🌅How to get from Brisbane to Coolangatta
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 to Coolangatta (~45 min).
The short answer
- 1🚆Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South
- 2🚌700 bus to Coolangatta (~45 min)
The journey, end to end
- Brisbane
🚆Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South
- Change 1
🚌700 bus to Coolangatta (~45 min)
- Coolangatta
2 legs, 1 change. Dashed lines are the parts that aren't public transport.
The far southern end of the network, right on the New South Wales border, and the longest 50 cent trip anyone can take.
What is Coolangatta?
Coolangatta is the last town on the Gold Coast before the border, joined to Tweed Heads in New South Wales so seamlessly that the state line runs down the middle of a street. It is quieter and lower-rise than the northern end of the coast.
Snapper Rocks at Rainbow Bay is the famous bit: the start of the Superbank, a sand-fed point break that on a good day carries surfers a very long way up the beach.
Why go, and what to see
Rainbow Bay and Snapper Rocks
Sheltered swimming and the best surf watching on the coast
Greenmount Beach
Protected and calm, the pick if you have kids with you
Point Danger and the border
Captain Cook memorial on the headland, one foot in each state
Coolangatta Beach
Patrolled, wide, and far less crowded than Surfers
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 to Coolangatta (~45 min)
Time
About 2½ hr from Central, the full length of the network
Cost
50c each way
Best for
Cheapest by a distance, and no parking to find
🚗 Drive
- 🚗104 km from the city centre, about 70 min in normal traffic
Time
about 70 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.
🚌 Route 700, down the coast to Coolangatta
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
Winter, when the swell is good and the tourists are north. Note the time zone: Tweed Heads is in New South Wales, which runs an hour ahead during daylight saving.
Worth knowing
This is a genuine expedition from Brisbane, roughly two and a half hours each way and the full length of the network. Leave early and check the last service home before you settle in at Rainbow Bay, because the way back is long.
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.
More trips like this
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Getting to Coolangatta: quick answers
How long does it take to get from Brisbane to Coolangatta by train?+
About two and a half hours, using the Gold Coast line then the tram and bus south along the coast. It is the longest trip you can take on the flat 50 cent fare, which makes it good value and a long day. Driving takes a bit over an hour.
Can you get to Gold Coast Airport by public transport?+
Yes. Gold Coast Airport is at Coolangatta, and the 777 bus connects it to the tram network at Broadbeach South, which links back to the Gold Coast line for Brisbane. It is slow compared with driving, but it is on the flat fare.
How do you get from Brisbane to Coolangatta without a car?+
Gold Coast line to Helensvale, then the G:link to Broadbeach South, then 700 bus to Coolangatta (~45 min). Allow about 2½ hr from Central, the full length of the network. Every leg on the TransLink network is a flat 50 cent fare.
How long does it take to get to Coolangatta from Brisbane?+
About 2½ hr from Central, the full length of the network, 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 Coolangatta?+
A flat 50 cents each way on the TransLink network, however far you travel.
What time is the last service back from Coolangatta?+
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.