Surf up a storm along the expansive beach breaks of Tugun Beach. Take the dog for a walk on leash outside of flagged areas or sit back and enjoy the stunning view looking north to the Surfers Paradise skyline. This southern Gold Coast suburb is very laid-back and has one of the biggest beaches on the Gold Coast. The real charm of Tugun also lies in its streets and café culture.
It's believed that Tugun derived its name from an Indigenous word of unknown dialect meaning “breaking waves”. For more information on Tugun, especially the best places to eat visit Destination Gold Coast.
Beach usage
Every beach along our coastline is unique and used for many different activities, such as swimming, surfing and walking the dog. We've been working to understand which beaches are our most popular and how each is used by our community and visitors.
Tugun is popular with locals, with up to 15,000 visitors each year, but is much quieter than other Gold Coast beaches.
There's an equal split between beach and ocean users at Tugun. More people use this beach to swim than to surf, with the other half of the users enjoying time playing and relaxing on the sand.
Surfing
Tugun is a relatively protected long stretch of Gold Coast beach which is part of the World Surfing Reserve. There are beach breaks along most of the beach.
Swimming
Due to the protective nature of Bilinga beach, the wave conditions are usually calmer than its neighbouring beaches making it an ideal place to swim. Make sure you swim between the red and yellow flags which indicate that the beach is patrolled. Tugun Beach has a patrolled lifeguard tower at 29 O'Connor Street in front of Tugun Surf Life Saving Club. The tower is patrolled between 8am and 5pm every day from November to April.
Please note all beaches are patrolled during Queensland school holidays.
For more details download our Beach patrol information sheet(PDF, 1MB)
Facilities
Tugun beach is next to parklands that contain toilets, tables, beach showers and shade structures. The northern section of Tugun is also in close proximity to a retail commercial area. The Tugun to Bilinga Oceanway includes seating, bike racks, path lighting and beach showers.
Tugun Beach has the following facilities for beachgoers:
Getting there
Parking: There's a car park at the surf club and plenty of on-street parking available in side streets. Be sure to take note of any applicable parking signs and/or line markings before heading to the beach. Please note our beaches can get very busy on weekends and during school holidays, reducing the amount of available parking in the area.
Public transport: Translink buses run along the Gold Coast Highway and Golden Four Drive through Tugun. Use Translink's journey planner to plot your trip to the beach.
Active travel: Use our walking and cycling guides for Southern Gold Coast and surrounds to plan your walk, run or bike ride to the beach.