What are the top 20 beaches in Australia?

Australia’s beaches are well known for being some of the most beautiful in the world but one man has taken on the difficult task of finding the 20 best in the country so you don’t have to.

The nation’s leading beach expert, Brad Farmer, has again worked alongside the Foreign Affairs department to research the 11,761 beaches across Australia and its territories rate them based on a “triple-A criteria: Affordable, Accessible and Authentically Australian”.

In a surprising twist, none of the most famous Australian beaches - Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, Bells Beach and Surfers Paradise – made the top 20.

Instead, Mr Farmer’s research uncovered some truly beautiful Australian gems, many well off the beaten track

So what beach took out the top spot? Fitzroy Island’s Nudey Beach.

See the full list of the top 20 beaches below:

1. Nudey Beach, Qld 

2. Horrocks Beach, WA

3. Dreamtime Beach, NSW

4. Cossies Beach, Coco Keeling Islands

5. Burleigh Heads, Qld

6. Seal Rocks, NSW

7. Bay of Fires, Tas

8. Quobba - Red Bluff, WA

9. Dolly Beach, Cockatoo Island

10. Second Valley, SA

11. Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island

12. Little Beach, WA

13. Wineglass Bay, Tas

14. Moonee Beach, NSW

15. Cottesloe Beach, WA

16. Agnes Waters - 1770, Qld

17. Horseshoe Bay, Qld

18. Kitty Miller Bay, Vic

19. Mindil Beach, NT

20. Cylinders, Qld

A mere 16 percent of Aussie beaches are accessible “by conventional road”. Twelve percent can be reached by unsealed roads, 46 percent can only be accessed if you have a 4WD, and a whopping 43 percent cannot be reached.