TNQ Writer
Tropical North Queensland is pretty much the dictionary definition of paradise, so much so that Mission Beach has been named one of the world’s most beautiful villages.
The palm-fringed beach village was the only Australian destination featured on the list, which featured fairytale villages such as Oia in Greece and Halong Bay in Vietnam.
The list was coined by Uswitch Mortgages, who searched through image-focused platforms Instagram and Pinterest to find out which villages were the most popular on social media.
Mission Beach was voted the fifth most beautiful village on the planet raking in a whopping 608,703 Instagram posts filled with lines of palm trees, salty sunsets and drone seascapes.
Oia in Greece came out on top of the list, with Ha Long Bay in second place and Göreme in Turkey in third.
The World’s Most Beautiful Villages
- Oia, Greece – 1,612,671 combined social media appearances
- Ha Long Bay, Vietnam – 1,168,018 combined social media appearances
- Göreme, Turkey – 1,129,300 combined social media appearances
- Hallstatt, Austria – 799,213 combined social media appearances
- Mission Beach, Australia – 608,796 combined social media appearances
- Wanaka, New Zealand – 566,714 combined social media appearances
- Vernazza, Italy – 493,134 combined social media appearances
- Shirakawa-Go, Japan – 256,681 combined social media appearances
- Tobermory, Isle of Mull (Scotland) – 242,210 combined social media appearances
- Furnas, The Azores (Portugal) – 227,708 combined social media appearances
10 Things To Do in Mission Beach
Your Mission: to head to the fifth most beautiful village in the world. Your reward, should you choose to accept… dreamy beaches, lush green rainforest, tropical islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Here’s ten things to do in Mission Beach:
- Explore the Licuala Fan Palm Boardwalk at Djiru National Park.
- Beach hop along 14km of palm-fringed beach and discover these hidden beaches and coves.
- Head out to Dunk Island, walk to the top of Mt Kootaloo and relax on pristine beaches.
- Skydive over the Great Barrier Reef with Mission Beach Skydive.
- Check into Castaways Resort and Spa and relax to the max with a treatment at the Drift Spa.
- Peddle through paradise on a mountain bike track.
- Dive or snorkel the Great Barrier Reef with Mission Beach Dive.
- Search for turtles or cast a line off the Perry Harvey Jetty.
- Head to funky Bingil Bay and grab brunch at Bingil Bay Cafe.
- Absolutely nothing! Just find a patch of sand and while the day away in paradise.