Surfing Burleigh Heads is about fizzing right hand barrels, which still reign as some of the best in Oz despite the rise of the nearby Superbank.
An introduction to surfing Burleigh Heads
Once upon a time, Burleigh was the star of the show on the Gold Coast. Then they rerouted the Tweed River and the Superbank became the new A-lister down around Kirra. But there are still moments of pure sublimity here, as right hand shoulders curl and spin around the granite rocks that make up this jutting piece of stone surrounded by cafes and cool drinking holes.
See, Burleigh Heads has its own source of constantly shifting sandbanks, in the form of Tallebudgera Creek. It offers a steady stream of silt and deposit that can sometimes settle in a way that creates perfectly hollow rights to rival any in Oz. Other months it’s not so good. It’s up to the gods.
The wave does connect all the way through from the main take-off point but the locals have divvied it up into neat sections that are useful to know. We’ll cover the lot in this guide. When it comes to downsides, the obvious one is localism, since Burleigh Heads is now seen as something of the OG hood of Goldie surfers.
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This guide is just one part of our complete guide to Australia surfing and surfing the Gold Coast
Surfing Burleigh Heads at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to surfing Burleigh Heads?
Where is Burleigh Heads?
Burleigh Heads sits almost exactly halfway up the Gold Coast. It’s midway between the seaway at Straddie island (also a cracking spot these days) and the iconic points of Kirra and Snapper Rocks. Basically, this whole region is brimming with surf! To get here, most people from out of town will jet into the nearby Gold Coast Airport. That’s about 20 minutes’ driving south of Burleigh Heads proper.
A guide to the Burleigh Heads surf spots
Here, we’ll take a look at the separate named take-off zones that constitute the main right points at Burleigh Heads itself. We’ll also see where you can venture to in the surrounding Gold Coast region if Burleigh ain’t firing or the crowds are proving a little hot…
Kirra
Kirra is now the poster boy of the Gold Coast surf scene. This spot once played second fiddle to Burleigh itself, but most now agree that the rights it offers up off the sand-bulging point by the Tweed River estuary are superior in most ways. Kirra is a bit of a catch-all name for the series of breaks that run from Snapper Rocks into the Kirra Groyne. Sometimes they’ll connect to offer the undisputed ride of your life. That’s really rare though. More often than not, it’s a choice of sections that can be both hollow and mellow.
Check out our complete guide to Kirra surf
Currumbin Alley
Currumbin Alley covers both ends of the spectrum. On smaller summer days when there’s NE-E in the channel, it’s a fine learner location with mellow breakers that are usually fought over by umpteen foam riders with surf schools. On bigger days in the winter, the bomb here starts firing and it’s a tow-out haven.
Sharkies
Sharkies rips into the outside point of Burleigh Heads like a mini Jaws. This is not a spot to be messed with. With the full power of any SE swells, it shapes into a lippy wave that’s almost hollow on take-off. You’ll need to be very fast to get up and down in time to ride the shoulder through to the inside sections. This is the hardest and heaviest of all the breaks in Burleigh.
The Cove
Still retaining a bit of the heaviness of the outside sections of Burleigh, The Cove is where the coast tapers a little into the bay and away from the dominant swell direction. That can help tame things a touch and bring southerly offshores into play, giving big barrel sections on good days where it’s possible to stand up full in the green. The rides are short but sweet if you can nail them, occasionally linking nicely with the main Burleigh section at The Point.
The Point
This is the piece de resistance of the surf in Burleigh Heads. Steady offshores with a SE, S element to the swell will reveal why this was once the golden child of Goldie (so, too, will the almost inevitable crowd of local rippers that’ll be out!). Medium-fast barrels start right after take off with the possibility of some backdoor sections when its super clean. They’ll peel straight right and over sandbars for something like 90 meters. This is the ride most come for.
Rock Break
Rock Break, also sometimes written as Rockbreak is the fickle child of the Burleigh Heads surf lineup. It demands high tide and smaller swells to work at all. When it does, it’s mellow and less hollow than its compadres, though can often be an extension on connecting sessions to The Point, when it means you’ll score 150-meter ride throughs of a lifetime.
The Spit
Where the ocean flows into Queensland via the Straddie Seaway, there are now a bunch of peaks that rise on the breakwaters. It’s lefts to the south and rights to the north, with the latter coming in as the best. The south side tends to be mellow since that’s the way that the sandbanks seem to have settled. On the north, big SE swell days can make it beefy, slabby, but uber fun.
Where to stay when surfing in Burleigh Heads?
Being in the very heart of the Gold Coast means that there’s certainly no dearth of places to stay right by the Burleigh Heads surf. Here are some options that we really like. They primarily put you on the doorstep of the main Burleigh breaks, but can also be a good base for exploring north and south through the rest of Goldie.
Gemini Court Holiday Apartments
Shouldering their way over the huge slabs of cliff that form the main point breaks of Burleigh Heads, the apartments at Gemini Court have arguably the best views on the Gold Coast. They’re also modern and clean, with access to a private outdoor pool. We’d seriously recommend paying more for a pad that faces the ocean, though – did we mention that the views are amazing?
Oceania on Burleigh Beach
There are cozy rooms with New England-style beach-hut vibes about them at this aparthotel complex. It’s located a little up the main beach from the Burleigh Heads rights, which we think makes it a perfect option for more beginner surfers chasing the beach peaks and not the barrels. You also get a pool and self-catering facilities.
Burleigh Surf Apartments
Despite the name, the Burleigh Surf Apartments are actually a bit of a walk north from the main Burleigh Heads surf breaks. However, they do get you right on the beachfront and close to the more beginner-friendly peaks that roll between the point and the North Burleigh Lookout. They’re also nice pads, some very high up to offer sweeping views of the city and the Gold Coast.
Step-by-step guide to planning your surfing Burleigh Heads trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the surfing Burleigh Heads…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Get insuranceThis is kinda’ important. Not just for surf trips but for any trips. SafetyWing is great for nomad travelers. They offer rolling contracts that cover amateur surfing.
Step four (optional): Rent a car If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step five: Enjoy!
For paying for stuff when you’re traveling – Get a Wise borderless card/account. They charge NOTHING for POS payments in any country and have some of the best FX rates around in our humble opinion.
When to surf in Burleigh Heads?
The Burleigh Heads surf enjoys the same SE winter swells that the rest of the Gold Coast harvests to fire up its point breaks. When they come through, the angle of the coast here is also perfect for the dominant winter southerly offshores, and that’s when you see the right-hand barrel magic of this legendary location. Summers aren’t all bad. There’s actually decent action on the NE-E swells of typhoons offered from December onwards, but it’s rare that you’ll see Burleigh connect all the way down the line then.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
