Coral Bay

As one of the closest towns to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, Coral Bay fully deserves its name. Visitors to this tiny community on Australia's west coast can swim in turquoise waters with manta rays or float over the kaleidoscope of its 260km-long reef, which is home to turtles and tropical fish. On land, Coral Bay has a quiet village feel, with only one main street lined with palms and a couple of restaurants serving locally sourced seafood.

Stay in a Coral Bay hostel just steps from the beach, where you can book snorkelling and adventure tours at the front desk. Some even have their own refreshing outdoor pools and welcoming courtyards, where you can relax and cook your meals on the barbecue. Join other travellers in a common room or on-site bar with a game of pool, table tennis or Wii. You'll find Coral Bay backpackers hostels with mixed and female-only dorms, as well as private rooms.

Everything you'll need for a stay in Coral Bay, from cafés and bakeries to diving schools, are easy to find on Robinson Street: the village's one main strip. Around this main hub, the houses give way to beautifully wild Australian countryside, with the red-hued soil contrasting against deep green bushland. In the evening, wander across the beach car park to the lookout on Coral Bay's headland: this is the perfect spot for watching the sunset. 

To explore Coral Bay, hire a kayak to skim over the calm waters of Paradise Beach or Bill's Bay, and don't forget to take your snorkel with you. There are kayaking moorings along the reef: head north of Bill's Bay to Maud and tie up with colourful corals all around you. Between March and July, you can even swim with whale sharks off the coast. Join a tour to meet these gentle giants, or go on a glass-bottom boat if you'd prefer to stay dry.

Coral Bay is on a secluded section of Western Australian coastline, about 150km from the nearest town (Exmouth to the north). To fly there, you'll need to hop on a Qantas service from Perth to Learmonth Airport, near Exmouth. Integrity Coaches runs buses from the airport to Coral Bay, as well as services that go as far as Broome (18 hours up the coast) and Perth (16 hours south). Once in Coral Bay, you can then walk (or kayak) around the area.