Coolangatta is a popular suburb of Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Coolangatta is a popular suburb of Queensland’s Gold Coast. It is actually the most southern suburb and is sometimes mistaken for a New South Wales town. Coolangatta shares the border to New South Wales with Tweed Heads and these two areas have long been referred to as ‘Twin Towns’.
The Gold Coast Airport is located in Coolangatta and was previously known as the Coolangatta Airport. This airport once serviced only domestic aircraft but these days it services many of the low cost carriers flying to New Zealand and South East Asia. Many tourists are surprised to find themselves at Gold Coast airport and having to get a bus or train to their Brisbane accommodation!
Coolangatta is a particularly laid back area of the Gold Coast. Many first-time visitors to the Gold Coast often gravitate to Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach to sample the many nightclubs and tourist attractions of the tourist strip. Broadbeach holds the only casino on the Gold Coast and is a big draw for locals and tourists alike.
Repeat visitors or those wishing to experience a more relaxed area of the Coast often choose Coolangatta as their holiday area of choice. With a choice of 5 star accommodation or backpacker style hangouts and beach houses, there is something in Coolangatta to suit travellers on any budget.
Coolangatta has some of the best beaches in Queensland and if you like surfing this is definitely your place to be. Rainbow Bay and Snapper Rocks are two very popular beaches with those looking for a cool dip on a hot day. Surf Life Savers patrol these beaches and make sure swimmers are safe in the water. Red and yellow flags show which areas are reserved for safe swimming and surfers are welcome to use their boards outside of these areas.
If you’re after a bit of fun people watching, you should spend some time at Snapper Rocks watching the surfers enter the water. They need to pick their way across the rocks with their boards and then time their entry to the water so they are not washed back onto the rocks. This can be a little bit tricky and is really interesting to see. Once they are in the water it can be fun to watch them surf for a while too. What an amazingly freeing sport surfing is to watch!
Kirra Beach is another great area for surfers wanting to catch some waves at Coolangatta. On a hot sunny day you will often see cars parked everywhere and pedestrians lining the shore watching the surfers catch waves.
Coolangatta is home to plenty of quality restaurants and cafes. Any amenities you need can be found right here or in the neighbouring Tweed Heads. The area is not exactly a shopping mecca but there are shopping centres around to purchase any supplies you may have left at home or even to pick up that snazzy new swimsuit for you to wear on the beach.
Twin Towns Services Club is also close by if you’re interested in taking in a show or having a flutter on the pokies.
Since Coolangatta is an oceanside suburb you can purchase some amazing seafood here. Fish and chips from a local store are a big favourite as is feeding the leftovers to the local birds. A seafood platter can be a fabulous treat if you are visiting one of the many seafood restaurants located in Coolangatta.
As the southern-most suburb of the Gold Coast, Coolangatta is an amazing showcase of the natural beauty of the Gold Coast. Visitors to this area would do well to explore more than just the beautiful beaches on offer.
