Beach · Great Ocean Road
Bass Strait surf and a big chapter in Australian surf history.
Overview
Torquay Surf Beach is a roughly 800-metre sandy beach on Bass Strait, just southwest of Torquay. It is the surf-facing Back Beach, separate from sheltered Torquay Front Beach. Come for open-ocean surf, watching the breaks and the long coastline; skip it if you want a protected, gentle swim.
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Ocean Road Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Ocean Road. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Great Ocean Road audio tourRecorded for this place
Torquay Beaches and Point Danger“Torquay's beaches are coming up, with two quite different ways to spend a break. For a picnic or calmer water, I'd choose Front Beach and its sheltered Cosy Corner beside Point Danger, though conditions still change.”
Plays as you drive up to Torquay Surf Beach in the Parkwolf Great Ocean Road Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
The managing authority recommends it for surfers and experienced swimmers, and the Surf Life Saving Club patrols in warmer months. Surf conditions change. When patrol flags are up, swim between them; don't treat the open water as a calm bay. Rocky points at either end add to the surf character.
The breaks have names: Torquay Point and Haystacks near Rocky Point, with Draino's and Supertubers near Point Danger. You can make the visit about watching waves and surfers from shore; the Point Danger headland gives the beach its rocky backdrop. For a photo, keep the breaking water and headland together in a wide frame; that shows the curve of the beach better than a tight wave crop.
Torquay's beaches drew holidaymakers by the 1860s. During World War II, much of the foreshore was closed and fortified with barbed wire and anti-tank pylons, which Italian prisoners of war were reported to have removed by 1943. The Surf Life Saving Club formed in 1946; in 1956, the beach hosted an international surf carnival during the Melbourne Olympics.
Wildlife
900 sightingsKoalaMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
358 sightingsKangarooMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
49 sightingsLittle PenguinMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
155 sightingsEchidnaMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
33 sightingsFur SealMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
59 sightingsRed-necked WallabyMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Ocean Road. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasySpring Creek Nature Reserve Walk0.9 km · 24 min · 0.7 km awayA short gravel walk beneath moonahs beside Spring Creek.
EasySurf Coasting Walk: Point Danger to Bird Rock3.3 km · 54 min · 0.8 km awayA short clifftop link from surf beaches to two sweeping coastal lookouts.
EasyTorquay Promenade Walk1.5 km · 20 min · 1.6 km awayA flat foreshore stroll from Yellow Bluff to Point Danger.
EasyThe Bells Track3.2 km · 48 min · 1.6 km awayA 3.2 km clifftop walk from Bird Rock to Bells Beach.
EasyDeep Creek Walk1.2 km · 24 min · 2.8 km awayA short creekside walk through Torquay’s remnant woodland.
EasyWadawurrung Country Walk2.6 km · 45 min · 3.8 km awayA short, easy coastal stage through dunes to Yellow Bluff.
ModerateIronbark Basin Walk, Bells Beach to Point Addis8.2 km · 2.5 hr · 4 km awaySand, steps, sheltered forest, then three Point Addis lookouts.
ChallengingSurf Coast Walk41.5 km · 10.3 hr · 4 km awayA 41 km coastal point-to-point from Torquay to Fairhaven.
Campground · 0.5 km awayTorquay Foreshore Caravan ParkSleep beside the surf, with Torquay's shops a short walk away.
Beach · 0.9 km awayJan Juc BeachA 1.2 km surf beach with a clifftop walk toward Rocky Point.
Beach · 1.3 km awayTorquay Front BeachA town beach with sheltered Cosy Corner at Point Danger.
Sight · 1.6 km awayBird Rock LookoutWide views over Jan Juc Beach and the Surf Coast
Sight · 1.9 km awayAustralian National Surfing MuseumSurfboard history beneath a breaking wave, with an old Kombi.
Visitor center · 2 km awayTorquay Visitor Information CentrePlan your coastal drive with maps and local Surf Coast advice.
Beach · 4 km awayBells BeachA legendary surf break best watched from the clifftop.Sight · 8 km awayPoint Addis LookoutTwo lookouts, broad coastal views, and stairs to the beach below.Parkwolf’s Great Ocean Road ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
