Your complete guide to accommodation in Cocos Keeling Islands

Lynn Gail Lynn Gail
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You’ve scoured the internet for an untrampled nature-based destination and happened upon Cocos Keeling Islands – a tropical, coconut palm-covered horseshoe of sparkling gems, 27 of them in fact, peeking out of the Indian Ocean.

With over-tourism a growing problem worldwide, Cocos Keeling, due to its size – a mere 14 square kilometres – is set to keep visitor numbers restricted. Book your beds early, accommodation is limited.

Most places to stay are a passport’s throw from the airport on West Island – one of two inhabited islands on Cocos. A short spin of your suitcase wheels will have you booked in, unpacked, and sitting by the ocean, cocktail in hand, watching waves roll in before the sun goes down.

The other – Home Island, where most Cocos Malay people live – has homestay options. There are no high-rise, five-star hotels boasting swim-up bars, so where do you lay your head after laying around on the beach all day?

If you haven’t added the Cocos Keeling Islands to your bucket list, now’s your time!

The Breakers

Suitable for:  Couples or friends travelling together.

Talking of rolling your suitcase, The Breakers self-contained bungalows are surrounded by lush greenery, a leaf’s launch from the airport.

Take your pick from twin or queen rooms fitted out with timbered trimmings, a spacious bathroom, air-conditioning and any essential item you’ll need to throw a hearty meal together after a full day’s adventuring.

The Breakers room on Cocos Keeling Islands
Nestle into lush island greenery with The Breaker’s bungalows. (Image: Rachel Claire Photography)

There’s a thatched open-air BBQ Pondok set in a private garden if you want to mix it up and socialise at champers-o’clock as the sun slips away.

The town’s one and only supermarket, visitor centre/gift shop, and a handful of restaurants are a two-minute walk from your bungalow’s balcony.

The Breakers on Cocos Keeling Islands
The Breakers is a delightful tropical stay.

Cocos Seaview Apartments

Suitable for: Couples or solo travellers.

Squirrel away in these tastefully appointed self-contained apartments. Located in a peaceful leafy cul-de-sac, think romantic retreat, rest and recharge.

The ocean is a mini-meander away – walk along the surf and beach comb with hermit crabs looking for new homes.

The community bus stop is a two-minute stroll and runs to West Island’s jetty where the ferry leaves for Home Island and Direction Island – where a silky stretch of sand was crowned Best Beach in Australia, 2017.

With over 12 years of experience, resident and owner Levi Fowler is an expert on all things Cocos. Levi will collect you from the airport and by the time you’re reclining and sipping a sundowner on your deck, you’ll have the low-down on the upside of paradise.

Levi’s akin to the local Olympian, into everything from kite surfing, and cray fishing, to health and fitness, to being passionate about the local community. So, when it comes to looking after you, he dots and crosses your holiday needs.

Cocos Seaview apartments, Cocos Keeling Island
Find everything you need in your own self-contained apartment by the sea.

Cocos Castaway

Select from four villa options. Suitable for: Couples and families.

Become a hideaway castaway in a stylish self-contained villa right in the heart of town and watch the waves roll in from your private veranda.

If doing nothing is on your agenda, the villas have uninterrupted ocean views willing you into blissful relaxation.

Feeling energised after reclining? Hire a push bike for $20 and ride along the highway. Drop into one of West Island’s deserted beaches, the year-round bath-tub warm waters are ideal for snorkelling and SUP boarding (stand-up paddle boarding).

When hunger sets in, beachside restaurant, Surfer Girl Brewery, serves up delicious tropical smoothie bowls along with one of the islands’ finest roasted coffees or try Tropika Restaurant.

Castaway on Cocos Keeling Island
Relax on your deck with ocean views.

ninetysixeast Bed & Breakfast

Suitable for: Couples or solo travellers.

This heritage-listed boutique bed and breakfast enjoys a prime beachfront location overlooking a reef rock pool on William Keeling Crescent – named after the merchant seaman who discovered the magical isles back in 1609.

The private beach-themed ensuite room has been stylishly designed with ocean lovers in mind.

