The Gold Coast is one of Australia’s most popular travel destinations. And for good reason. Home to 21 beautiful beaches, five Themeparks and a stunning adjacent hinterland region, there is plenty to see and do. Like many Australians, I grew up going to the Gold Coast on family holidays. While we used to stay at Broadbeach, just south of Surfers Paradise, we now prefer to head further south. Coolangatta is the southernmost city in the Gold Coast, essentially blending with Tweed Heads in New South Wales. In this post, I will be sharing the ultimate guide to Coolangatta, including where to stay, where to eat, and the best things to do.
Best things to do
I think the reason we love Coolangatta so much is because it is the perfect location for a relaxing beach holiday. Our favourite things to do are pretty low-maintenance, including long walks along the beach and watching the stunning winter sunsets from our balcony! I’ll talk more about our favourite things to do in Coolangatta itself below. However, it is also the perfect base to explore a little further afield, as it is easily accessible by car and public transport. It is also only a five minute drive from the Gold Coast airport. If you’re interested in other areas of the Gold Coast to explore, check out my day trips guide and my local’s guide to the Southern Gold Coast. But now, back to the best things to do in Coolangatta itself.
Spend the morning on the beautiful North-facing beach
According to my mum (and the internet), north-facing beaches are the best. I think it’s because they’re more sheltered and therefore better for swimming, walking and all beach activities. Aside from what direction it faces in, Coolangatta is a really nice beach. It’s beautiful to look at, there’s two sets of flags for swimming and there are some shady spots to sit. It’s also lined by a nice park, which has recently been refurbished.
Admire views of the coast on a walk heading north or south
One of the best things about Coolangatta is going for a walk to other beaches in the area. You can either head north to Kirra Beach, or south to the border with New South Wales. Both are really lovely walks and have headlands which you can walk up to gain a great view over the coastline. Walking to the New South Wales border is one of my favourite walks to do on the Gold Coast, because you go past lots of other beautiful beaches and at the top where the memorial/lighthouse/coast guard is you get a nice view over the Northern NSW coastline. There’s also a cute little shop under the memorial where you can get really nice souvenirs. I got a cute bag with humpback whales there a few years ago so it’s definitely worth a look if you’re searching for something unique.
Relax and watch the sunset (especially good in winter)
Who doesn’t love a good sunset!? If you’re visiting Coolangatta in winter, chances are you will get to see one of the most beautiful sunsets of your life. In 2018 we spent a week in Coolangatta, and over that week we saw two insane sunsets. You can view them from the beach or, if you have a beach-facing apartment like we did, relax on your balcony and admire the view!
Meet the locals on a whale watching tour (winter)
If you’re visiting between June and November, you might be lucky enough to spot a whale or two! You can often see them from land, usually from one of the Gold Coast’s many headlands. But the best way to experience seeing these majestic creatures is from the water.
The vast majority of whale watching tours on the Gold Coast leave from Surfers Paradise or Southport. However, there is one company, Coolangatta Whale Watch, that goes out from the southern Gold Coast. We took one of their day tours in July 2018 and had a great time! They also do sunrise tours if you’re keen to wake up that early. It was super bumpy, though, so definitely take seasickness tablets if you need them. Unfortunately whenever we got close to the whales they would disappear but we did manage some pretty cool sightings and captured some great pictures! We’ve never been on a whale watching boat before so it was a fun experience.
Best places to eat
My guide to Coolangatta wouldn’t be complete without talking about the great variety of restaurants! There are so many delicious food options! This is probably one of my favourite parts of staying in Coolangatta as opposed to other areas of the Southern Gold Coast. I’ve listed three of my favourite places below:
OSushi
This restaurant is ALWAYS popular so I recommend you book (a few hours in advance should be fine – that’s what we did!). The restaurant was recently refurbished to include a sushi train. Even though sushi is the main drawcard for visitors, I recommend you check out the other Japanese food options on the menu. They do THE BEST EGGPLANT EVER (Nasu Dengaku). We got a few plates to share as a family and it was all super yum. A few other favourites were Yaki Stir Fry Noodles, the Karaage Chicken (you can never go wrong with Karaage Chicken) and the Gyoza.
Earth ‘n’ Sea Pizza
Located on the northern end of the main shopping strip, Earth ‘n’ Sea Pizza has been a staple restaurant for us over the years. As you can probably tell by the name, they do great pizzas here! Our personal favourites are the Satay Chicken and Mullumbimby Madness. But that’s not all they do. There is a great variety of dinner options here to suit everyone, including burgers and pasta.
All things Ice Cream!
I can think of at least four ice cream places in Coolangatta off the top of my head. Admittedly one of those is Cold Rock and they’re everywhere. Anyway, a bit of a tradition for us when we go on beach holidays is to go for a walk in the afternoon and get an ice cream for afternoon tea. Our favourite place to go in Coolangatta is Gelatissimo, probably because it is the closest to where we stay. That said, I had a really delicious honeycomb ice cream there so they do good ice cream too!
This year, we also tried somewhere new: Rolled Ice Cream Oz. The ice cream was hand made in front of us, rolled into curls and then toppings added. I had the pavlova one (without cream because I’m a weirdo who likes ice cream but not cream?) and it was quite good, but not the best ice cream I ever had. Honestly though? I only wanted one because they looked cool… So worked for me!
Where to stay
To finish off my Coolangatta guide, I have an accommodation recommendation for you. There’s heaps of places to choose from both in Coolangatta itself and in the smaller beaches surrounding it. Regardless of whether we are staying for a weekend or a whole week, we always stay in the Mantra Coolangatta. It is a really nice hotel, with stunning views over the beach and even back to the hinterland, it’s definitely worth paying for a beach-facing unit. The units are self-contained with a full kitchen and are just across the road from the beach.
Planning a trip to the Gold Coast? Hopefully you have found my Coolangatta guide helpful! For more inspiration, check out my YouTube video below from my family long weekend away in January 2020.
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