Broadbeach

Broadbeach, located towards the Gold Coast's Northern end, is a suberb that provides a pleasant blend of shopping, upmarket restaurants, low and high rise resort and apartment buildings, as well as being home to three significant Gold Coast facilities - Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, Jupiter's Casino, and the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. The area, as may be guessed from its name, is also home to a long, clean stretch of beach that is easily accessible for both pedestrians and cyclists and is bordered by several large parks that make for great picnic areas.The beach itself is patrolled by staff from the Broadbeach Surf Life Saving Club, and also sits alongside the Broadbeach Surfschool which offers surfing lessons and training. The beaches at Broadbeach, along with the people they attract, are indicative of the suburb itself - slightly more refined and less intense than the crowds at Surfers Paradise yet more upbeat and cosmopolitan than those further to the south of the Gold Coast.

Coolangatta

Acting as the initial symbol many international and interstate visitors will have upon arriving at the Gold Coast by plane, Coolangatta is the area where the main stretch of continuous beach that reaches up to Main Beach in the north begins. Its two main beaches - Greenmount Beach and Rainbow Bay - are the Gold Coast's only north-facing beaches which helps to provide excellent, sheltered conditions that are ideal for swimming. A stroll around the point to nearby Snapper Rocks can also give you an increased chance of seeing whales passing on their annual migration throughout the year's cooler months. Greenmount Point is a piece of coastal headland which serves to separate the main Coolangatta stretch of beach to the north with Rainbow Bay to the south, and makes for a great, picturesque vantage point to take in the coastal scenery. While Coolangatta's beaches are great for swimming, they are not the best for those looking for wave breaks for surfing, so aspiring surfers would be best served looking elsewhere, particularly the nearby Duranbah and Kirra beaches - two of the surfing hotspots of the entire Gold Coast. 

Nobby Beach

Nobby Beach in the suburb of Mermaid Beach is a secluded, quiet beach that offers a fairly substantial amount of parking bordered by a large park which provides a nice area for both adults and children to relax. Decent surfing is also offered with good waves appearing on a clean, easterly swell - surfers simply need to find a good bank or surf the shore break on the high tide in order to receive a powerful, clean ride.Fishing is also a popular and viable activity to visitors to Nobby Beach - aspiring fishers can search out a deep gutter and wet a line for some quality catches of bream, dart and whiting that can be found all year round. Lastly, families may enjoy a tranquil walk in either direction along the quiet beachfront, with a spectacular sunrise offered at dawn over the sea for the early riser. 

Palm Beach

Twice voted to be the cleanest beach in Queensland, the beaches of Palm Beach have little in terms of distinct features to distinguish them from any other on the Gold Coast, yet provide a reliable, comfortable and often uncrowded option for a day of both swimming and relaxation. As the area is less developed and built up as opposed to some of its northern counterparts, Palm Beach beaches are popular with families, bodyboarders and walkers - especially those with dogs.The option is also there to take an extended walk through the nature areas which extend along this stretch of the Gold Coast, being able to follow the boardwalk all the way through to the Burleigh Heads National Park. There are also playgrounds and parks dotted along the span of Palm Beach that prove popular with kids as well as families who want to have a picnic due to the large number of picnic tables, seats and barbecues available for public use.