Welcome to part 2 of our journey to discover what are the most popular beaches on the Gold Coast. If you haven’t read the part 1 yet, check it out first.
Tallebdugera Creek and Beach
People visit Tallebudgera Creek, or Tally, as it’s known by locals are great places to relax. If you’re looking for somewhere to swim or Bar-B-Q, then Tally creek is the place for you.
This beautiful spot is between Burleigh and Palm Beach and will take your breath away. Firstly, it is perfect if you’re looking for a calm spot with crystal clear water and lots of activities for adults and kids. In addition, if you like walking, Burleigh Heads National Park is just to the north. On the south side, you have the Tallebudgerra Recreation Camp area, which is more popular because of the facilities available to visitors.
These include Bar-B-Qs, picnic tables, children’s playgrounds, and water activities. The Tallie creek opens out to the ocean via a seaway that is prone to currents. Be careful if you have children with you and watch them for safety. The creek is a beautiful spot and an excellent place for the family to spend a day.
Palm Beach
On the south side of Tallie creek, you have Palm Beach. In days gone by, travelers wouldn’t think of stopping at Palm Beach. Recently, Palmy has caught up and is now a destination rather than a fuel stop. Palmy can boast a more worldly look than in the past.
Whether you’re into the coffee scene or like staying at retro motels, or just like shopping, you’ll enjoy Palmy. Be sure to kick back and enjoy a drink at a nice bar or coffee shop while at Palmy. To the south of Palmy, we have Currumbin.
Currumbin
The entrance to Currumbin Creek is a gorgeous scene. The merging of the Pacific Ocean and the lush, tropical creek surroundings is spectacular. Currumbin Creek offers lots of activities for visitors. This, if you’re feeling energetic, then stand-up paddleboarding is one of your best options. Paddleboarding is a fun sport enjoyed by many people of all ages and levels of physical ability. Currumbin Creek is an excellent body of water for this activity, and the shoreline is always close. If you are a newbie, this might be important should you come off your board. However, with continued participation in this sport, you will improve your coordination and balance and have a lot of fun. If you don’t have your equipment, don’t worry, as operators hire all the equipment you’ll need.
On the subject of newbies, if you’d like to learn to surf, there’s a surf school at Currumbin Alley. You’ll find it is a well-protected area and break so you won’t get dumped. Save that experience for when you build up your skills and venture out into the bigger surf in the future. Ok, we’re done with Currumbin; let’s head south.
Coolangatta Beach
Coolangatta, or Cooly as it’s affectionately known by locals, is at the southern end of the Gold Coast. Cooly is like the rest of the Gold Coast was twenty years ago, a quiet location for a family day at the beach. If it weren’t for Snapper Rocks, Cooly would probably still be unknown.
Snapper is one of Australia’s premier surfing locations. This is because Cooly has been the location for many world-class surfing events. Consequently, these events have put Cooly on the map and brought many visitors. Being able to claim Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson as locals hasn’t hindered the reputation of Cooly either.
Unlike Currumbin Alley, Snapper Rocks are best left to experienced surfers and swimmers. Newbie surfers can best leave Snapper to those more experienced until they have a reasonable skill level. A suggestion for the newbies would be to try out Greenmount. You’ll find it much better suited to surfers with newbie skill levels.
Rainbow Bay
If you’re looking for a family day at the beach, then you’ll love Cooly’s Rainbow Bay. Its wide white sand beach and gentle waves make it the ideal place for kids. You’ll find Rainbow Bay in front of the Colly retail area, between Snapper Rocks and Greenmount Point to the north.
Families love this beach as it is sheltered from the southerly winds and has lifeguards patrolling year-round. Rainbow Bay is the ideal laid-back location, and it is very with families and swimmers. The bay provides a shallow sand-banked pool without the danger of waves and is perfect for toddlers to splash around.
After a Day At The Beach
We’d recommend a walk from Kirra beach, along the Cooly esplanade, past Greenmount and Froggies beach to Point Danger. This walk is picturesque and a lovely way to wrap up a day at the beach. Visitors to the Gold Coast between May and September can spot some of the 30,000 humpback whales that migrate past the Gold Coast. The Point Danger lookout is the ideal spot to see whales, and sometimes they pass just meters from the shore. Your other option for whale watching is, of course, to go on one of the many whale-watching boats for the day. If this is your thing, you’ll enjoy a day of boating and seeing the whales up close.
Time to Choose from What Are the Most Popular Beaches on The Gold Coast
Now that we’ve visited all the beaches from Main Beach to Cooly, where does that leave us in deciding which beach is the best? Let’s summarise and come to a decision. Firstly, it will depend on many factors, not the least being the weather.
Let’s assume that the weather is treating us kindly and it’s a beautiful day for going to the beach. The main things you’ll need to consider will be if you want to be close to amenities. While all of the beaches have showers and toilets, some are in closer proximity to shopping and food. We all know how painful it is with kids if food is too far away.
If you are on your own or a group of adults and just looking for the best beach, you can choose whichever takes your fancy. If you want to be in the heart of everything, you will probably choose Surfers Paradise or Broadbeach.
If you’re a family with small children, best choose a beach with calm water and plenty of sand for the kids to play on. You can’t go wrong with either Rainbow Bay, Tallebudgera Creek, or Currumbin Creek.
As you can see, deciding on what are the most popular beaches on the Gold Coast comes down to your situation. Still, a bad day at the beach is better than a good day at work.