Surfers Paradise

EVENT · ENDS 29 NOVSurfers Paradise

No Ticket for the Mayor’s Christmas Carols 2026? Free Screening on the HOTA Parklands From 4pm, Free Ferris Wheel Rides and Food Trucks on 28 and 29 November (Surfers Paradise, QLD)

A Ferris wheel in Surfers Paradise, photographed in 2011 (not the HOTA wheel)

You can still be part of the Mayor’s Christmas Carols without a ticket: the City of Gold Coast says to pack a picnic blanket for the HOTA Parklands, where the show is screened on big screens and there are food trucks and free Ferris wheel rides for the whole family, all from 4pm on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November. The second round of free tickets for the HOTA Outdoor Stage is at 6pm tonight, Tuesday 27 October.

EVENT · ENDS 1 NOVSurfers Paradise

Gold Coast Greek Festival 2026 at HOTA: Adult Tickets $11.60, Children 13 and Under Free, Saturday 12pm to 10pm With Fireworks, Sunday 11am to 4pm (Surfers Paradise, QLD)

HOTA, Home of the Arts, in 2020, shown for orientation

The first Gold Coast Greek Festival in 13 years runs at HOTA in Surfers Paradise on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026, with adult tickets at $11.60 on HOTA’s page, free entry for children 13 and under, and fireworks on Saturday night.

EVENT · ENDS 29 NOVSurfers Paradise

Mayor’s Christmas Carols 2026 at HOTA: Free Tickets Release 9am Monday 26 October and 6pm Tuesday 27 October, Plus Parking and Getting There (Surfers Paradise, QLD)

Surfers Paradise skyline seen from Home of the Arts

Free tickets for the HOTA Outdoor Stage at the Mayor’s Christmas Carols are released in two rounds: 9am on Monday 26 October and 6pm on Tuesday 27 October. The City of Gold Coast’s What’s On Gold Coast page for the event lists both times, and the shows are on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November. Gold Coast is on Brisbane time, so these are Queensland times with no daylight saving.

CLOSURES · UNTIL 13 NOVSurfers Paradise · Main Beach

After the Gold Coast 500 (QLD): One-Way Roads and No-Parking Clearways Until 5am Tuesday 27 October, Then Works at Surfers Paradise and Main Beach Into Mid-November

Surfers Paradise Boulevard near Cypress Avenue, photographed in June 2026, shown for orientation

The Gold Coast 500 circuit roads in Surfers Paradise and Main Beach stay one-way, anti-clockwise, all of Monday 26 October and return to normal at 5am on Tuesday 27 October, and parking is banned in special event clearways until then. Removal works continue on the roads until mid-November.

TRANSPORT GUIDESurfers Paradise · Broadbeach

How to Check G:link and Bus Times on the Gold Coast: The Translink App and Journey Planner, Step by Step (QLD)

Looking south along the light rail towards Broadbeach South tram stop

To check a G:link or bus time on the Gold Coast, open the Translink app, use the journey planner on the Explore tab or look up a stop under Departures, and read the real-time figure next to each scheduled time. It shows +/- minutes, and red means the service is not running to schedule.

TRANSPORT GUIDESurfers Paradise

go explore Card on the Gold Coast: $1.50 a Day for Buses and Trams, and When It Beats the 50 Cent Fare (QLD)

Q1 building towering over Surfers Paradise light rail station in June 2026

The go explore card is still sold. It gives a visitor unlimited travel on Translink buses and trams on the Gold Coast for $1.50 per day, which matters because the standard fare is now 50 cents per journey. That makes the pass cheaper only if you make four or more separate journeys in a day.

FARESSurfers Paradise

Translink Transfer Rules on the Gold Coast: How One 50 Cent Fare Covers Your Bus, Tram and Train Trips (QLD)

G:link tram at Broadbeach North station beside the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre

If you tap on and off with the same go card, contactless card or phone, a bus-to-tram or tram-to-train trip on the Gold Coast is still one journey and one 50 cent fare, as long as each transfer is within 1 hour and you make no more than 3 transfers. The rules below are from Translink’s transfer pages and are accurate as of October 2026.

TRANSPORT GUIDESurfers Paradise · Broadbeach

G:link Station Guide: All 27 Stops from Helensvale to Burleigh Heads, With Travel Times and Connections (Gold Coast, QLD)

Surfers Paradise light rail station in June 2026

The G:link’s L1 line runs between Helensvale and Burleigh Heads with 27 stations, and the whole trip took 63 minutes on the first of the five sample trips in Translink’s timetable for Monday 19 October 2026. Eight of the stations are new with the extension of the line south to Burleigh Heads, and Translink changed local bus routes to match on Monday 7 September 2026.

TRANSPORT GUIDESurfers Paradise

Bikes, Prams and Wheelchairs on Gold Coast Public Transport: What Translink Allows on the G:link, Buses and Trains (QLD)

Platform 2 at Hope Island railway station with a lift, tactile indicators and a train

You cannot take a bike or an e-scooter on a G:link tram or a bus on the Gold Coast, according to Translink, but you can take one on a train at any time if you follow its rules. Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are allowed on all G:link trams, and Translink says you may need to fold your pram during the busy morning and afternoon times, or when the driver says there is not enough space.

TRANSPORT GUIDESurfers Paradise · Southport

Hopo Ferry on the Gold Coast: Hourly Timetable, Fares and Stops from Surfers Paradise to Sea World (QLD)

Southport Pier, Southport, Queensland

The Hopo ferry runs a hop-on hop-off service on the Broadwater, leaving Surfers Paradise every hour from 9:15am to 4:15pm and calling at HOTA, Marina Mirage, Broadwater Parklands in Southport and Sea World. A single fare starts at $6 for a child, and a one-way adult fare between the two nearest stops costs $10 as of October 2026.