Accommodation near
Tannum Sands & Boyne Island.
We are not in either of them. We are about 20 minutes north, in the middle of Gladstone — and sometimes that is the better call.
If you are searching for accommodation at Tannum Sands, start with this: we are at 167 Goondoon Street in central Gladstone, roughly 22 km north of the beach. That is a 20 to 25 minute drive, not a walk.
Plenty of places would let you find that out on arrival. We would rather you knew now, decide properly, and either book us for the right reasons or stay at the beach with our blessing.
The real drive times.
Measured from 167 Goondoon Street. Round numbers, because the traffic through Boyne Island decides the last few minutes.
What is out there.
The twin towns are where Gladstone locals go for a swim. If you are staying with us, this is a good half-day, and an easy one to do on the way south.
Distances and drive times measured from 167 Goondoon Street.
Head south on the Gladstone–Benaraby Road; Boyne Island Road runs the last 8.4 km between the two towns.
Where you should actually sleep.
If the beach is the whole trip
Swimming every morning, small kids who will not survive a 40-minute round trip twice a day, or a week of doing very little near the water. Stay at the beach. There are holiday units and a caravan park down there and you will be happier in one of them.
If the beach is one day of it
Work at the port or the plants, a show, an appointment, an early flight, or a trip where the beach is a Saturday rather than the point. You get a free parking space at the door, dinner and the shops on foot, and the sand is still only twenty minutes away when you want it.
Guests rate our location 7.8 out of 10 on Booking.com — here is what being in Gladstone Central actually means.
One car space, five room types.
Every room has a free on-site space directly outside it, which is the part that matters when you are driving out and back each day with wet towels and a boot full of gear.
If you are travelling with the family, the Family Room Apartment sleeps five and has a full kitchen; the Family Room has a bathtub as well as the shower, which earns its keep after a day on the sand. Dogs are welcome too — see pet-friendly rooms.
Questions we get asked.
No. We are at 167 Goondoon Street in central Gladstone, about 22 km north of Tannum Sands — roughly a 20 to 25 minute drive. We say so plainly because a motel that lets you assume otherwise costs you an hour on your first day.
About 22 km south of central Gladstone, which is a 20 to 25 minute drive depending on traffic through Boyne Island. Boyne Island itself is the twin town on the near side of the Boyne River, so it is a couple of minutes closer.
Stay at the beach if swimming is the whole point of the trip and you want sand before breakfast every day. Stay in central Gladstone if you are here for work, a show, an appointment, an early flight, or if you want to walk to dinner instead of driving to it. Most visitors are doing the second thing.
The Millennium Esplanade runs along Tannum Sands Beach with free gas barbecues, grassed areas, a playground and a flying fox, and the beach is patrolled by lifesavers in spring and summer. Canoe Point has walking and bike trails, boardwalks and dunes. The Turtleway bikeway links the two towns across the Boyne River, with mosaics and sculpture along the way.
Yes — a community market runs on the first Saturday of each month at the Millennium Esplanade, with produce, food, crafts and live music. Worth timing a Saturday around if your dates line up.
Calliope is about 20 km south-west of Gladstone near the Bruce and Dawson Highway crossroads, roughly a 20 minute drive. Benaraby sits on the Bruce Highway about 20 km south, and Lake Awoonga is a little beyond it — about 30 km from us, or half an hour.
Yes. Barney Point Beach is about five minutes by car, and the East Shores foreshore and the marina are the same. They are not the wide patrolled sand of Tannum Sands, but for an evening walk or a swim without the drive they do the job.
You’re already in the
middle of it.
Park once. Walk to dinner, the foreshore, the gallery. A clean, quiet room waiting when you’re done.