All of the towns we visited on Australia’s rugged west coast were special in their own way. We can’t think of one we didn’t like. We’ve been missing the water and the beaches lately. We caught our minds going back to our first true experience of what the west coast has to offer: the small town of Coral Bay and the stunning Ningaloo Reef.

The town itself is tiny, and when I say tiny, I mean it. It consists of one hostel, one hotel, a bakery, grocery store, a couple of cafes and some tourist agencies where you can book trips. That’s pretty much it. It being small has it’s charm though! You get to know the store owners in a matter of hours and everyone is so nice! We stayed at the Ningaloo club and can definitely recommend this!

So how come we loved it so so much? A tiny town with nothing to do in the middle of nowhere? Well, here’s why. We felt at home on the beaches, spending our time snorkeling (snorkel paradise, trust us) and taking in the stunning views. It was so relaxing. On our day trip out to the Ningaloo Reef, the dives blew our minds. There are manta rays and whale sharks in that area, just to name the two most impressive ones. We got lucky enough to dive with the latter one. Being underwater swimming next to an absolutely stunning impressive whale shark was one of the most memorable experiences we had in Australia.

If you need a couple of days of relaxing in a nice hostel (or camp and/or resort), in the middle of nowhere away from all the hustle and bustle, Coral Bay is the perfect get-away. Beautiful beaches, reef you can snorkel just off the shore, sunshine, amazing dive-opportunities…What else do you need?