40 Awesome Things To Do Next Time You’re In Burleigh

It’s another magical day in paradise and there’s nothing to do, you say? That’s just a lazy excuse so, to get you started, we’ve rounded up 40 things to do in Burleigh that’ll get you off the couch.

1. Prepare for the meat sweats with a visit to Burleigh’s new permanent night market—BBQ Bazaar. Open every Friday and Saturday from 5pm. 
2. Make new friends and get cultured with the groovy crew at Mo’s Desert Warehouse. Hit up their socials for movie nights, vibing live music concerts, jam sessions, macramé workshops and more. 
3. Treat yo’self with a relaxing soak and steam at The Bathhouse by Greenhouse, located a short drive away in Burleigh Waters. 
4. Attempt to look coordinated while stand-up paddle boarding on Tallebudgera Creek. It’s a local fave among the best things to do in Burleigh. 
5. Open your eyes to a new form of relaxation with sensory deprivation and a salt soak session at the Gold Coast’s best, Freedom Float Centre. 
6. Support GC’s talented locals. Which friend has a birthday/baby shower/milestone coming up next? Buy them something at the Coast’s OG creative hub, The Village Markets. It should be top of your list of things to do in Burleigh!
7. Have a tipple or a tour at Gold Coast’s original craft brewery, Burleigh Brewing, or hip neighbourhood gem, Black Hops Brewing. ‘Cause hops lovers, you can’t beat that tank to tap to pint glass experience. 
8. Embrace fine Aussie cuisine with a bacon and egg sanga, toad-in-a-hole or dippy eggs at Paddock Bakery. Okay, okay, it’s technically in Miami (just), but close enough. 
9. Or Middle Eastern-influenced cumin scrambled eggs, lamb kofta and za’atar flat bread at our all-time fave, Canteen Kitchen.
10. Better yet, work your way around all of Burleigh’s best breakfasts.
11. Wander through Village boutique, drool and fantasise about decking out your dream home. 
12. Sit under the Norkfolk pines on dusk and try to out scream the lorikeets.
13. Use that active wear the way it was intended with one of our fave things to do in Burleigh—a brisk saunter around the lush headland of Burleigh Heads National Park.
14. Commit to an afternoon-long Sunday session on Justin Lane’s infamous rooftop.
15. Get acquainted with Burleigh’s growing nightlife scene, including back alley watering holes Lockwood and anything-goes Nightjar.
16. Relive your early 20s (or just live them) with a boozy Friday night at Burleigh Heads Hotel.
17. Or bar hop like a boss, with a tipple at each of the best bars in Burleigh. Prepare for a night you won’t remember.  
18. Over indulged? We hear you! Sweat it out with a Barre class at Xtend Barre or get bendy with a yoga or meditation session at inspiring wellness nook, The Studio Upstairs. 
19. Chase a scrub turkey on Tallebudgera Creek’s dreamy Echo Beach. 
20. Treat your lover or BFF to a long boozy lunch at Rick Shores, starting with a round of bug rolls, and you’ll be in the good books for weeks.
21. Celebrate someone or something (or anything) at The Fish House.
22. Ready to eat your way around this much-loved foodie nook? Our pick of the best restaurants in Burleigh should keep you busy for a week or so. 
23. Stock the freezer with a mega meat pack from Burleigh State School Farmers Market. Two-week meal plan = sorted. 
24. Book a booth at Iku Yakitori & Whisky Bar and immerse in the sensory explosion that is one of the Coast’s most impressive restaurant fit outs. And don’t even get us started on the insane Japanese noms… 
25. Show up the grey-haired brigade at their own game with Sunday barefoot bowls at the Burleigh Heads Bowls Club. 
26. Skip out of work early to make social hour at Bin 12 wine bar on James Street (weekdays, 5pm to 6pm) or $10 cocktails plus $5 beers and vinos at Harry’s Steak Bistro (Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 2pm to 5pm). 
27. A local fave among the best things to do in Burleigh—smash fish and chips in the weekend sunshine on Burleigh Hill. Or, get fancy with a ballin’ cheeseboard and BYO vino. 
28. Throw your diet the middle finger, when you order one of everything off the menu at Oh My, Waffle. 
29. Crane your neck around the tall gums atop Koala Park to spot a furry friend.
30. Wake up with the sun then get down to Burleigh foreshore—dodge the zillion other early risers and their dogs, and get your body moving for free.
31. Go bat-shit crazy on the super-sized trampolines at BOUNCE INC.
32. Challenge yourself to the Triple Loco burger at the Gold Coast’s OG OTT burger joint—Ze Pickle.
33. Bring snags and smoke up a storm on the free BBQs along the esplanade or Burleigh Hill. Life on the Coast doesn’t get much better.
34. Hit the beach with a new bikini purchase from James Street boutiques Bikini and Me, Sean Scott’s retail arm or Freedom State. 
35. When the temperature soars, lick your way through a CocoWhip at Helen’s Heavenly Wholefoods Cafe—it is vegan-friendly and created right here on the GC. 
36. Have your mind blown by the epic work of talented local photographer, Sean Scott.
37. Go bra-less and shoes-less when joining the dreadlocked, fire-twirling crew at Sunday night Burleigh Bongos.
38. Devour a heaping plate of vegetarian at Burleigh institution Govindas—it’s one the best value eats you’ll find in town. 
39. Cruiser bike ride north along the foreshore as far as your legs will carry you. Just don’t forget you’ll still need to turn around and come back.
40. Surf, swim, sunbake, run, throw a frisbee, build a sandcastle—just do whatever involves getting your toes in the sand on beautiful Burleigh Beach.

Worked your way through the best things to do in Burleigh? Best be heading to Palm Beach next! 

Image credit: Hayley Williamson and Brooke Darling for The Urban List