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Coastal townsNew South Wales2026

New South Wales Coastal Towns

Byron Bay, Gosford and Vincentia were the most booked of the 47 coastal towns in New South Wales on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 26,758, 15,388 and 11,346 stays. January is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.5 nights.

Source: AirROI Reviewed by Jun Zhou, Founder @ AirROI Updated November 4, 2026

Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made

Among the 19 towns with 200+ homes

Most booked of these 19: Byron Bay 26,758 stays
Highest revenue per home of these 19: Byron Bay A$77,932 a year
Highest rated of these 19: Lennox Head and Terrigal 4.84 out of 5
Lowest nightly rate of these 19: South West Rocks A$304 a night
Longest typical stay of these 19: Lennox Head 5.5 nights

Ranking

New South Wales Coastal Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays

Every one of the coastal and beach towns in New South Wales with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.

New South Wales Coastal Towns ranked by Airbnb stays, with homes, typical stay, busiest month, nightly rate, occupancy, revenue per home and guest rating

1	Byron Bay	26,758	996	4.7 nights	January	A$679	42%	A$77,932	4.81
2	Gosford	15,388	779	4.1 nights	January	A$569	35%	A$47,655	4.79
3	Vincentia	11,346	454	3.9 nights	January	A$558	36%	A$57,033	4.76
4	Port Macquarie	10,407	413	4.8 nights	December	A$333	44%	A$38,376	4.75
5	Kiama	9,977	336	4.2 nights	January	A$618	41%	A$69,419	4.81
6	Nelson Bay	9,649	542	4.0 nights	January	A$572	30%	A$43,979	4.59
7	Coffs Harbour	9,386	372	4.1 nights	October	A$392	41%	A$46,970	4.79
8	Kingscliff	8,757	389	4.7 nights	December	A$556	37%	A$54,173	4.75
9	Huskisson	8,559	263	3.4 nights	January	A$528	39%	A$66,830	4.80
10	Yamba	8,089	451	5.4 nights	January	A$507	36%	A$48,037	4.78
11	Eurobodalla. Includes Batemans Bay and Moruya.	7,655	404	4.7 nights	January	A$409	35%	A$35,912	4.78
12	Forster	7,555	466	5.0 nights	January	A$418	32%	A$32,423	4.67
13	Port Stephens	6,194	309	4.1 nights	January	A$631	33%	A$55,844	4.66
14	Lennox Head	5,472	255	5.5 nights	January	A$519	42%	A$51,012	4.84
15	Byron	5,463	174	3.7 nights	December	A$708	44%	A$76,548	4.90
16	Shoal Bay	5,190	263	3.9 nights	January	A$611	30%	A$50,084	4.60
17	Terrigal	4,829	215	4.7 nights	January	A$591	35%	A$48,615	4.84
18	Merimbula	4,775	240	5.2 nights	January	A$408	41%	A$42,237	4.76
19	Shellharbour. Includes Shell Cove.	4,640	141	3.8 nights	January	A$500	47%	A$68,877	4.87
20	Sawtell	4,274	161	4.2 nights	January	A$422	40%	A$49,781	4.78
21	Suffolk Park	4,135	180	6.0 nights	October	A$646	45%	A$59,876	4.88
22	Crescent Head	4,007	202	5.1 nights	January	A$359	36%	A$35,077	4.72
23	Callala Beach	3,864	169	3.8 nights	January	A$781	34%	A$75,755	4.72
24	Gerringong	3,806	137	3.6 nights	January	A$803	37%	A$88,513	4.82
25	South West Rocks	3,288	206	5.2 nights	January	A$304	35%	A$26,582	4.76
26	Bogangar	3,101	123	5.4 nights	January	A$542	44%	A$64,798	4.83
27	Manly	3,035	152	6.8 nights	October	A$480	51%	A$55,844	4.82
28	Bondi Beach	2,965	134	7.1 nights	March	A$427	53%	A$51,890	4.77
29	Brunswick Heads	2,931	116	4.9 nights	December	A$489	42%	A$54,720	4.83
30	Ballina	2,913	123	4.8 nights	January	A$469	44%	A$50,205	4.87
31	The Entrance	2,848	170	4.2 nights	January	A$379	32%	A$27,617	4.44
32	Callala Bay	2,667	104	3.9 nights	January	A$636	37%	A$66,846	4.75
33	Casuarina Beach	2,527	106	5.2 nights	December	A$627	38%	A$58,168	4.78
34	Hyams Beach	2,523	108	4.5 nights	January	A$688	33%	A$71,156	4.73
35	Sussex Inlet	2,474	141	3.7 nights	January	A$382	30%	A$27,920	4.78
36	Tweed Heads	2,424	108	5.5 nights	January	A$376	43%	A$42,152	4.75
37	Malua Bay	2,196	117	4.7 nights	December	A$515	35%	A$46,444	4.76
38	Anna Bay	2,098	106	3.5 nights	January	A$630	34%	A$51,704	4.73
39	Narooma	2,075	108	4.8 nights	January	A$363	34%	A$32,542	4.61
40	Smiths Lake	2,062	111	4.9 nights	December	A$473	34%	A$38,698	4.79
41	Hawks Nest	2,003	158	5.6 nights	January	A$402	28%	A$25,540	4.67
42	Fingal Bay	1,970	117	4.2 nights	January	A$693	31%	A$55,154	4.68
43	Bawley Point	1,920	100	4.2 nights	January	A$470	32%	A$35,929	4.79
44	Ulladulla	1,867	115	4.8 nights	January	A$464	32%	A$31,584	4.78
45	Bermagui	1,720	108	5.1 nights	January	A$388	33%	A$29,089	4.72
46	Boomerang Beach	1,626	125	5.3 nights	January	A$695	29%	A$52,288	4.76
47	Tuncurry	1,317	100	5.5 nights	January	A$342	31%	A$22,165	4.69

Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5. Airbnb data files some places as one district or township, so Eurobodalla and rows like it cover several towns.

