The Gold Coast is one of Queensland’s most popular holiday destinations. With picture perfect beaches, great surf, shopping, dining, theme parks and a huge selection of accommodation to choose from, the Gold Coast is an easy choice. Many holiday makers flock to the strip of high rises that make up Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and Broadbeach, however there are many lesser visited spots further south. The beaches here are equally beautiful, but less crowded with a more laid back vibe. One of these spots is Burleigh Heads, where we recently enjoyed a weekend away.
A holiday apartment at Burleigh Heads
As a family, holiday apartments are an ideal choice for us compared to a standard hotel room. An apartment provides a home away from home, with room to spread out and a fully equipped kitchen for meals. While we still eat out sometimes, having a kitchen means that we can prepare some meals at home, keeping a routine for the kids and saving money in the process.
We stayed at Pacific Regis, right across from the beach. It is an older building but with a great location (we walked everywhere) and good amenities. We had a roomy two bedroom, two bathroom apartment on the 12th floor, with spectacular views of the beach. The balcony offered views north to Surfers Paradise and south to the rocky headland of Burleigh Head National Park. The apartment was a bit dated, but with updated furniture and everything was very clean. The kitchen had everything we needed (even a coffee plunger), and the laundry with washer and dryer would be very handy during an extended stay.
Our apartment at Burleigh Heads
The view from our balcony in Burleigh Heads.
Zara made herself at home right away, spreading her mess throughout. She was very excited to find that she had her own room and she could see the beach and the ocean from her window. She was also very impressed that she could sit out on the balcony and see the pool below.
There is a nice outdoor pool, as well as a heated indoor pool and two heated spas to enjoy on the ground floor. The weather was a little cool so the indoor pool was great for the kids. Little Emilia felt quite at home floating around in the nice warm spa (the biggest bath ever!).
Burleigh Head National Park
One of the best things to do in Burleigh Heads is the walk through Burleigh Head National Park. This coastal park straddles the edge of the rocky headland that gives the area its name, providing stunning coastal scenery. We were able to simply cross the road from our apartment and walk along the pram friendly coastal path that runs along the beach. The path goes past the Burleigh Heads Surf Life Saving Club and then climbs gently up the headland. There are beautiful views across to Surfers Paradise from here.
View to Surfers Paradise from Burleigh Heads
Enjoying the view on the way to Burleigh Head National Park
We were able to squeeze the pram through the entrance gate to the national park and the pathway is concreted all along. The coastal scenery was lovely and this is the ideal spot to watch the surfers when the waves are good. The path makes its way through a patch of coastal rainforest to Tallebudgera Creek. There is a gorgeous beach here that is ideal for kids as the water is so sheltered (Burleigh Beach is quite rough with waves). It was a cloudy day and not overly warm, but Zara still enjoyed playing on the beach and splashing in the water. We had the whole beach to ourselves apart from a couple of pelicans and a nosy bush turkey who stole one of our bananas.
The path continues along the creek to the bridge, or you can take the path to the lookout at the top of the headland. A change in the weather had us packing up and heading back before we could check out the higher path.
Lunch at Burleigh Heads Surf Life Saving Club
Enjoying a meal at The Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Life Saving Club is a must in Burleigh Heads. Think modern pub style dining right on the beach. We happened to visit on Melbourne Cup day so we were lucky to get a table without a booking. The food was fantastic (huge portions) – a nice thick piece of barramundi, and a huge chicken caesar salad. Zara enjoyed a kid’s fish and chips that was big enough to feed two of her, followed by a complimentary ice cream. We left feeling very full and satisfied.
Burleigh Beach
Burleigh Beach is a typical Gold Coast beach, with a wide long stretch of sand and plenty of surf. The beach is patrolled in a couple of sections (there are two surf life saving clubs), but the water is a bit too rough for kids – Tallebudgera Creek is a better spot for the little ones. There is still plenty of fun to be had though with lots of room for sand castle building and long relaxing walks. It would be a great walk from Mermaid Beach further north to Burleigh Heads.
The area adjacent to the beach is all parkland with a wide path for walking and cycling. There is plenty of greenspace and playgrounds for the kids.
Burleigh Beach
We had a fantastic weekend away in Burleigh Heads and highly recommend the area if you’re after the Gold Coast holiday experience away from the skyscrapers and busy streets of Surfers Paradise.
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