We’re often asked the same question by guests checking in for two or three nights: what’s actually worth driving to from here. The answer is: more than people expect. Caboolture sits at a useful crossroads. The Glass House Mountains are 25 minutes north, Bribie Island is 30 minutes east, the bayside fishing village of Beachmere is 15 minutes east, and Sandstone Point Hotel sits halfway between us and the Bribie bridge. Day trips from Caboolture work because none of them need a full day. Each is doable as a half-day with breakfast at the motel and dinner back at the King Street strip. We’ve put this together for guests with a hire car and one or two open days in the calendar.
Bribie Island: thirty minutes east, calm bay water, all of it sealed road
The drive to Bribie Island runs east through Ningi and across the only bridge connecting Bribie to the mainland. From the motel it’s around 30 minutes door-to-Bongaree on a normal Saturday morning. Bribie is unusual among Queensland’s barrier islands in that the entire route is sealed road. No four-wheel-drive needed, no ferry, no permits.
Bongaree, the main town, sits on the calm bayside of the island. The foreshore runs for a couple of kilometres with picnic tables, sandy beach access and a long jetty popular with fishermen. Pelican Park beside the jetty is set up with shaded playgrounds, BBQs and toilets. It’s a low-effort family stop: park once, walk along, swim in the calm water, eat lunch.
For breakfast or brunch, Annie Lane Cafe at 5/1 Toorbul Street, Bongaree, is the local pick. All-day brunch, seasonal menus, open seven days from 7am to 2pm. The Bribie Island Butterfly House and the Bribie Island Seaside Museum (Aboriginal heritage, WWII history, early settlers) are both within walking distance of Bongaree town centre and worth a combined ninety-minute visit if the kids are up for it.
If the surf side calls, drive to Woorim, which is the ocean-facing beach on the other side of the island, around five minutes from Bongaree. Patrolled in season, with a surf club and food options. Bribie is also the southern end of the Pumicestone Passage, the protected stretch of water between the island and the mainland. It’s one of the easier sea-kayaking and stand-up paddleboard spots in southeast Queensland.
Glass House Mountains: twenty-five minutes north, three peaks worth climbing
The Glass House Mountains are visible from parts of Caboolture on a clear day, which is why the drive feels short. You can see where you’re going from the moment you turn onto the Bruce Highway. From the motel it’s roughly 25 minutes north. Three peaks are accessible to walkers without specialised climbing gear:
- Mount Ngungun is the easy one. A 2.8-kilometre return trail with 360-degree views from the summit, suitable for school-aged kids and reasonably fit adults. Allow 90 minutes. The trailhead at Fullertons Road, Glass House Mountains, has a small carpark.
- Mount Tibrogargan Circuit is the loop walk around the base of the most recognisable peak. 4.1 kilometres, mostly flat, with a side track that goes part-way up the rocky slope. Allow 90 minutes to two hours.
- Wild Horse Mountain Lookout isn’t a climb. It’s a 700-metre sealed path up to a viewing platform with one of the best Sunshine Coast hinterland panoramas. 30-minute return. Suits travellers who want the photo without the workout.
The Glass House Mountains Visitor Centre at 35 Reed Street, Glass House Mountains, is open most days and the local information board is genuinely useful for current trail conditions. Note: in wet weather some of these trails are closed or slippery and Mount Beerwah (a fourth peak) is closed for ongoing safety reviews. Check before you go.
After the walk, pubs and cafes around the Glass House Mountains township and Beerwah are five minutes back down the road.
Sandstone Point Hotel: twenty minutes east, on the water with a music card
Sandstone Point Hotel sits at 1800 Bribie Island Road, on the mainland side of the Pumicestone Passage, twenty minutes from us. It’s a waterfront pub-and-event venue that draws national and international acts to its outdoor stage and runs live music every Saturday and Sunday inside the venue.
The food side of the business is solid pub fare done well. Fresh seafood, premium steaks, wood-fired pizzas, and a terrace overlooking Pumicestone Passage. The QHA awarded it Best Family Dining in 2021 and the kids’ areas are properly thought through. For a sunset dinner with a view, it’s hard to beat in this region.
If a major concert is on (Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, the Red Hot Summer Tour), tickets sell out and the carpark fills early. Outside concert weekends, walk-ins are usually fine for dinner. Sunday afternoon live music from around 1pm is the relaxed time to visit.
Beachmere: fifteen minutes east, a quieter bay village
Beachmere is the closest beach to the motel: fifteen minutes east, on the southern bayside. It doesn’t have surf, but it has calm bay water, a long foreshore park, picnic tables and a fishing jetty. Silver Spoon Beachmere at 19 Biggs Avenue is the local cafe, open seven days for brunch from 7am to 2pm, with Friday and Saturday dinners and Sunday live music from 3pm to 6pm.
It’s the day trip for travellers who want to swim somewhere quiet, walk the foreshore for an hour, and eat brunch with bay views without driving forty minutes. We send guests there often when they want a calm half-day.
How to plan it from the motel
Most of these trips work as half-days. A two-night stay can comfortably fit one or two of them. A three-night stay can fit three: one Glass House Mountains morning, one Bribie afternoon, one Sandstone Point sunset dinner. Breakfast is included with us seven days a week, so you can be on the road by 9am with a full fuel tank from the King Street servo and back at the pool by mid-afternoon.
Free parking on-site means you can leave your second vehicle, trailer or caravan with us all day if you’re heading out in the work car. Reception will hold extra keys if you’re a couple sharing one car.
Day trips from Caboolture aren’t about ticking off Sunshine Coast headline attractions. They’re about getting onto the water, into the hills, or onto a foreshore for a few hours, and being back for dinner. That’s the version of Moreton Bay we live in.
Stay with us and explore the bay direct from your room. Book direct for the best rate on the website.
Image credit: Sandstone Point Hotel, Caboolture