Consummate hosts, Colin and Christine, will have you feeling at home within minutes of picking you up in a golf buggy from the airport. The couple includes an island-intro buggy tour, snorkelling equipment, and buggy use during the first two days of your stay.

Don’t miss brekkie. Colin and Christine serve up a scrumptious continental breakfast on the sweeping veranda. The backdrop – mesmerising rolling waves, one crashing wave after another.

It’s hard to pull yourself away, but adventure awaits on the coconut-frisked shores of the surrounding islands.

Ninetysixeast Bed & Breakfast, Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Watch the sunset from your patio at ninetysixeast Bed & Breakfast.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

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Cocos Bellevue Apartment

Suitable for: Couples and solo travellers.

For those seeking a serene and self-contained stay, Cocos Bellevue on West Island offers a perfect beachfront escape. With stunning views of the Indian Ocean and just steps away from the beach, these modern studios are ideal for couples or solo travellers looking to unwind in paradise. Each studio comes fully equipped with all the amenities needed for a comfortable stay, including a kitchenette and private balcony. Whether you’re here to explore the island or simply relax by the water, Cocos Bellevue provides the perfect base for your Cocos Keeling Islands adventure.

Cocos Bellevue Apartment
Cocos Bellevue on West Island offers a perfect beachfront escape.

Cocos Cottages

Suitable for: Couples and families.

Furnished from floor to ceiling with warm timber furnishings – these cosy cottages on the airport’s Air Force Road provide a home away from home. Don’t worry about noise pollution though, you’ll see more birdlife than planes with only two flights per week.

Completely self-contained, you’ll want for nothing in these spacious two-bedroom cottages. Loaded bookshelves, daybeds and cushion-covered couches top the undercover deck.

Laze back, read, journal, or see if you can identify the island’s exotic birds.

The cottages are a golf ball’s throw from West Island’s golf course. Sit and watch the serious hole-in-one shooters, or join in Scroungers Golf, a friendly nine-hole round played every Thursday afternoon where all levels are welcome.

Cocos Cottages, Cocos Keeling Islands
Wander to the beach, or over to hit a casual round of golf.

The Bird’s Nest

Suitable for: Couples or solo travellers.

With salt in your hair and sand between your toes, nestle away in the quirky Bird’s Nest after a day of island exploring or kayaking.

This self-contained pad has all the frilly furnishings for a peachy beach escape. Choose a flick from the unit’s DVD/video library and settle in for a movie night after a sunset cocktail.

As most amenities are close to West Island’s accommodation, a leisurely stroll will bring you to the central pocket-sized hub.

Check out the Visitor Centre and chat with friendly staff about what’s on. They’ll help with bookings and answer any questions about the islands.

The Bird's Nest, Cocos Keeling Island
nestle away in the quirky Bird’s Nest after a day of island exploring or kayaking.

The Tropical Nook

Suitable for: Couples or solo travellers.

This self-contained studio is hidden in a quiet cul de sac that is an easy 150-metre stroll to the beach. The owners are a small family who lives in the main house and love to share their passion and knowledge of the Cocos with travellers.

With its own private entrance, whip yourself up a seafood feast in the kitchen then lay out on your own secluded deck, surrounded by nothing but lush tropical trees and the sounds of waves rolling in.

If you can tear yourself away from the pristine surroundings, a 500-metre walk will put you in the town centre.

Tropical Nook, Cocos Keeling Island
Chill out on your private balcony, or stroll down to the beach.

Beachcombers Cottage

Suitable for: Families or groups of up to eight people.

If this beautifully furnished cottage were any closer to the waves lapping the shoreline, your bed would be a water-based one.

Skip, hop or dance across the 30-metre palm-edged garden to the palm-edged beach, where you can laze under palm trees; FYI Cocos is full of coconut palms!

Pack up the fishing gear and throw your hook out. The five-star alfresco area boasts an outdoor kitchen kitted to cook up the day’s catch. Want to entertain? The indoor kitchen would suit any aspiring MasterChef.

The owners of this stylish four-bedroom, two-bathroom home have thought of everything and more. Along with features you’d expect to see in any first-rate property, you’ll find bicycles, paddle boards, kayaks, and snorkelling equipment.

