Coolangatta is a wonderful seaside town with a fantastic sandy beach and great surf. It is the most southerly beach resort in Queensland and on the Gold Coast and being just 100km from Brisbane along the Pacific Highway it can be reached from there in just 1 hour and 20 minutes if driving. The Gold Coast airport is located just 2 or 3km to the north of the town at Kirra.
Tweed Heads lies just over the border in New South Wales and is more commercial but the actual border between the two is not clearly defined.
Griffiths Street is the main street in Coolangatta and Wharf Street is the main one in Tweeds Heads.
The Visitors Information Centre is on Griffiths Street and the friendly and helpful staff here will provide you with plenty of information about the area and help you book any tours that you might wish to do from here. They can also book accommodation for you.
The main reason to visit Coolangatta is for its wonderful sandy beaches and its good surfing. The beaches stretch from Rainbow Bay in the south-east along past the main beach to Kirra Beach in the north. All of them have wonderful golden sand and with 5 Surf and Life Saving Clubs you will find plenty of patrolled areas to swim in. There are also plenty of areas to surf and if you don’t have your own board don’t worry as you can either buy or rent one very easily in some of the shops along the sea front or in the town.
If you would like to learn to surf you could try Walkin’ On Water which is based on Greenmount Beach. This is the only surf school actually based in Coolangatta but you could also try Cheyne Horan who is based in Surfers Paradise but will come to you when necessary. You can either book lessons through the visitors centre or get in touch with him directly.
There is a esplanade running all the way from Kirra to Point Danger, the headland which joins Coolangatta and Tweed Heads. If you walk up above Point Danger you get a great uninterrupted view along the coast to the south. The Tweed River reaches the sea at this point and you will find some lovely caravan parks along its banks.
If the weather is bad while you are there there is a 6 screen cinema in the shopping centre on Griffiths Street and a bowling alley on Wharf Street just opposite the Tweed Mall shopping centre.
As well as surf boards you can also hire bikes at Quigsi on Warner Street. You can cycle as far as Bilinga along the promenade and the cycle to Burleigh Heads is not too bad but it does involve cycling on the busy Gold Coast Highway for a short distance.
Coolangatta Excursions
The Gold Coast Hinterland is a wonderful place to spend a day or two especially if you enjoy bush walking. The scenery is breathtaking with lots of waterfalls and gorges and there are walks to suit people of all levels of fitness. There are also some wineries with cellar door tasting and plenty of opportunity to just relax and soak up the peace and quiet.
Going whale watching off the east coast of Australia is an experience not to be missed if you are there are the right time. Whale watching trips are generally run from about May to November and I would thoroughly recommend doing one. One company you may want to contact is Aquatic Blue Charters who offer both whale watching trips and fishing charters.
There are five main Gold Coast theme parks that are all within easy reach. WhiteWater World and Wet n Wild are water parks, Dreamworld is an amusement park and wildlife park all in one, Sea World is an oceanarium and aquarium and Warner Bros Movie World is a piece of Hollywood on the Gold Coast.
Take a look at our Gold Coast attractions and our Gold Coast activities for other ideas of things to do on the Gold Coast.
Alternatively take a trip to one of the other towns on the Gold Coast such as Burleigh Heads or Surfers Paradise.
Take a look at our Coolangatta Accommodation for recommendations about where to stay and our Coolangatta Restaurants page for information about eating and drinking options.