Port Willunga Beach

One of the most beautiful beaches in South Australia, if not the world! The beautiful old cliffs wrap around a gorgeous bay and it makes you feel like you’re totally hidden away from the world. There really is something special about this beach. It is totally worth a little extra drive to experience it.
The water is some of the clearest I have ever seen, and I have never been there when there hasn’t been plenty of space — you never feel like you’re sitting on top of another family or awkwardly invading some sunbather’s personal space in order to place your towel.
What I especially love about this beach is the caves! These are dotted all along the beach and are the perfect place for a picnic or an afternoon snooze.
Sunset is a popular time at this beach as the leftover bits of posts from the old jetty are highly photogenic and lots of people bring down their cameras to try and get the perfect shot.
If you get peckish while here there is both a casual kiosk type place and also an amazing restaurant (Star of Greece) very close to the beach itself.
Take a drive south and check out this beautiful spot — just don’t tell too many people about it! ;)

Came here to look to eat at Star of Greece and fell in love with the beach. There is something magical about this place that I can’t quite put my finger on — perhaps it’s the history that goes with it, or the rugged beauty of the caves and rocks that dot the shore? As in every place I go to, I take a picture or two because I want my friends who haven’t visited South Australia yet to see that this state is such a beauty!

This is my favourite beach. I’m not one for flash, busy beaches like Bondi or even Glenelg. I love the quieter beaches where you can do your own thing without having masses of people everywhere.
The beach has a shallow section due to a bit of a sandbar, then in drops off, but this makes it great for families. The little kids can play in the shallows while the big ones can body surf the waves.
And we can’t forget the most photographed ruins in SA, the old jetty pillions. Head down around sunset and you’ll see a mass of photographers all trying to get the perfect shot!
Get on down, but keep it secret, can have everyone knowing about this gem ;)

You know those «beach scenes» in the midday movies or soap tv shows? After visiting Pt Willunga beach I am now convinced they have all been filmed here.
I can’t help but pontificate about the ridiculous perfection that SA is lucky enough to have on it’s south western coastline.
Protected by rugged, undulating cliff faces a long and wide golden sandy beach gives way to quite large waves perfect for surfing and fishing but shallow enough at the beginning to allow kids and dogs plenty of naked frolicking on the shoreline.
Put simply, this is the bestest beach in SA. There are 2 toilets near the car park and a restaurant that overlooks the beach (Star of Greece). I didn’t notice a canteen whilst here but that may have been further along down south. It is dog leash free, but not too crowded that you feel like you are going to be mauled by an over-​excited pup dashing along the sand.
The sunrise and sunset reflect off the cliffs to create a gorgeous yellow hue in the warmer months and it’s not full of bogans, tourists or anyone really, meaning you can stroll along this too good to be true setting for every romance novel in peace.

Best beach in South Australia by a mile. Its a bit of a trip to get to it but its well worth it. It’s one of SA’s special places, there’s simply a little bit of magic about the place. I like to think of it as SA’s Bonnie Doon, so much serenity. It’s a shame that the once iconic Star of Greece has lots it’s way but there are a lot of great restaurants in the Willunga/​Port Willunga area to make up for it.

Port Willunga beach is a typically beautiful and spacious Australian beach.
The rock forms and caves can occupy the adventurous spirit for hours on end and the history of the place (Mema mentioned the shipwreck of the Star of Greece) is awesome too.
Because of the slew of nice beaches on the way out to Port Willunga from the city, there’s rarely a huge amount of people here. I love having relative privacy and space on a beach and short of driving even further out, you’ll find plenty of it here, even on the summeriest days.
Like all of Adelaide’s close beaches, the break never really comes up. Not ideal for surfers, but snorkelers and divers rejoice.

I agree with Mema on this one — Port Willunga beach is one of the best in South Australia. You can catch a train out to Noarlunga and ride here along the bike trail if you’re keen for a long, flat ride. It is beautiful and quiet out here, much more peaceful than your typical outer city beaches.
Under the cliffs are a series of dug out caves, made back in the day by fisherman for storage. If you’re a bored teenager this is the perfect place for drinking cider and making out. When it is really hot out on the beach, it is still cool and still in the caves. There is something special about this beach — the quietness, the little caves and the remainder of jetty make it a little bit eerie.

This is one of Adelaide’s, nay South Australia’s, most beautiful and interesting beaches. In summer this is a beach brilliant for swimming and playing beach cricket.
On the top of the cliffs overlooking the beach is the Star of Greece Restaurant (
). The restaurant has breathtaking views of the beach and superb food. It also has a canteen type café for buying beach fare such as ice creams and hot chips.
The Star of Greece is so named because of the Star of Greece shipwreck about 200 metres off the coast, a favourite of snorkelers and scuba divers. At low tide parts of the wreck can be seen from the shore. Another wreck are the remains of a jetty which juts from the sand like an accidental artwork.
My favourite part of the beach are the caves. I’ve been to a beach bonfire party where they put tea candles all throughout the caves making it look absolutely beautiful. The caves were carved out originally by fishermen who used them to store their ships and nets.
Now don’t freak out, but like all of SA’s beaches there’s a chance of sharks including the dreaded great white. Allay any fears by checking out PIRSA’s shark log
. Surf Reports will also report sharks so call for one before going to any beach if you’re especially worried.