Surfers Paradise VS Broadbeach VS Coolangatta: Where to Stay on the Gold Coast, Australia

Holiday destinations don’t get much more convenient than the Gold Coast, especially for Kiwis and Aussies. The hardest part about planning your trip is deciding where to stay. The Gold Coast encompasses a huge area from just south of Brisbane to Coolangatta / Tweed Heads and there are lots of different areas to stay. I’m going to talk about three of the most popular ones: Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Coolangatta — hopefully it’ll help you decide!

Surfers Paradise

The first two suburbs in this post — Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach — are only a few kilometres apart but have quite different atmospheres. Surfers Paradise is busier, with a big shopping mall right by the beach.

The accommodation seems to be a bit cheaper than in Broadbeach and there are more fast food options around if you’re looking to eat cheap.

There are also more tourist attractions including the Skypoint Observation Deck, Ripleys Believe it Or Not Musem and a night market (a few times a week). Surfers Paradise feels like a bustling tourist spot, with all the good and bad things that entails.

Broadbeach

Broadbeach is a few kilometres south of Surfers Paradise. The beach is the same (it’s pretty much one big stretch of beach all the way to Burleigh Heads) but the atmosphere of the suburb is quite different. It’s more of a local feel, with tourism not quite as dominant as it is in Surfers Paradise.

It’s a bit more upmarket in terms of hotels and restaurants and the mall (Pacific Fair) is a 10 minute walk or short bus ride from the beach, so shopping takes a bit more effort. It’s a huge mall though so you’ll probably want to visit it wherever you end up staying.

Both Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach are well connected to public transport. They are only a few tram stops apart and you’ll probably spend some time at both during your trip. Nightlife seems to be good in both Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, with lots of bars and clubs to choose from.

Coolangatta

Coolangatta is at the southern end of the Gold Coast, right on the border between Queensland and New South Wales. It’s very close to the airport, so you might want to consider staying there on the last night before your flight if it’s early (that’s what we did).

The beach is a little different than Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise. It has headlands at either end making for some more interesting scenery than the two suburbs I mentioned above. Currumbin Wildlife Centre is also nearby — highly recommended especially if you have young kids.

The town itself is a lot quieter than Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise. It seemed to attract an older crowd as well as families. If you’re young and want to sample the famous Gold Coast nightlife this wouldn’t be a good place to stay.

We only spent one night in Coolangatta and we really enjoyed it. We’ll probably stay there again on our next trip (the Gold Coast is the only direct international flight available from Dunedin so I’m sure we’ll be back multiple times).

So, Where Should You Stay?

We stayed at Broadbeach for the majority of our trip. From there we went to Brisbane for a few days and then Coolangatta for our last night.

Broadbeach was great and is the place I’d recommend staying for a lot of people. It’s close to everything, has plenty of dining and drinking options and isn’t as chaotic as Surfers Paradise. It’s not quite as budget friendly as Surfers Paradise though, and if you were just planning on hanging out at the beach, partying and doing some touristy stuff then Surfers is a good option.

I reckon Coolangatta is nicer in terms of scenery and there’s a more laidback atmosphere there. It could be a good option for older travellers, families or for people who have already visited the more popular Gold Coast spots and want something a little different.

These Aren’t the Only Options!

There are beach towns / surburbs all along the Gold Coast. If you’re keen to get off the beaten path (as much as that’s possible in such a touristy place) do some research and book somewhere outside the popular areas.

Getting Around the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast has an awesome public transport network and it only costs 50c per trip. trams run along a good chunk of the Gold Coast and buses fill in the blanks.