beach bars and parties under the stars on Noosa Main Beach, the iconic dog surfing championships, beach clean ups, and various other events from film screenings to trivia nights and surfing-inspired art exhibitions.
Noosa Ultra-Trail (23 – 26 March 2023)
After a sell-out inaugural event in 2022, the Noosa Ultra-Trail is bringing trail running back to the sprawling Noosa Trail Network in 2023. With events from 15km, all the way up to the gruelling 100km Ultra-Trail, there’s something to challenge runners of every level, as well as lifestyle activities like guided runs, yoga and a festival village.
Noosa Enduro (30 July 2023)
Back with a new one-day format for the third iteration of this classic Noosa event in 2023, the Noosa Enduro off-road cycling festival sees riders on mountain, gravel and e-bikes hit up the epic trails of the Noosa Hinterland for one challenging day in July. With distances from 30km, up to the punishing 145km Adventure Gravel category, as well as a kids’ event, pumping festival village and a new 4-person team event, this is one the adventure lovers won’t want to miss.
Noosa Triathlon (1 – 5 November 2023)
The most well-known and iconic of Noosa events is turning 40 in 2023, and it’s set to be an unforgettable celebration. Entries sold out in a matter of hours for the main race, but with multiple events spread over the five-day long festival, and non-stop party atmosphere, there’s plenty for everyone to get involved with no matter your energy levels.
EAT & DRINK:
The Doonan
One of the most anticipated new openings in Noosa for 2023, The Doonan is set to offer a pub-style paddock-to-plate experience featuring local produce and craft beer, with expansive outdoor spaces and a playground that welcomes families and kids into the space. From the same owners as the stand-out Sandstone Point Hotel, the venue will also feature a Cellar Door, and architecturally designed indoor-outdoor event spaces.
Bandita Noosaville
Set in the heart of Noosaville’s thriving dining precinct, with airy views over the Noosa River, Bandita is the kind of neighbourhood cantina and bar we never knew we were missing, but now can’t live without. With inventive wood-fired Mexican eats, and a list of eclectic cocktails and new-world wines, in on-trend, breezy interiors, it’s no wonder Bandita has already become a modern classic in Noosa.
Sails Wine Bar
Reinventing the space formally known as Rumba, Sails Wine Bar sits quietly under the main Sails Restaurant, within the Netanya Noosa precinct in Hastings Street, Noosa Heads. The renovation has totally transformed the space, now replete with plush velvet-lined banquets, rustic stone floors and moody dark green and brass fixtures. With the Coravin wine preservation system in use, the bar offers some 40 premium wines by the glass, from the sprawling cellar, which is one of the largest single collections in Queensland.
Knock Knock
Perched peacefully above the bustling corridor of Hastings St, you’ll find a little hideaway bar where you can sit back and watch the world pass by below. With bright, on-trend, interiors, Knock Knock is Noosa’s newest dedicated bar space, and serves up creative cocktails, local wines and a selection of small-plates designed for grazing at any time of the day or night.
Noosa Junction Spotlight: Atelier, Somedays, NNWW, Pucca, Theo’s
It’s hardly a secret that some of the best new openings in Noosa have popped up around the Noosa Junction precinct and transformed this once sleepy business neighbourhood into a thriving eat and drink district, with some of Noosa’s best dining and nightlife. Take your pick from casual wine bar Theo’s, serving a satisfyingly large selection of new-world skin-contact wines and curated small plates, or the fancy new Atelier Wine Bar, modelled on European wine caves and serving high-end wine offerings by the glass, as well as a delicious bites like citrusy burrata, handmade pasta and charcuterie. Sample hard-to-beat sourdough pizza, washed down by a glass of natural wine or Campari spritz at nearby Somedays, or try the delicate gins and authentic Indian fare on offer at Pucca, and finish up your night with a retro cocktail at the laneway speakeasy, Nudge Nudge Wink Wink.
EXPERIENCE:
Tread Lightly Noosa
Regenerative travel is more than just a buzz-word in Noosa, and the launch of the Tread Lightly Noosa program offers visitors a way to get involved with regenerative experiences and lighten their environmental footprint while on holiday in the Noosa region. Choose from a unique shorebird education experience, which helps to protect the migratory bird species in Noosa, join a local beach clean-up, plant trees in the Noosa Hinterland or donate to the Trees for Tourism initiative, or tour local oyster reefs and learn about oyster regeneration.
Kabi Kabi Virtual Welcome to Country
In the words of the traditional owners of the land, the Kabi Kabi people, Wunya Nulum – welcome to Noosa! What connects all indigenous people is a strong link to their natural environment, landscapes, and past and future generations. Their series of stories and experiences are unique to each place. Experience a unique telling of the Kabi Kabi people’s story of Noosa, with this powerful audio-visual welcome to country, playing each night at the Visitor Information Centre at 7pm.
Creative Tours
Discover the new selection of high-end experiences with Creative Tours, that take you on a journey to uncover Noosa’s best-kept secrets. We love the Noosa Heli Tour, which delivers guests in the ultimate style to hinterland vineyard Dingo Creek Winery, among other hinterland hotspots, for an unforgettable day of private wine tasting and gourmet grazing in the serene country setting.
Joel’s Journeys
Tour some of the lesser-known Noosa destinations, on a Secrets of Noosa Tour with local experts Joel’s Journeys. Explore the thriving Noosa Industrial area, with its local craft breweries, distilleries and handmade chocolate factory, then head to Tewantin to discover Noosa’s historical centre, before a beachfront lunch in Sunshine Beach, and afternoon cruise of the Noosa River on the quaint Noosa Ferry.
Bonza
The long-awaited launch of new regional airline Bonza has finally arrived, with its fleet of purple-hued jets taking to the skies in February. With the arrival of Bonza, getting to your Noosa holiday has never been easier, with the new budget carrier now flying directly to their base at the Sunshine Coast Airport from 13 destinations across Australia, including Newcastle, Albury, Mildura, Melbourne, Townsville, the Whitsunday Coast and Cairns.
