When you have Her PS Partner11,761 beaches to choose from, it's difficult to settle on a favourite.

Luckily the University of Sydney's coastal studies unit and Tourism Australia teamed up to compile a list of Australia's best 101 coastal hang outs. And they're pretty special.

To compile the exhaustive list, geomorphologist and marine scientist, Professor Andy Short OAM and conservationist, Brad Farmer, combined their wealth of experience to create an authoritative guide on what makes the best of the best beaches.

Beaches were ranked according to capacity for tourism, economy, lifestyle, leisure, surfing and play.

Sounds like a fun task until you consider mainland Australia's has a coastline stretches 35,876 kilometres (22,292 miles) in length, and its island coastlines offer a further 23,859 kilometres (14,825 miles).

On with the top ten best beaches Down Under! Click their names for all the info you need before booking your next trip.

10. Apollo Bay, Victoria

A photo posted by Daniel Corden (@danimages) on Nov 21, 2016 at 10:59pm PST

9. Boat Harbour Beach, Tasmania

A photo posted by Live Wonder Filled (@livewonderfilled) on Nov 23, 2016 at 9:05pm PST

8. Shelly Beach, New South Wales

A photo posted by 101BestBeachesAU (@101bestbeachesau) on Sep 5, 2016 at 7:40pm PDT

7. Dolly Beach, Christmas Island

A photo posted by Purplepassport (@purplepassport) on Dec 3, 2016 at 10:27am PST

6. Maslin Beach, South Australia

A photo posted by Australia (@australia) on Aug 17, 2016 at 12:09am PDT

5. Burleigh Heads Beach, Queensland

A photo posted by Hayden Chan (@shotbyhayden) on Dec 4, 2016 at 3:52am PST

4. Turquoise Bay, Western Australia

A photo posted by goanda (@goanda) on Nov 28, 2016 at 6:47am PST

3. Moonee Beach, New South Wales

Beautiful shot by @wearethemallons over the Moonee Beach Nature Reserve in Australia!

A photo posted by #WeAreTravelDrones for Feature (@wearetraveldrones) on Oct 11, 2016 at 7:52pm PDT

2. Nudey Beach, Queensland

A photo posted by #thisisqueensland (@queensland) on Dec 3, 2016 at 6:28pm PST

1. Cossies Beach, Direction Island, Western Australia

The number one goes to Cossies Beach, located on an atoll within the Cocos (Keeling) Islands a cool 2,750 kilometres from the West Australian capital city of Perth.

Such a distance from urbanisation may just be the secret to the remarkable beauty of the place.

The waters around the atolls even impressed a scientist and researcher by the name of Charles Darwin, who visited the Cocos Islands in 1836 and described it as a "brilliant expanse" in "shallow, clear and still water" and "under the blue vault of heaven."

If only it was closer.