Visitor Information -- Tourism Sunshine Coast (tel. 07/5458 8888; www.tourismsunshinecoast.com.au) runs 15 visitor information centers around the region. In Noosa Heads, drop into the Noosa Visitor Information Centre, 61 Hastings Street (tel. 1800/002 624 in Australia or 07/5430 5020; www.visitnoosa.com.au). It's open daily from 9am to 5pm. In Maroochydore, two tourist information centers are at Sunshine Coast Airport (tel. 07/5459 9050) and at Sixth Avenue (at Melrose Parade), Maroochydore (tel. 07/5448 9088). The Caloundra Visitor Information Centre is at 7 Caloundra Rd., Caloundra (tel. 1800/644 969 in Australia or 07/5420 6240). Also visit the Sunshine Coast Visitor Information Centres at www.sunshinecoastvisit.com.au.

When to Go

Room rates on the Sunshine Coast are mostly moderate, but they jump sharply in the Christmas period from December 26 to January 26, during school holidays, and in the week following Easter. Book well ahead at these times. Weekends are often busy, too.

Getting There

If you're driving from Brisbane, take the Bruce Highway north, and exit onto the Sunshine Motorway to Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, or Noosa Heads. The road and various exits are well signposted. The trip takes about 2 hours, depending on which part of the coast you are heading to.

Virgin Blue (tel. 13 67 89 in Australia) flies direct from Melbourne and Sydney. Jetstar (tel. 13 15 38 in Australia) flies direct from Sydney and Melbourne (Tullamarine) airports to Maroochydore Airport. Tiger Airways (tel. 03/9335 3033; www.tigerairways.com) flies direct from Melbourne and Sydney. Henry's Airport Bus Service (tel. 07/5474 0199; www.henrys.com.au) meets all flights; door-to-door transfers to Noosa Heads are A$25 for adults, A$12 for kids 4 to 14, or A$65 for families of four, one-way. Bookings are essential and should be made 24 hours ahead if possible. A taxi from the airport will cost around A$33 to Maroochydore or A$67 to Noosa Heads.

The nearest train station to Noosa Heads is in Cooroy, 25km (16 miles) away. Queensland Rail (tel. 13 12 30 in Australia; www.translink.com.au) serves Cooroy from Brisbane on its CityTrain network. The trip takes about 2 1/2 hours, and the fare is A$23. Other trains will take you there via Nambour or Caboolture. You will have to then get a bus connection to get to Noosa Heads. Queensland Rail's long-distance trains (www.queenslandrail.com.au) from Brisbane pick up but do not drop off passengers in Cooroy, with the exception of the high-speed Tilt Train (which runs Sun-Fri). The fare is A$34. The Sunlander makes several trips from Cairns each week; the fare to Nambour is A$212 for a seat, A$420 for a sleeper. Sunbus (tel. 13 12 30 in Australia, or 07/5450 7888) meets most trains at Cooroy station and travels to Noosa Heads.

Several coach companies have service to Noosa Heads from Brisbane, including Sunair (tel. 1800/804 340 in Australia or 07/5477 0888; www.sunair.com.au). Greyhound Australia (tel. 1300/473 946 in Australia) has many daily services from all major towns along the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Cairns. Trip time to Noosa Heads is 2 1/2 hours from Brisbane and 29 hours from Cairns. The fare is A$32 from Brisbane and A$300 from Cairns. The Noosa Transit Centre is the main public transport hub for the region. Located at the southern end of Noosa Junction, at Cooyar Street and Sunshine Beach Road, it is serviced by TransLink local bus services (operated by Sunbus), intercity coaches, and tourist service minibuses.

Getting Around

Major car-rental companies on the Sunshine Coast are Avis (tel. 07/5453 1999 Sunshine Coast Airport, or 07/5473 8955 Noosa Heads), Budget (tel. 07/5448 7455 airport, or 07/5474 2820 Noosa Heads), Europcar (tel. 07/5448 9955 airport), Hertz (tel. 07/5448 9731 airport), and Thrifty (tel. 1300/367 227). Many local companies rent cars and four-wheel-drives, including Trusty (tel. 07/5491 2444).

The local bus company is Sunbus (tel. 07/5450 7888, or 13 12 30 in Australia).

For a taxi, call Suncoast Cabs (tel. 13 10 08 in Australia or 07/5441 8888).

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