Money figures on this page are in Australian dollars, converted from US dollars at A$1.44 per US$, the typical rate from November 2025 to October 2026.

Town by town

Where the Top Towns Stand Out

5 of 8 are busiest in January. Port Macquarie and Kingscliff peak in December, and Coffs Harbour in October. Among guests who left a review, Sydney is the top home city in 7 of the 8. Houses are the largest home type in 6 of the 8. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the 8 most booked towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.

Byron Bay
Of the 19 coastal towns in New South Wales with 200 or more homes, Byron Bay had the most Airbnb homes, at 996, and had the highest nightly rate, at A$679, in the 12 months to October 2026.
Vincentia
Of the 19 coastal towns in New South Wales with 200 or more homes, Vincentia had the biggest share of homes that sleep 8 or more, at 43%, and had the biggest share of houses, at 82%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
4
Port Macquarie
Of the 19 coastal towns in New South Wales with 200 or more homes, Port Macquarie had the highest occupancy, at 44%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
6
Nelson Bay
In the 12 months to October 2026, apartments and condos were the largest home type in Nelson Bay, New South Wales, at 55% of homes.
8
Kingscliff
Of the 19 coastal towns in New South Wales with 200 or more homes, Kingscliff had the biggest share of apartments and condos, at 63%, in the 12 months to October 2026. Among guests who left a review, Brisbane was the top home city for Kingscliff, at 8.7%.

When to go

Busiest and Quietest Months

January, December and October rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the coastal towns in New South Wales, and June and May as the quietest. January is the busiest month in 36 of the 47, while Port Macquarie and Kingscliff peak in December, and Coffs Harbour in October. Across the 47 towns, nightly rates run lowest in August, at about A$484, and highest in January, at about A$597. Across the 47 towns, stays run longest in December, at 5.5 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.6 nights.

January ranks first, May last

Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.

Three busiest months
Other months

Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate

Months in New South Wales by rank
Rank	Month	Typical stay	Nightly rate
1	January	4.7 nights	A$597
2	December	5.5 nights	A$585
3	October	3.8 nights	A$536
4	March	3.9 nights	A$532
5	November	4.4 nights	A$538
6	April	4.0 nights	A$554
7	February	4.5 nights	A$536
8	September	3.6 nights	A$510
9	July	4.9 nights	A$496
10	August	4.1 nights	A$484
11	June	4.2 nights	A$492
12	May	4.1 nights	A$512

Who comes

Where Guests Come From

Among guests who left a review, 81% come from within Australia. Among those guests, the largest groups from abroad come from the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand. The top home cities among those guests are Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Byron Bay draws the most from abroad, at 38%, among towns with 200 or more homes.

Top countries abroad

Among guests who left a review

United Kingdom 5.5%
United States 2.8%
New Zealand 1.3%
Germany 1.1%

Top home cities

Among guests who left a review

81% from within Australia

Sydney 12%
Brisbane 2.5%
Melbourne 2.2%
Canberra 2%

The money view

Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate

Among the 19 towns with 200 or more Airbnb homes, Byron Bay has the highest estimated revenue per home, at A$77,932 a year. Of those 19, Port Macquarie has the highest occupancy, at 44%, and South West Rocks has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at A$304. Byron Bay is also the most booked of the 47.

Highest revenue per home of these 19

A year, AirROI estimate

Byron Bay A$77,932
Kiama A$69,419
Huskisson A$66,830
Vincentia A$57,033
Port Stephens A$55,844

Highest occupancy of these 19

Nights booked, AirROI estimate

Lowest nightly rate of these 19

On Airbnb, AirROI estimate

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular coastal town in New South Wales?

By AirROI's estimates, Byron Bay is the most booked of the 47 coastal towns in New South Wales, with 26,758 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Gosford is second, with 15,388. This counts Airbnb bookings only.

What is the most affordable coastal town in New South Wales?

By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among coastal towns in New South Wales with 200 or more homes, the lowest are South West Rocks (A$304), Port Macquarie (A$333) and Crescent Head (A$359). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.

What are some small coastal towns in New South Wales?

By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 47 coastal towns it lists in New South Wales are Bawley Point (100), Tuncurry (100) and Callala Bay (104). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.

What coastal towns in New South Wales offer the strongest Airbnb returns?

Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among coastal towns in New South Wales with 200 or more homes, the highest are Byron Bay (A$77,932), Kiama (A$69,419) and Huskisson (A$66,830). Among the same towns, Port Macquarie has the highest occupancy, at 44%.

Method

How These Lists and Numbers Are Made

How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to be on an ocean or sea coast with its own beach, seafront or harbour, or on a Great Lake with a public beach, and within about 10 km of the shore. The town's own listings can back that up, with 30% of its homes listing beach access, or 10% with ocean views, waterfront homes or beach in their titles besides. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.

How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 697,097 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.