Gold Coast 500 2026: No Public Parking — How to Get There by Tram, Train and Bus (23–25 October, QLD)

This has now finished. The details below applied up to Sunday 25 October 2026 and are kept as a record. For current information, see our Gold Coast parking guide.

There is no public parking at the 2026 Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, so the practical way in is the G:link tram: Main Beach station is about 200m from the gates if you come from the north, and the new Cypress Avenue station is about 600m from Gate 6 if you come from the south. Your race ticket also covers free travel on Queensland Rail City network trains, the G:link and Kinetic buses.

The race runs on the streets of Main Beach and Surfers Paradise from Friday 23 October to Sunday 25 October 2026. The event precinct is secured from 12:01am Friday 23 October until 11:59pm Sunday 25 October, and several bus stops around the circuit are already closed. This guide pulls together what the organisers and Translink have published so far, as checked on Thursday 15 October.

Can I park near the track?

Not in a dedicated car park. The official event FAQ says, in capitals, that there is no public parking at the event and no dedicated event parking. It also states that there are no trackside parking tickets on sale this year.

What you will find instead are Event Parking zones. Two-hour Event Parking limits apply in many residential streets near the circuit, and the organisers say these limits will be strictly enforced. Resident permits allow parking beyond two hours inside those zones, but they do not override standard Council parking signs.

Since Monday 14 September, sections of the Cypress Avenue, Macintosh Island, Phillip Park and Spit Seaway car parks have been closed for the build, with the remaining bays still open to the public.

Park and ride: where to leave the car

The organisers point drivers to three park and ride sites, each of which connects to the G:link:

Travelling from	Park and ride	Then
South	Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre	Board the tram at Broadbeach North station
North	Helensvale train station, or Parkwood	Tram from Helensvale or Parkwood

With a pre-purchased event ticket, the tram from Broadbeach North is free. The FAQ does not publish parking fees or space numbers for any of the three sites, so check signs on arrival.

Which tram station is closest to the gates?

It depends on which direction you are travelling. The official FAQ lists these walking distances to a spectator entry:

Option	Stop	Approx. walk to entry
Light rail	Main Beach station, Gold Coast Highway	200m (Gate 1 or Gate 2 via the underpass)
Light rail	Cypress Avenue station, Surfers Paradise Boulevard	600m (to Gate 6)
Bus	Waterways Drive bus stop	600m

The organisers describe Cypress Avenue as a new station for 2026 and as the best access point from the south. Signs inside the trams and outside the gate will direct you to it. If you are coming down from Helensvale or Southport, stay on until Main Beach.

Note that the bus stops at Main Beach station are closed, but the tram station is not. According to the latest construction notice, access to the light rail will be maintained at all times during the build. The bus closure only affects people changing from a bus at that interchange (more on that below).

How often will the trams run?

Light rail services increase over race weekend. This is the G:link event timetable published in the official FAQ:

Day	Time	A tram every
Friday 23 October	7:00am – 7:00pm	7.5 minutes (normal timetable)
Friday 23 October	7:00pm – 8:00pm	10 minutes
Saturday 24 October	8:00am – 4:00pm	7.5 minutes
Saturday 24 October	4:00pm – 7:30pm	6.5 minutes
Saturday 24 October	7:30pm – 9:30pm	10 minutes
Sunday 25 October	8:00am – 6:00pm	7.5 minutes
Sunday 25 October	8:00am – 8:30pm	10 minutes

The two Sunday rows overlap exactly as published, so treat the 10-minute row as the evening service and confirm Sunday night times in the Translink journey planner on the day. Saturday has the most frequent service of the weekend, with a tram every 6.5 minutes between 4pm and 7:30pm.

Queensland Rail trains run at regular intervals during the event. In its 2025 race notice, the G:link operator suggested that people coming from Brisbane catch the train and change to the tram at Helensvale station.

Is public transport free with a race ticket?

Yes. The FAQ says people holding a valid event ticket or accreditation pass travel free to and from the event on Queensland Rail City network services, the Gold Coast light rail and Translink’s Kinetic bus services. Children aged 12 and under can travel free on certain services when they are with an adult who holds a valid entry ticket.

Keep the ticket on your phone or in your hand when you board. If you are not sure whether your ticket type qualifies, Translink’s website says its contact centre is on 13 12 30, 24 hours a day.

