Best Beaches in Broome: From Cable Beach’s White Sand to the Red Cliffs of the Kimberley Coast

Cable Beach is the one everyone comes for, and the southern, patrolled end is where you actually swim. Twenty-two kilometres of broad white sand run along the Indian Ocean, and during the Dry season Surf Life Saving WA flags and patrols the main section near the surf club, running a stinger-aware service that makes this the safe, sensible place to get in the water. The sand is firm and clean, the water is warm and clear, and the famous sunset — camels on the tideline, the sky on fire over the ocean — plays out here every evening.

This is the beach that suits everyone: families with kids who can swim between the flags, couples here for the sunset, solo travellers and groups. There's parking, a surf club, the Sunset Bar and Cable Beach Club nearby, and the access is easy and central. The honest caveats matter though — swim only between the flags and only in the patrolled window; from roughly October to May, box jellyfish and Irukandji mean you check the signage and stinger advice before entering; and even here, never swim at dawn or dusk. Get those right and Cable Beach is as good as a tropical beach gets.

Beyond the rocks at the northern end of Cable Beach, past the 4WD access ramp, the beach changes character. This is the wild, open stretch — kilometres of empty white sand where four-wheel-drives cruise the firm low-tide flats, park up for the sunset, and the crowds of the southern end thin out to almost nobody. It's also Broome's clothing-optional beach, north of the rocks, so it has a relaxed, anything-goes feel. At sunset the line of 4WDs facing the ocean with the camels passing is a Broome scene in itself.

It suits adventurous travellers with a 4WD, photographers chasing the empty-beach shot, and anyone wanting space away from the patrolled crowds. But the caveats are serious: this end is unpatrolled, so there's no flagged safe-swim zone and the same croc-and-stinger risks apply with no lifesavers watching. Driving on the beach needs a proper 4WD, an eye on the tide (vehicles do get caught and swamped), and care around pedestrians. For swimming, families and anyone unsure, stay at the patrolled southern end. Come here for the drive, the space and the sunset — not for a casual swim.

On the town side of Broome, Town Beach faces Roebuck Bay and is the family heart of the foreshore — though, crucially, not really a swimming beach. Its big draw is the free Town Beach water park, a croc-safe splash playground that's a lifesaver for families on a hot day, alongside a grassed foreshore, a cafe, shade and picnic spots. It's also the prime viewing spot for the Staircase to the Moon on full-moon nights, when the night markets fill the precinct, and a lovely calm place to watch the tide transform the bay.

It suits families above all — the water park, the playground and the easy facilities make it the go-to for a relaxed few hours with kids — as well as anyone wanting an easy, central, flat spot to picnic or catch the moonrise. The honest note is the water itself: Roebuck Bay here is croc-and-stinger country with big tidal mudflats, so this is not a swimming beach. Use the water park for cooling off, enjoy the bay for its colour and birdlife, and keep the actual ocean swim for patrolled Cable Beach.

Reddell Beach is where Broome's famous red earth meets the sea most dramatically. Running along the southern coast between Town Beach and Gantheaume Point, it's a stretch of rust-orange pindan cliffs, sculpted rock formations and pockets of sand that turn an almost unreal red-gold in the late afternoon light. It's far quieter than Cable Beach, accessed from several pull-offs along the coast road, and it's one of the best and least crowded sunset spots in town — the cliffs glowing against the turquoise as the sun drops.

It suits photographers above all, plus couples after a quiet sundowner and walkers who want a dramatic, near-empty stretch of coast. Families enjoy exploring the rocks at low tide, with supervision. The caveats: it's a look-don't-swim beach — unpatrolled, with rocky shores, big tides and the standing croc-and-stinger risk — so come for the walk, the rocks and the light, not for a swim. Wear grippy shoes for the rock, watch the tide so you're not cut off, and bring a torch if you stay for the after-sunset glow.

At the southern tip of the Cable Beach side, Gantheaume Point is the most photographed headland in Broome — a dramatic tumble of deep-red pindan rock above turquoise water, crowned by a small lighthouse. It's spectacular at any tide and unforgettable in the late light. Below, preserved in the reef rock, are dinosaur footprints more than 125 million years old, exposed only at very low tide; plaster casts at the top of the cliff let you see the tracks whatever the water is doing. A short walk leads to Anastasia's Pool, the rock pool an early lighthouse keeper cemented for his arthritic wife, now storm-worn but still there with its story.

It suits photographers, families chasing the footprints, and anyone after the quintessential red-rock-and-turquoise Broome image. It's more a place to explore and admire than a swimming beach: there are pockets of white sand below, but the headland is rocky, unpatrolled, and subject to the same croc-and-stinger risk, so it's firmly look-don't-swim. Check a tide chart for the real footprints, wear grippy shoes on the reef, keep children close on the clifftops and rocks, and time it for low tide and golden hour for the best of both.

Down near the Broome wharf and the deep-water port, Entrance Point is a different sort of coast — red rocky shoreline and small sandy pockets where the town's working harbour meets the turquoise of Roebuck Bay's mouth. It's a favourite local fishing spot from the rocks and the wharf, a good place to watch the pearl luggers and supply boats come and go, and another quiet, less-touristed corner for a sunset with the red rock catching the light. The colours where the rust-red shore meets the bright water are classic Broome.

It suits anglers most of all — threadfin salmon, trevally and more are caught from here — along with travellers who like a working-coast vibe and a quieter spot away from the beaches. The honest caveats are firm: this is a working port with boat traffic, and the water is unpatrolled, tidal and squarely in croc-and-stinger territory, so it's for fishing, watching and walking the rocks, not for swimming. Mind the tides, which run hard here, watch your footing on the rocks, and keep clear of the port operational areas.

Roebuck Bay is the most colour-saturated water in Broome and the most important to understand: it is for looking, not swimming. When the tide fills the bay over the red pindan, the water turns an electric turquoise that looks almost fake against the rust-red cliffs, and the mudflats it exposes at low tide are one of the planet's great shorebird feeding grounds — tens of thousands of migratory waders arrive each year. The rare Australian snubfin dolphin surfaces in the shallows on calm mornings, and on full-moon nights the bay stages the Staircase to the Moon.

It suits birdwatchers, photographers and wildlife lovers, and anyone who simply wants to take in the colour from the foreshore — families included, kept well back from the water. But this is the clearest look-don't-swim water in Broome: saltwater crocodiles move through the bay's mangrove creeks, stingers are present in the warmer months, and the vast tidal mudflats are dangerous to walk out on. Enjoy it entirely from the shore — the birds, the dolphins, the colour and the moonrise — and keep every swim for patrolled Cable Beach.