The tropical Australian island you've never heard of (but need to visit ASAP).

Ever heard of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands? I hadn't, until recently.

But my husband, Andrew, and I just returned from a week there, and now I can't rave about it enough.

I honestly felt like I was on a movie set. For those of you old enough to remember, it had a very Gilligan's Island vibe. For those younger, think Survivor (with proper beds and food, and minus the Challenges and Tribal Council!).

Watch: Going on a group holiday with friends? Here's everything you need to keep in mind. Post continues below.

Where are the Cocos (Keeling) Islands?

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are part of the Australian Indian Ocean territories, almost 3,000km northwest of Perth. Two of the islands are inhabited — West Island and Home Island. And it also happens to be Australia's most remote island territory.

Where to stay in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

When we visited this incredible part of the world, we stayed at Cocos Cottages on West Island.

There are three self-contained cottages, all with views across the runway (unique!) to the beach.

There's no TV in the rooms, but there is Wi-Fi, and it was strong enough to stream. Having Wi-Fi is also very handy, as there's no mobile phone reception on Cocos.

Image: supplied.

Cocos Cottages is a five-minute walk from the airport, town centre and the bus.

And for something very different for us city slickers, we had no key to our cottage. In fact, we were told that there is no need to lock anything on Cocos!

There are other accommodation options available, but there's not a lot of it overall on the islands, so best to book your stay before your flights. In fact, if you want to come to Cocos (Keeling) Islands to dive, Divemaster Dieter (who has lived on Cocos for 35 years) recommends you locking in your dives, then your accommodation then your flights. Phew!

What to do in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

So, what is there to do in this part of the world?

Well, we mostly lolled in the warm, crystal-clear, turquoise water, watched the palm trees sway, and pinched ourselves over how lucky we were to be there. With barely another soul around!

Image: supplied.

We did some really cool other stuff too, though.

Sixth-generation Cocos Islander Johnny Clunies-Ross runs Phat Tours. He took us on a two-hour e-bike tour of West Island. Neither of us had ever been on an e-bike before, and I couldn't even balance on the bike to start with (embarrassing!). Then I touched the throttle and it sped off on me. I only just managed to stay on!

But after a few minutes, I got the hang of it and we had a fabulous couple of hours on the road, on the beach, through the water and along backtracks. It was a great introduction to West Island.

We went straight from Johnny to Gun Club Beach where Cocos Picnics had set up a gorgeous picnic for us. On a rug with loads of cushions and twinkling fairy lights, we watched the waves and the frolicking turtles as we drank sparkling wine and ate sweet and savoury treats.

Image: supplied.

We also took the ferry to the gorgeous Direction Island one day — the absolute epitome of a deserted tropical island. The Direction Island ferry only goes twice a week — Saturdays and Thursdays — so you need to plan which day you are going. The cost is $5 per adult return.

One morning, we got going early for a sunrise motorised canoe safari with CocosDay. Hayden was our guide and, after showing us how to operate the outboard motor, we motored to South Island (about 20 minutes away). It was such a treat to motor across shallow, clear water and to see turtles and a few blacktip reef sharks!

Image: supplied.

Hayden expertly demonstrated how to open a coconut and we were able to drink the water and eat the flesh (called copra) directly from the source. Hayden also opened a germinating coconut (a coconut with a coconut plant growing out of it), showing us the coconut apple inside. Again, we were able to try it. What a treat!

We motored on to Pulu Belan and then to Pulu Belan Madar (Pulu means Island in Cocos Malay). There are only two places in the world where blue-tailed skinks can be found in the wild, and it's these two islands. We spotted several of the little lizards, and we tried our best to photograph them.

We had a champagne breakfast at Pulu Belan Madar, which Tourism Australia named the fifth-best beach in Australia in 2024. And finally, we motored to Pulu Maraya, where we snorkelled and saw coral, reef sharks, turtles, giant trevally, and countless other colourful reef fish including fingermark. It was a perfect end to a perfect morning!

Image: supplied.

Andrew is a bit of a fishing tragic, so he went on a fishing charter and caught a passionfruit coral trout. My treat was that he filleted it and cooked it up for dinner.

Dieter from Cocos Dive also led us on a sea scooter tour, but I am a bit of a wuss about keeping my head underwater for a prolonged period, so I happily zoomed along close to shore. Andrew and Dieter were a tad more adventurous. They powered against the current across to Pulu Maraya and scooted around the pools, where they saw coral and loads of colourful reef fish.

How to get around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

We decided to hire a car through Happy Jack's, which made getting around super easy, especially when we wanted to go to some of the more out-of-the-way beaches. A cute fact about car rental on Cocos — you are told to leave your keys in the car at all times in case you lose the key! There is no car theft, apparently.

There is also a public bus, but it only goes from the Town Centre to the ferry jetty, and doesn't go the southern end of West Island. The beaches there were our personal favourites. The bus (which is a minivan) is cheap though — it costs the princely sum of 50 cents each way!

You can also hire e-bikes to get around.

Where to eat in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

We mainly self-catered while we were there, but there are options on the islands.

There is a supermarket on West Island but when we visited, the supply ship was six weeks overdue, so the shelves were pretty bare. Luckily, we had brought a pile of snacks with us. We did think about bringing meat and vegetables, but we just weren't sure how they were going to travel all the way from Melbourne, so decided to just bring snacks.

Fresh bread is baked twice weekly at Salty's Grill & Bakery. Salty's also does excellent barista coffee every morning except Sunday, and they do dinner a few nights a week. Their pizza was first class, with crispy bases and lots of options for toppings. You can eat them there or next door at the pub — Cocos Club — or take them away. You can even take them on the Virgin flight back to Perth!

Image: supplied.

Cocos Club doesn't offer food, but they open at 5pm daily, and you can have a drink there or buy alcohol and take it back to your accommodation. They also sell frozen meat BBQ packs.

Tropika offers breakfast, lunch and takeaway seven days a week. But if you want to go there for dinner, you need to put your name down on the whiteboard out the front by 3pm. That was novel!

There is another restaurant on West Island, called Surfer Girl Brewery. Unfortunately, it was closed while we were there so we didn't get to try it, but it looked interesting.

What's the shopping like on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands?

There are no shops except a little souvenir shop at the airport, open for a short time twice a week when the Virgin flights come in. There's also a few souvenirs for sale at the Visitors' Information Centre.

How to get to Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Virgin Airlines flies twice a week from Perth, and for some reason you fly from the international terminal, even though you don't need your passport to visit.

Weirder still, there is an airport lounge for departing passengers, but most of us waited in Cocos Club next door until it was time to board. Happy hour indeed!

Should you go to Cocos (Keeling) Islands?

Cocos is not a resort holiday. It's not a shopping destination either. There are dining options but they're limited. You'll likely self-cater, so think about bringing some food with you.

You'll need to be comfortable that you won't have ever-present Wi-Fi and embrace that so that you can really unwind.

If you want five-star accommodation, daily cleaning, room service and a turn-down service, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are possibly… not for you. But if you're looking for remote, unspoilt and laidback, where you can truly disconnect, book your flight! There's a glorious beach with no one on it just waiting for you.

The writer was hosted by the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Feature Image: Supplied.