Without a race ticket, the normal fare applies, and as of 18 October 2026 that is Translink’s 50 cent flat fare per trip on trains (excluding Airtrain), trams and buses, however you pay. Translink’s page does not give an end date for the flat fare, so check it before you travel.

Which bus stops are closed?

Translink has already closed several stops around the circuit, some of them weeks before race day. These are the closures listed on Translink’s service updates as of 12 October:

• Main Beach station bus stops: Stop ID 319469 is closed from Thursday 17 September until Tuesday 3 November, with Ada Bell Way at Broadwater Parklands station, Southport (Stop ID 319472) as the alternative. Stop ID 319468 closes from Saturday 17 October until Tuesday 3 November, and route 70 passengers use Ada Bell Way at Broadwater Parklands station (Stop ID 319471) instead. Translink notice.
• Ocean Avenue at Surfers Paradise North station (Stop ID 322329): closed from first service Tuesday 29 September to Friday 30 October. Route 705 passengers use Ferny Avenue at Ocean Avenue instead (Stop ID 300538) until Sunday 18 October. From Monday 19 October to 5am Tuesday 27 October, the route 705 alternative is the Surfers Paradise stop (Stop ID 300049). Translink notice.
• Main Beach Parade: stops at Breaker Street, Cable Street and Esplanade Surfers Paradise close from Tuesday 13 October to Tuesday 3 November. From Monday 19 October to 5am Tuesday 27 October, the stops at Woodroffe Avenue and Main Beach Tourist Park also close, and route 705 uses the Surfers Paradise stop (Stop ID 300050) towards Sea World, Main Beach Parade near Stafford Avenue (Stop ID 300939) towards Broadbeach South, and a temporary stop on Main Beach Parade. Translink notice.
• Ferny Avenue: stops at Ocean Avenue and Palm Avenue close from first service Sunday 18 October to 5am Tuesday 27 October. This affects routes 70, 705 and school services. Translink notice.
• Tedder Avenue: stops close from 6pm Sunday 18 October to 5am Tuesday 27 October. During that time, route 704 services towards Sea World terminate at Scarborough Street, and services towards Helensvale station start at Scarborough Street. Translink notice.

Each Translink notice includes a map of the closed stops and the temporary ones. If you use routes 70, 704 or 705 for work or school, open the notice for your stop before the week of Monday 19 October, when most of the race-week closures overlap.

What about road closures?

The organisers published their race-week traffic plan, a street-by-street listing and a traffic FAQ on the official transport and traffic page in mid-October. The main changes are:

• From about 5:00am Monday 19 October, roads within the GC500 circuit change to one-way, anti-clockwise traffic, and traffic controllers direct all vehicles in that single direction. Normal conditions are scheduled to return from 5:00am Tuesday 27 October.
• The Gold Coast Highway stays open, but between Monday 19 and Tuesday 27 October it is reduced to one northbound lane, one southbound lane and one emergency lane. The organisers expect delays, particularly in peak periods.
• The event precinct is closed to vehicles on Friday 23 October from 6:00am to 6:00pm, and on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Vehicles cannot enter or exit during those periods.
• Cars on public streets inside the precinct must be moved before 6:00am Friday, 7:00am Saturday and 7:00am Sunday, or they may be towed at the owner’s expense. Cars parked entirely in a private garage or driveway can stay, but cannot be driven in or out while the roads are closed.
• Waterways Drive is not part of the circuit and stays open as the main access to Main Beach, The Spit and Sea World, which remains open.

The organisers list the roads affected from Monday 19 October as the Gold Coast Highway, Surfers Paradise Boulevard, Main Beach Parade, Cable Street, Breaker Street, Pacific Street, Ferny Avenue, Higman Street, Serisier Avenue, Hill Parade, The Esplanade and Ocean Avenue. If you live in Budds Beach, access changes run from 8:00pm Wednesday 21 October to 5:00am Tuesday 27 October, with entry and exit via Cypress Avenue only.

For a street-by-street breakdown, including where the official documents give different times, see our Gold Coast 500 road closures guide.

