Cottesloe took out metropolitan category and also gained the most votes overall but Hyams and Wineglass Bay were close behind

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The results are in for the Guardian Australia’s best beaches poll.

There were 19,533 votes cast in the survey to find Australia’s best regional, remote and metropolitan beaches.

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There’s nothing better than a sunset over the ocean and Guardian readers voted Cottesloe in Western Australia as their favourite metropolitan beach. Affectionately known as Cott, the suburban Perth beach polled more than 1,000 votes. Its crystal clear waters are brimming with swimmers, snorkelers and surfers alike on lazy summer days. Although you’ve got to keep your wits about you – sharks are sometimes lurking in the water.

Heading east, Noosa Main Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast came in second place with 674 votes. It’s beloved by families seeking fun in the sun with gentle waves and beach patrols.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Honourable mention: Yarra Bay on the northern side of Botany Bay in Sydney. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

A grassroots campaign to stop Yarra Bay Beach in New South Wales being turned into a cruise ship terminal saw it climb to third spot on the best metropolian beach rankings. It’s a great place for kids to learn to sail and the last scene in Rake was filmed here.

South Australia’s Port Noarlunga with its red sandstone beach cliffs and long jetty ranked fourth. It’s a haven for people who like to fish, kayak and dive.

Rounding out the rankings in fifth place is Freshwater Beach north of Sydney which is credited with helping to kick off a surfing craze in Australia. In 1915, Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku dropped a board in he’d made from a local sugar pine.

Metropolitan top 10

1. Cottesloe, Perth, Western Australia

2. Noosa Main Beach, Sunshine Coast, Queensland

3. Yarra Bay, Sydney, New South Wales

4. Port Noarlunga, Adelaide, South Australia

5. Freshwater, Sydney, New South Wales

6. Portsea, Mornington peninsula, Victoria

7. Bondi, Sydney, New South Wales

8. Balmoral, Sydney, New South Wales

9. Port Willunga beach, Fleurieu peninsula, South Australia

10. Bronte, Sydney, New South Wales

The rankings for best regional beach were a closer contest.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Winner: Hyams Beach is a spectacular stretch of Jervis Bay with fine white sand. Photograph: Genevieve Vallee/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

Hyams Beach at Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast, which is billed as having the world’s whitest sand, took out top spot. It’s not surprising really. Shoalhaven city council has recently appointed traffic controllers to redirect visitors from the beach because of over-popularity. The carpark only has capacity for 400 but up to 5,000 vehicles are showing up each day during peak season.

Elephant Rocks in southern WA ranked second. As the name suggests it’s home to huge granite boulders resembling elephants cooling off in the surf.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Runner up: Elephant Rocks, Denmark, Western Australia. Photograph: Genevieve Vallee/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

Regional top 10

1. Hyams beach, south coast, New South Wales

2. Elephant Rocks, south coast, Western Australia

3. Refuge Cove, Wilsons promontory, Victoria

4. Wategos Beach, Byron Bay, New South Wales

5. Horseshoe Bay, Bowen, Queensland

6. Ninety Mile beach, Gippsland, Victoria

7. Meelup, Margaret River, Western Australia

8. Greenpatch, Jervis Bay, New South Wales

9. Greens Pool, Denmark, Western Australia

10. Horseshoe Bay, Port Elliott, South Australia

The spectacularly curved Wineglass Bay beach in Tasmania took out the best remote beach category with 1,013 votes. Nestled in the Freycinet national park and with stunning pink granite peaks, this beach is a popular spot for sailing and hiking adventurers.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Winner: Wineglass Bay, Freycinet national park, Tasmania Photograph: TonyFeder/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Remote top 10

1. Wineglass Bay, Freycinet peninsula, Tasmania

2. Whitehaven, Whitsundays, Queensland

3. Cable beach, Broome, Western Australia

4. Turquoise Bay, Exmouth, Western Australia

5. Lucky Bay, Cape le Grande, Western Australia

6. Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

7. Seventy-five Mile Beach, Fraser Island, Queensland

8. Twilight Beach, Esperance, Western Australia

9. Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

10. Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

See the full list of beaches and their rankings here