Get in quick, book this premier home and listen to waves whisper against the shore as you sleep the night away.

Beachcombers Cottage, Cocos Keeling Islands
Stay right on the water at Beachcombers Cottage.

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The Castle

Suitable for: Families or groups of up to eight people.

Not to be mistaken with the iconic 1970s-styled home from the classic Australian movie, The Castle is a three-bedroom holiday house all about the modern touches, open-flow plan, and gourmet kitchen.

Saunter into town, nip in and out of Cocos’ shops, and grab a coffee and a freshly baked sweet treat at Salty’s Bakery & Grill.

The Castle’s huge outdoor patio area has cushioned day beds ready for an afternoon’s siesta.

Later, head into town and share duty-free drinks with friendly locals at the Cocos Club’s bar as the sun sets on another perfect day.

You’ll feel like a local as you catch up on the three w’s – what to do, where to go, and who to do it with, in paradise.

The Castle, Cocos Keeling Islands
Spread out on the generous-sized deck.

Cocos Escape

Suitable for: Couples, or solo travellers.

Escape life’s stresses and slide into seclusion at this end of West Island property.

White and bright and not a dot in sight, Cocos Escape is a clean, modern open-plan home boasting lagoon views across a beckoning ocean.

The holiday home has been designed for natural cooling with louvres and ceiling fans dotted throughout.

Amble twenty metres from your patio and plunge into the lagoon to spot the islands’ majestic turtles gliding through calm clear waters.

Take your pick from the deluxe two-bedroom option – suitable for up to four guests, or the self-contained one-bedroom studio apartment furnished for the solo traveller or couple.

Cocos Escape, Cocos Keeling Island
Escape life’s stresses at this secluded West Island property.

My Island Home

Suitable for: Two couples, or small families.

Relive your childhood in this hexagonal-designed pad; it has all the feels of grandma’s home. Games, books, videos, and nesting nooks feature in the bohemian two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage that is My Island Home.

Retreat to the deck’s comfy couches and listen to the birds sing-song in the adjacent park.

Like everything on the islands, nothing is far away, whichever way you turn you’ll be taking holiday snaps before five minutes tick past on your smartwatch.

After a day of island hopping, the breeze through the property’s palm trees swishes you into slumber.

My Island Home, Cocos Keeling Islands
Listen to the birds sing-song in the adjacent park.

Oceania House

Suitable for: History buffs.

For a stay that blends history with island charm, Oceania House on Home Island is an option. Once the stately home of the Clunies-Ross family, the dynasty that ruled the Cocos Keeling Islands for more than a century, this heritage mansion offers guests a unique glimpse into the island’s colonial past. Today, it serves as a guesthouse, with rooms that overlook lush gardens and the azure waters of the lagoon. Staying here feels like stepping back in time, surrounded by antique furnishings and stories of a bygone era.

Oceania House on Home Island on Cocos Keeling Islands
Oceania House is a stay that blends history with island charm. (Image: Maui Pandocopy)

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Lynn Gail
Lynn Gail is a travel writer and photographer who supplies both Australian and international travel magazines with features she hopes take readers on immersive journeys. An intrepid traveller, she’s most at home sitting alongside indigenous cultures, learning age-old belief systems. With her photography, Lynn aims to capture an essence of her subjects through making a connection.
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Inside Geelong’s glow-up from factory town to creative capital

    Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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    Abandoned mills and forgotten paper plants are finding second lives – and helping redefine a city long underestimated. 

    Just 15 years ago, Federal Mills was a very different place. Once among the most significant industrial sites in Victoria, the historic woollen mill was one of a dozen that operated in Geelong at the industry’s peak in the mid-20th century, helping the city earn its title as ‘wool centre of the world’. But by the 1960s global competition and the rise of synthetic fabrics led to the slow decline of the industry, and Federal Mills finally shuttered its doors in 2001. Within a few years, the abandoned North Geelong grounds had become makeshift pastoral land, with cows and goats grazing among the overgrown grass between the empty red-brick warehouses. It was a forgotten pocket of the city, all but two klicks from the bustle of the CBD.  