The City of Gold Coast lists the streets that may be affected at different times between Friday 11 September and Saturday 14 November, covering the build, the race and the bump-out: Main Beach Parade, Breaker Street, Tedder Avenue, Cronin Avenue, Serisier Avenue, Hill Parade, Cable Street, Surfers Paradise Boulevard, Ocean Avenue, The Esplanade north of Staghorn Avenue, Ferny Avenue and the Gold Coast Highway, and the Budds Beach area. The council notes that other surrounding streets may also be impacted, and the impacts range from footpath and parking lane closures to lane closures and full road closures.

The organisers also publish a weekly build notice. The notice for the week beginning Monday 19 October lists work hours of 7:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Thursday, 6:00am to 11:00pm on Friday, 7:00am to 11:00pm on Saturday and 7:00am to midnight on Sunday, and says changed traffic conditions will continue until mid-November while the circuit is dismantled.

Other build impacts to know about if you live nearby or walk the area:

• A section of the Oceanway footpath has been closed since Monday 28 September for grandstand and corporate facility construction.
• The Admiralty Drive pedestrian entry to Macintosh Island Park is closed from Monday 14 September to Friday 13 November. Use the pathways under the bridges at the north and south ends of Paradise Waters. The playgrounds and public amenities inside the park stay open.
• Helen Park has a site compound for the build, so part of the park is out of use.

Gate times and getting across the track

Gates open at 9:30am on Friday and 8:00am on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday and Saturday, Gates 1 and 6 stay open until 8:30pm for Sound Track (ticket holders can still exit the venue), while other gates close at the end of the final race. On Sunday the gates close at 5:30pm. The organisers note that all times can change without notice.

Once inside, you can walk around the whole circuit apart from a few resident-only zones. There are two track crossings, at the intersection of Breaker and Pacific Street and at Higman Street and Main Beach Parade, and they only open at set times:

Day	Track crossing times
Friday	11:35am, 1:40pm, 3:15pm, 3:50pm
Saturday	9:15am, 10:50am, 12:20pm, 1:15pm, 2:25pm
Sunday	11:05am, 12:45pm, 1:55pm

There are also three pedestrian bridges: one over the Gold Coast Highway at the northern end of the circuit, one at Breaker Street, and one from Main Beach Parade to the beach side and the Macintosh Island precinct. There is no wheelchair access to Macintosh Island from Gate 1.

Coming from the airport, or by bike

From Gold Coast Airport, about 20km south of Surfers Paradise, the organisers suggest the route 777 bus north to Burleigh Heads station and then the G:link tram all the way to the track.

If you are staying locally, you can cycle and use the bike parking at G:link stations or outside Gate 6. Bikes are not allowed inside the venue.

Quick plan by where you are coming from

• Brisbane: the G:link’s 2025 advice was the train to Helensvale, then the tram. Queensland Rail City network trains and the tram are free with a valid race ticket.
• Northern Gold Coast by car: park at Helensvale or Parkwood, then tram to Main Beach.
• Southern Gold Coast by car: park at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, tram from Broadbeach North to Cypress Avenue.
• Airport: route 777 to Burleigh Heads, then tram north.
• Locals on route 70, 704 or 705: check the Translink stop notices above. Many stops near the circuit move from Sunday 18 October.

For event questions, the organisers’ community relations team can be reached at gc@supercars.com. For public transport, Translink is on 13 12 30.

More guides: Gold Coast parking guide · Gold Coast 500 2026 guide · Gold Coast public transport guide

Sources

• Supercars — 2026 Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 community and event FAQ (checked 12 October 2026)
• City of Gold Coast — City alerts, Gold Coast 500 road closures
• Supercars — Gold Coast transport and traffic, weekly build notices
• Supercars — Traffic and transport FAQs and streets affected listing, event week 19–27 October 2026 (checked 15 October 2026)
• Build Notice 05, week beginning Tuesday 6 October 2026 (PDF)
• Translink — Main Beach station temporary stop closures
• Translink — Ocean Avenue, Surfers Paradise temporary stop closures
• Translink — Main Beach Parade temporary stop closures
• Translink — Ferny Avenue temporary stop closures
• Translink — Tedder Avenue temporary stop closures
• Translink — 50 cent fares (checked 18 October 2026)
• G:link — Ride the G: to the GC500 (2025 notice)

Featured image: G:link tram at Main Beach station (photo: Chris Olszewski / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Supercars, Translink or G:link. Times and closures can change; check the official pages above before you travel.