A weekend on the southern Gold Coast
The southern end of the Gold Coast is the part locals keep to themselves. Here is a weekend built from Tugun, with the airport five minutes away at either end.
Friday
Land at Gold Coast Airport and you are at the apartments in five minutes; drive down from Brisbane and it is about an hour and twenty. If it is before dark, walk 50 metres to the flags for a swim. Then walk 850 metres to the Sanctuary Markets on the Village Green at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Fridays 4pm to 9pm: street food, live music, a licensed bar and free entry. Walk home along Pacific Parade. If markets are not your thing, Luna Rossa on Golden Four Drive does the Italian dinner, until 9pm.
Saturday
Swim at the flags at first light, then coffee at Niche & Co or Good Day Coffee. Walk south along the beach to Currumbin Rock and Elephant Rock, about two kilometres, and swim in the still water of Currumbin Creek on the other side. Watch the learners at the Alley, or join them: lessons run from 6am.
In the afternoon, choose between Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, a walk from the apartments and open until 4pm, or a fifteen-minute drive north to Burleigh Heads for the headland walk through the national park and a look at the point. Dinner at Currumbin Beach Vikings surf club with the ocean in front of you, or Sala Thai back in Tugun.
Sunday
Drive 30 minutes up Currumbin Creek Road to the Currumbin Rock Pools before the crowds, swim, and have coffee at the café across the road. Come back via Coolangatta: Point Danger on the border, the surfers at Snapper Rocks, and Kirra for a last swim. Lunch in Coolangatta or back at Tugun. Check-out is 10am but we can hold bags, and the airport is five minutes away, so you can be in the water until an hour before your flight.
Without a car
The whole weekend works on foot and the bus. The 760 connects the airport and Tugun every 30 minutes, and the 700 runs frequently along the highway to Burleigh and on to the tram at Broadbeach. The rock pools are the one stop that needs a car or a rideshare.
When to come
Winter days sit around 21 to 23 degrees with offshore mornings and the whale migration offshore from June to October; summer is for the creek and the rock pools. School holidays fill the coast, and our best rates are outside them.
Good to know
Do we need a car for a weekend in Tugun?
No. The beach, cafés, restaurants, supermarkets and the Wildlife Sanctuary are all within walking distance, and the 700 and 760 buses cover Burleigh, Coolangatta and the airport. Only the rock pools need a car.
Is two nights enough?
Two nights covers the beach, the Sanctuary and one day trip. Three nights or more earns our best direct rate and adds the rock pools or a theme park day.
Where do we park?
One free car space per apartment, plus free street parking around the building for extra cars.
What is the best time of year?
Winter for calm, clear mornings and whales; summer for swimming in the creek and rock pools. Outside Queensland and New South Wales school holidays the coast is quieter and our rates are lower.
Keep reading
Things to do in Tugun and Currumbin with kids
Most of what children want from a beach holiday is within a ten-minute walk of our front door: a patrolled beach, still creek water, a wildlife sanctuary and a bakery.
Best cafés and restaurants in Tugun
More than 20 places to eat sit within a two to five minute walk of the apartments, strung along Golden Four Drive behind the beach.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary: a visitor guide from Tugun
The Sanctuary is the reason many of our guests choose Tugun over the rest of the coast.