The Sunshine Coast area is very popular for its budget accommodation. The region has grown as a tourist destination over the past forty years and there is still some older-style holiday accommodation available for rental in prime positions on the coast. Some of this has been converted into backpacker accommodation and some cater to the budget end of the family accommodation market.
Caloundra has a good supply of this type of accommodation. Usually, it is located a bit further back from the beachfront that the new resorts but you can still find a holiday house or older apartment-style resort that will be affordable. Maroochydore and Mooloolaba are also locations where some good budget-style accommodations can still be found. Both have plenty of backpacker hostels and these are taking over the budget end of the market.
The older areas near Noosa, like Tewantin and Noosaville, have a number of older resorts that will fit the bill if you are looking for something a bit cheaper. Nothing is that far from the beach and there are regular bus services if you did not arrive by car. In the north of the Sunshine Coast, the seaside town of Rainbow Beach now has plenty of budget accommodation to cater to the backpacker trade. Backpackers now come to Rainbow Beach in droves as it is the jumping-off point for the southern end of Fraser Island. There are now several large backpacker hostels and tour operators operating budget accommodations in this part of the Sunshine Coast.
