Where to swim and surf near Tugun
From the balcony you can read the surf before you walk down. This is how the water works along our stretch of beach, from the flags out front to the gentlest learner wave on the coast.
Swimming: between the flags
Tugun Surf Life Saving Club sits 50 metres along the sand from Sandbox, and the patrolled area in front of it is the right place to swim. Volunteer lifesavers patrol on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 5pm through the season, which starts in mid-September, and City of Gold Coast lifeguards patrol Tower 9 daily from 8am to 5pm between November and April and during school holidays. The hazards are at the ends: rip channels form around Flat Rock to the north, and there is a strong permanent rip against Elephant Rock at Currumbin. Stay between the red and yellow flags, and check the Beachsafe app for conditions before you go in.
Still water: Currumbin Creek and the Alley
A short walk south, Currumbin Creek runs out past Currumbin Rock into the sea. The creek side is still and shallow with white sand and clear water, best on an incoming tide when the ocean water pushes in. It is where families with small children swim, where paddleboards and kayaks go out, and where kitesurfers set up when the wind is right. Currumbin Beach itself, around the rock, is patrolled by lifeguards from the Vikings surf club, and parking on Pacific Parade there is time-limited.
Learning to surf
Currumbin Alley, where the creek meets the ocean, produces a long, slow, forgiving wave over a sandbar, which is why it is the Gold Coast's learn-to-surf beach. Currumbin Alley Surf School has operated there since 1993 and runs 90-minute lessons year round: group lessons from about $55 a person, private lessons from about $130, board, wet-shirt and wetsuit included, and soft-board hire from about $20. In school terms the mid-week group classes are for adults; children join weekend and holiday sessions. Meet at the Alley car park, opposite the Marine Rescue building, 15 minutes before your lesson.
For surfers
The beach break directly in front of the apartments, and north through Bilinga, works on small clean swells with a westerly morning offshore, which is most winter mornings. On bigger swells the Alley turns into a long right-hander. Kirra and Snapper Rocks are ten minutes south, Burleigh fifteen north, and you will know what to do with those.
Freshwater
When the ocean is messy, the Currumbin Rock Pools are 30 minutes up the valley: a big, cold natural pool with a lawn and barbecues, and Cougal Cascades eight kilometres further on. We have a separate guide to both.
What we provide
Beach gear is available at the apartments; ask before you arrive and it will be ready. Every apartment has its own laundry with a dryer for the towels and wetsuits, and a balcony for drying boards and people.
Good to know
Is the beach in front of Sandbox Apartments patrolled?
The patrolled area is at Tugun Surf Life Saving Club, 50 metres along the sand. Swim between the flags there rather than directly in front of the building.
Where should a beginner surf?
Currumbin Alley, a short walk south. The wave breaks slowly over a sandbar and the surf schools operate there year round, with lessons from about $50.
How warm is the water?
The water rarely drops below 18 degrees in winter and reaches the mid-twenties in late summer. Surf schools provide wetsuits when needed.
Can you kitesurf or paddleboard?
Yes. Currumbin Creek and the Alley are the local spots for stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and kitesurfing when the wind is up.
Keep reading
Things to do in Tugun and Currumbin with kids
Most of what children want from a beach holiday is within a ten-minute walk of our front door: a patrolled beach, still creek water, a wildlife sanctuary and a bakery.
Best cafés and restaurants in Tugun
More than 20 places to eat sit within a two to five minute walk of the apartments, strung along Golden Four Drive behind the beach.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary: a visitor guide from Tugun
The Sanctuary is the reason many of our guests choose Tugun over the rest of the coast.