🌊How to get from Brisbane to Burleigh Heads
A getting-there guide from GoThere Brisbane, the free live journey planner for South East Queensland.
Can you get there without a car?
🟢 Yes, all the way
Yes, the whole way on a flat 50c fare. Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South, then 700 bus down the Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh (~20 min).
The short answer
- 1🚆Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South
- 2🚌700 bus down the Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh (~20 min)
The journey, end to end
- Brisbane
🚆Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South
- Change 1
🚌700 bus down the Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh (~20 min)
- Burleigh Heads
2 legs, 1 change. Dashed lines are the parts that aren't public transport.
The beach most locals pick over Surfers, with a headland walk at one end and a row of good food at the other.
What is Burleigh Heads?
Burleigh Heads sits about two thirds of the way down the Gold Coast, between Broadbeach and Palm Beach. The headland is a national park, small but genuinely good, and the point break off it is one of the best known right-handers in the country.
The strip along James Street behind the beach has quietly become the Gold Coast's better eating precinct, which is the other reason people come.
Why go, and what to see
Burleigh Head National Park
The Oceanview and Rainforest circuits, about an hour, with the point break below
The beach and Justins Park
Patrolled surf beach with grassy parkland behind it for a picnic
James Street
Cafes, bakeries and bars, and busy from breakfast onwards
Burleigh Markets
Sunday mornings at the state school, food and produce rather than souvenirs
Every way to get there, compared
Including the ones that aren't public transport, because pretending the car doesn't exist helps nobody.
🚆 Public transport, 1 change
Our pick- 🚆Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South
- 🚌700 bus down the Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh (~20 min)
Time
About 2 hr from Central
Cost
50c each way
Best for
Cheapest by a distance, and no parking to find
🚗 Drive
- 🚗87 km from the city centre, about 60 min in normal traffic
Time
about 60 min
Cost
Fuel and parking
Best for
Carrying gear, odd hours, or several people splitting the cost
Usually quicker than the train, and that is worth being honest about. What it costs you is parking, tolls and driving home tired.
The connecting service, as it actually runs
Straight from the timetable data, not from a brochure. The days it runs and the last service back are the two things that decide whether a day trip works.
🚌 G:link tram, now all the way to Burleigh Heads
Runs seven daysFirst
~4:00 am
Last
~5:01 am
Weekday trips
144
Midday
~8 min
Planning the day around it
- 🌅 Earliest connection out is around 4:00 am, so an early start is possible.
- 🌙 The last one is around 5:01 am. That, not closing time, is when your day ends.
- ⏳ Which leaves a window of about 25 hours between the first service out and the last one back, before you subtract the travelling at each end.
Work backwards from the last service rather than forwards from breakfast. Missing it here is a taxi fare, not a short wait.
Scheduled times on a typical weekday, counted one way and timed at GCS relief point, so the gaps are the ones you would actually wait. Check the live board before you go.
🚌 Route 700, along the Gold Coast
Runs seven daysFirst
~4:05 am
Last
~3:50 am
Weekday trips
117
Midday
~10 min
Planning the day around it
- 🌅 Earliest connection out is around 4:05 am, so an early start is possible.
- 🌙 The last one is around 3:50 am. That, not closing time, is when your day ends.
- ⏳ Which leaves a window of about 23 hours between the first service out and the last one back, before you subtract the travelling at each end.
Work backwards from the last service rather than forwards from breakfast. Missing it here is a taxi fare, not a short wait.
Scheduled times on a typical weekday, counted one way and timed at Burleigh Heads station, so the gaps are the ones you would actually wait. Check the live board before you go.
When to go
Autumn, when the water is still warm and the crowds have gone. The headland walk is best early, before the sun gets on it.
Last service home →
Check your cut-off before you go, not after.
Anything disrupted? →
Live delays and closures across the network.
See it on the map →
The route drawn across South East Queensland.
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Getting to Burleigh Heads: quick answers
How do you get from Brisbane to Burleigh Heads by public transport?+
Take the Gold Coast line south from Central, then finish on the coast. Fastest is usually the train through to Varsity Lakes and a short bus, about two hours and twenty minutes door to door. The alternative, now the G:link tram runs all the way to Burleigh Heads, is to change to the tram at Helensvale and stay on it: one change, no bus, and about the same time. Either way it is a flat 50 cents. Driving is roughly an hour, so the train costs you time but saves you the Gold Coast parking hunt on a summer weekend.
Does the Gold Coast tram go to Burleigh Heads?+
Yes. The G:link extension south of Broadbeach South opened with eight new stations: Mermaid Beach, Mermaid Beach South, Nobby Beach, Miami North, Miami, Christine Avenue, Second Avenue and Burleigh Heads. Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads is about 17 minutes, and the full run from Helensvale takes about an hour. It is all on the same 50 cent fare.
How do you get from Brisbane to Burleigh Heads without a car?+
Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South, then 700 bus down the Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh (~20 min). Allow about 2 hr from Central station. Every leg on the TransLink network is a flat 50 cent fare.
How long does it take to get to Burleigh Heads from Brisbane?+
About 2 hr from Central, door to platform to door, depending on how the connection lands. The planner on this page works it out from where you actually are rather than from the city centre.
How much does it cost to get to Burleigh Heads?+
A flat 50 cents each way on the TransLink network, however far you travel.
What time is the last service back from Burleigh Heads?+
It changes by day and by line, and it is the thing that catches people out on a long day trip. Check the last service home tool before you head out so you know your cut-off rather than guessing at the end of the day.