Flying Fish Cove
Best Beach · WA
Tourism Australia's Best Beach 2023, No. 9.
If you’re looking for an abundance of nature’s gifts, of beauty rich and rare, then this far-flung island delivers like its Christmas.
Image by Christmas Island Tourism Commission
Closer to Indonesia than the Australian mainland, ‘CI’ and its 11 unique beach settings is an oasis of dense green jungle in a vast sea of radiant blue. Known as the ‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’ this is where industry and tourism blend to make for an unforgettable experience in a melting pot of multicultural origins. While some of the islands 10 other outer beaches, like Dolly or Ethel, resemble sets from a Robinson Crusoe novel, the town beach of Flying Fish Cove quite unlike any other beach in Australia. Reached by flights from Perth, divers, anglers and naturalists are drawn to its fine features on land, sea and skies. Most inbound visitors also take to look at the neighbouring Cocos-Keeling group (CKI) of 27 tropical islands set in a horseshoe shaped archipelago, sitting south of Singapore. Flying Fish Cove with its generous foreshore of shade and BBQs is also an entry point for snorkellers and shore divers into coral gardens and a dramatic drop off zone, many jetty jumpers and on good swell, local surfers. This west-facing beach also offers some of the best sunsets on the island, so grab a duty free cold drink and watch nature put on a show. Christmas Island began appearing on the charts of English and Dutch navigators from the early 1600s. But it wasn’t until 1643 that Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company named the island after sighting it on Christmas Day. Thankfully, most of the island is dominated by an unspoilt National Park which protect many species including the famous migratory red crabs. Take your camera, all your aquatic gear, a keen sense of adventure and an appetite for Chinese-Malay cuisine. The thrice weekly flights are triangulated so there’s the option to check our CKI and the stunning Cossies Beach on Direction Island which took out Best Australian Beach in 2017.
⚠️ Ocean conditions can change quickly and rips can form even on calm days. Only swim at patrolled beaches, and supervise children at all times.