    Geelong cellar door wine bar
    Geelong has shed its industrial identity to become an innovative urban hub with reimagined heritage spaces. (Image: Ash Hughes)

    Federal Mills: from forgotten factory to creative precinct 

    Today, the century-old complex stands reborn. The distinctive sawtooth-roof buildings have been sensitively restored. An old silo is splashed with a bright floral mural, landscapers have transformed the grounds, and the precinct is once again alive with activity. More than 1000 people work across 50-plus businesses here. It’s so busy, in fact, that on a sunny Thursday morning in the thick of winter, it’s hard to find a car park. The high ceilings, open-plan design, and large multi-paned windows – revolutionary features for factories of their time – have again become a drawcard.  

    Paddock Bakery andPatisserie
    Paddock Bakery and Patisserie is housed within the historic wool factory. (Image: Gallant Lee)

    At Paddock, one of the precinct’s newer tenants, weaving looms and dye vats have been replaced by a wood-fired brick oven and heavy-duty mixers. Open since April 2024, the bakery looks right at home here; the building’s industrial shell is softened by ivy climbing its steel frames, and sunlight streams through the tall windows. Outside, among the white cedar trees, families at picnic benches linger over dippy eggs and bagels, while white-collar workers pass in and out, single-origin coffee and crème brûlée doughnuts in hand. 

    Geelong: Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design 

    Paddock Bakery
    Paddock Bakery can be found at Federal Mills. (Image: Gallant Lee)

    “A lot of people are now seeing the merit of investing in Geelong,” says Paul Traynor, the head of Hamilton Hospitality Group, which redeveloped Federal Mills. A city once shunned as Sleepy Hollow, and spurned for its industrial, working-class roots and ‘rust belt’ image, Geelong has long since reclaimed its ‘Pivot City’ title, having reinvented itself as an affordable, lifestyle-driven satellite city, and a post-COVID migration hotspot.  

    And the numbers stand testament to the change. In March 2025, and for the first time in its history, Greater Geelong became Australia’s most popular regional town for internal migration, overtaking Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Current forecasts suggest Geelong will continue to outpace many other Australian cities and towns, with jobs growing at double the rate of the population.

    Tourism is booming, too. The 2023-24 financial year was Geelong and The Bellarine region’s busiest on record, with 6.4 million visitors making it one of the fastest-growing destinations in the country. It’s not hard to see why: beyond the city’s prime positioning at the doorstep of the Great Ocean Road, Geelong’s tenacity and cultural ambition stands out.  

    As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, Geelong is swiftly shaking off its industrial past to become a model for urban renewal, innovation, sustainability and creative communities. The signs are everywhere, from the revitalisation of the city’s waterfront, and the landmark design of the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre and Geelong Arts Centre, to the growing network of local designers, architects and artists, and the burgeoning roster of festivals and events. That’s not even mentioning the adaptive reuse of storied old industrial buildings – from Federal Mills, to Little Creatures’ brewery ‘village’ housed within a 1920s textile mill – or the city’s flourishing food and wine scene.  

    The rise of a food and wine destination  

    boiler house
    Restaurant 1915 is housed within a restored former boiler house. (Image: Harry Pope/Two Palms)

    Traynor credits now-closed local restaurant Igni, which opened in 2016, as the turning point for Geelong’s hospo industry. “[Aaron Turner, Igni’s chef-patron] was probably the first guy, with all due respect, to raise the bar food-wise for Geelong,” he says. “People now treat it really seriously, and there’s clearly a market for it.” While Igni is gone, Turner now helms a string of other notable Geelong venues, including The Hot Chicken Project and Tacos y Liquor, all within the buzzy, street art-speckled laneways of the CBD’s Little Malop Street Precinct. Many others have also popped up in Igni’s wake, including Federal Mills’ own restaurant, 1915. Housed within the cavernous boiler house, 1915’s interior is dramatic: soaring, vaulted ceilings with timber beams, exposed brick, a huge arched window. The share plates echo the space’s bold character, playing with contrast and texture, with dishes such as a compressed watermelon tataki, the sweet, juicy squares tempered by salty strands of fried leeks, and charred, smoky snow peas dusted with saganaki on a nutty bed of romesco. 

