A locals guide to one of the popular sea-side suburbs of the Gold Coast, Burleigh Heads including some of the top scenic spots, plus must-try places to eat, and where to stay.
Things to Do
Located on the coast between Palm Beach and Nobbys Beach, you’ll find Burleigh Heads National Park consisting of a bush covered headland reaching out to the sea, plus a beautiful beach and loads of green space.
Burleigh Heads National Park features walking tracks that provide amazing views of the coast in either direction and the view from the park at Goodwin Terrace, at night, looking across the ocean and beach towards the lights of Surfers Paradise is highly recommended.
The beach at Burleigh Heads is popular with local surfers, particularly near the headland, and also for beach fishing. The sandy beach in front of the surf club is a great spot for relaxing on what is a super clean and well maintained beachfront.
‘The Esplanade’ runs alongside the beach from Nobbys Beach through to the Headland featuring well maintained public parkland between the road and the beach. It’s quite a relaxing area featuring BBQ’s, sheltered seating and tables, plenty of shady trees and walking/bicycle track.
Mowbray park at the end of the Esplanade is a popular spot on weekends and across the road there’s a bowls club and on a walk down James St. you’ll find many interesting shops, several cafes, and take away fish and chip shops.
Head down West Burleigh RD/Reedy Creek RD a few minutes by car and you’ll find Stockland Shopping Centre, which is a large shopping area featuring a supermarket, fast food restaurants, clothes shopping, there’s also a hardware store (Bunnings), fabric store (Spotlight), Billabong surfwear shop and much more.
See more attractions and things to do in Burleigh
Shopping in Burleigh
Whilst not a shopping destination to match Broadbeach or Southport, the area is renowned for small boutique stores and unique crafts. For daily needs, there is the large Stockland Shopping Centre.
- The Village Markets – Here you will find custom made and boutique fashion, jewellery, arts, and crafts. Held on the first and third Sunday at Burleigh Heads State School.
- Art & Craft Markets – arts, crafts, food, and live music – last Sunday of the month at Justins Park.
- Stockland Burleigh Heads – large shopping mall, supermarket, banks, Big W etc.
Restaurants and Cafe
To be honest, I don’t think you could find anywhere bad to eat in Burleigh Heads and there’s plenty of options ranging from the casual to fine dining. James St. is slowly becoming one of the Gold Coast top foodie streets and is an easy go-to place for a surefire delicious eat out from a range of options.
- The Tropic – at Burleigh Pavillion offering superb views from an iconic location
- Rick Shores – Pan-Asian with amazing views
- Justin Lane – classics done with style, pizza & pasta
- The Fish House – fine dining and seafood
- Rabbath – authentic Lebanese cuisine, artisan coffee, and cocktails.
- The Little Plate – international cuisine street food
- Ragdoll Bar & Dining – sophisticated casual
Best Coffee in Burleigh Heads
- Quest Coffee Roasters – in-house roasters and specialty coffee
- Commune Cafe – Lively cafe with quirky vintage decor, serving light meals and coffee, with an organic food focus.
Bars and Taverns
- Burleigh Brewing Company – an award-winning local brewery.
- Black Hops Brewery – offers a unique selection of brews which you can also try at their taproom.
- Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Club is located at the base of the picturesque Burleigh Heads National Park offering a sports bar, gaming area, and restaurant
Places to Stay
Burleigh Heads some beautiful holiday apartments that are quiet and so close to the beach yet still convenient to transport and cafes. Accommodation in Burleigh Heads can be found along the Esplanade which runs parallel to the beach and at the foot of the headland consisting mostly of apartment accommodation, some with resort-style facilities. Burleigh Heads is popular with family holiday-makers and is well serviced by public transport that runs up and down the Gold Coast Highway.
Here are our picks for the top places to stay in Burleigh Heads.
The Top 5 Resorts and Holiday Apartments
Transport
Public buses run up and down the Gold Coast Hwy at regular intervals with the main stops being
- Burleigh Heads Coach Stop Gold Coast Hwy near the bowls club
- Burleigh Heads stop near Justins Park
- Burleigh Heads Primary School stop