    Woolstore
    The Woolstore is a new restaurant and bar housed within a century-old warehouse. (Image: Amy Carlon)

     The Woolstore, one of The Hamilton Group’s most recent hospo projects, opened in February. It occupies a century-old riverside warehouse and exudes a more sultry, fine dining ambience. Much like Federal Mills, the blueprint was to preserve the original brickwork, tallowwood flooring and nods to the building’s former life. That same careful consideration extends to the well-versed, affable waitstaff as well as the kitchen. Head chef Eli Grubb is turning out an eclectic mix of ambitious and indulgent mod Oz dishes that deliver: strikingly tender skewers of chicken tsukune, infused with hints of smoke from the parrilla grill, and glazed with a moreish, sweet gochujang ‘jam’; nduja arancini fragrant with hints of aniseed and the earthy lick of sunny saffron aioli; and golden squares of potato pavé, adorned with tiny turrets of crème fraîche, crisp-fried saltbush leaves, and Avruga caviar, to name but a few stand-out dishes.  

    Woolstore menu
    Woolstore’s menu is designed for sharing.

    Breathing new life into historic spaces  

    On the city’s fringe, hidden down a winding side road with little fanfare, lies a long-dormant site that’s being gently revived. Built from locally quarried bluestone and brick, and dating back to the 1870s, the complex of original tin-roofed mill buildings is lush with greenery and backs onto the Barwon River and Buckley Falls; the audible rush of water provides a soothing soundtrack. Fyansford Paper Mill is one of few complexes of its time to survive intact. It feels steeped in history and spellbindingly rustic.  

    “We were looking for an old industrial place that had some charm and romance to it,” explains Sam Vogel, the owner, director and winemaker at Provenance Wines which moved here in 2018. When he first viewed the building with his former co-owner, it was in such a state of disrepair that the tradie tenant occupying the space had built a shed within it to escape the leaking roof and freezing winter temperatures. “To say it was run down would be an understatement,” he notes. “There was ivy growing through the place; the windows were all smashed. It was a classic Grand Designs project.” 

    Provenance Wines
    Provenance Wines moved to Fyansford Paper Mill in 2018. (Image: Cameron Murray Photography)

    The team has since invested more than a million dollars into their new home. Where paper processing machinery once sat, wine barrels are now stacked. Vaulted cathedral ceilings are strung with festoon lights, and hidden in plain sight lies a shadowy mural by local street artist de rigueur Rone – one of only three permanent works by the artist.

    While the award-winning, cool-climate pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay naturally remain a key draw at Provenance, the winery’s restaurant is a destination in itself. Impressed already by whipsmart service, I devour one of the most cleverly curated and faultlessly executed degustations I’ve had in some time. It’s all prepared in a kitchen that is proudly zero-waste, and committed to providing seasonal, ethical and locally sourced meat and produce under head chef Nate McIver. Think free-range venison served rare with a syrupy red wine jus and a half-moon of neon-orange kosho, shokupan with a deeply savoury duck fat jus (a modern Japanese take on bread and drippings), and a golden potato cake adorned with a colourful confetti of dehydrated nasturtiums and tomato powder, and planted atop a sea urchin emulsion.  

    handcrafted pieces
    Bell’s handcrafted functional pieces on display.

    The complex is home to a coterie of independent businesses, including a gallery, a jeweller, and its latest tenant, ceramicist Elizabeth Bell, drawn here by the building’s “soul”. “There’s so much potential for these buildings to have new life breathed into them,” says Bell, whose studio is housed within the old pump room. “Even people in Geelong don’t know we’re here,” she says. “It’s definitely a destination, but I like that. It has a really calming atmosphere.”  

    A Melbourne transplant, Bell now feels at home in Geelong, which offers something Melbourne didn’t. “If this business was in Melbourne I don’t think it would’ve been as successful,” she notes. “It’s very collaborative in Geelong, and I don’t think you get that as much in Melbourne; you’re a bit more in it for yourself. Here it’s about community over competition.”  

    Elizabeth Bell
    Ceramicist Elizabeth Bell has a store in Fyansford Paper Mill.