The coast's markets run all year, on different days, in different formats — a Saturday-morning farmers' market, a Sunday beachfront craft market, a daily gourmet food market, and a rotating brand that moves between three towns. Here are the six, with when they run, what's at them, the best stalls, and where the car goes.
Before You Go
The shape of it: the farmers' market is Saturday morning (7am–12noon), the Sunday beachfront markets are 8am–2pm, and the gourmet market in Southport is open daily 8am–6pm. All are free to enter, all are cashless (card and contactless everywhere), and all are best early — the produce and the bakes are at their best in the first two hours. Parking is free at most; the one that fills first on a Saturday is Burleigh. Go with a light bag: you'll be carrying things by noon.
Burleigh Farmers Market
When: every Saturday, 7am–12noon (rain, hail or shine). Where: the grounds of Burleigh Heads State School, corner of Lower Gold Coast Highway and West Burleigh Road. What to expect: 120-plus stalls — fresh farm produce, organic fruit and vegetables, gourmet and global foods, meat and fish, deli products, hot coffee, bakery treats, fresh flowers, plants, art and craft, antiques and collectibles, plus live entertainment most Saturdays. Best stalls: the organic produce rows (the certified-organic produce is the reason to come), the deli counter, and the bakery at the front. Parking: free, on the school oval and surrounds; vehicle entry via Lower Gold Coast Highway. It's the region's proper Saturday-morning market — go early, eat on the school oval, and it's done by 10. Burleigh Farmers Market
Coolangatta (Coastal Markets)
When: 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month (the 4th only when there are five Sundays), 8am–2pm. Where: Queen Elizabeth Park off Marine Parade, on the beachfront, opposite The Strand shopping centre. What to expect: hundreds of handmade and artisan stalls — handmade art and design, fashion, gifts, homewares and coastal-inspired finds, with a different mix each visit. Free entry, a relaxed seaside atmosphere, the beach a few steps away. Best stalls: the homewares and coastal-design rows; the fresh food and coffee at the front of the park. Parking: free on the park and The Strand car parks. The Sunday beachfront market — the quiet, seaside version of a market morning. Burleigh Farmers Market
Southport: Ferry Rd Market
When: daily, 8am–6pm (the Standard Market Company runs 8am–6pm; selected safes from 6:30am). Where: Brickworks Centre, 107 Ferry Road, Southport — a 5-minute drive from Surfers, 2km from the Broadwater parklands. What to expect: a gourmet food market: European deli goods, artisan bread and pastries, freshly roasted coffee, specialist tea, boutique liquor and confectionery, premium meat and seafood — oysters shucked on site and fresh sushi among colourful rows of fine fresh fruit and veg. It's a market you can eat in: cafés and bistros cluster around the food rows. Best stalls: the oyster and seafood counter, the deli, the bread. Parking: on site. The daily version of a market — a good mid-morning or an early evening. Burleigh Farmers Market
Tweed Heads Market
When: every Sunday, 8am–12pm. Where: corner of Recreation Street and Florence Street, Tweed Heads. What to expect: the northern gateway's weekly tradition: local produce, plants, food stalls and a proper Sunday-morning crowd — the small, local version of a market. Best stalls: the produce rows and the local bakes; the plants. Parking: street and lot parking around the corner. It's the market to pair with a Tweed Heads beach morning — the 20-minute drive south, then a slow start. Burleigh Farmers Market
The Coastal Markets (Rotating)
When: three Sundays a month, on rotation — Broadbeach on the 1st and 3rd Sunday, Coolangatta on the 2nd and 4th (when there are five Sundays), and Burleigh Heads on the last Sunday of the month. What to expect: one of the region's largest beachfront market experiences: hundreds of handmade and artisan vendors — handmade art and design, fashion, gifts, homewares, coastal-inspired finds — with an ever-changing mix of local and visiting creators. Free entry, a relaxed seaside atmosphere. Best stalls: the handmade art rows and the coastal-design homewares. Parking: free at each location (the park or the adjacent car park). Pick a location and a Sunday: the same brand, three different beachfronts. Burleigh Farmers Market
Robina Central
When: daily (the complex runs around the clock; the shops 8am–6pm). Where: 8 Laver Drive, Robina — a 1.3-hectare, four-building mixed-use development with 127 car parks. What to expect: a new neighbourhood retail complex: Aldi (the anchor supermarket), Guzman y Gomez (fast food), Starbucks (coffee), a medical centre, and a food hall that does the market role — a long food counter and a sit-in area. For the bigger market-style day, the nearby Robina Town Centre (Robina Town Centre, 400-plus stores and a 900-seat Food Atrium) is the step up. Best stalls: the food hall counter and the fresh-food merchants. Parking: 127 on site, free. The “market” option for a Robina afternoon. Burleigh Farmers Market
Making the Most of a Market Morning
Go early — 7–9am — when the produce is best and the bakes are fresh. Bring a light bag: you'll be carrying things by 9. Everything is cashless. Pair the market with a boardwalk walk after: Burleigh's is the long, flat one; Coolangatta's is the quiet, seaside one; Southport's is the marina one. And if you're only doing one: the Saturday Burleigh Farmers Market is the farmers' market; the Sunday Coastal Markets is the beachfront one; the daily Ferry Rd Market is the gourmet one. Three different markets, three different mornings — and all of them free to get into.
Last updated 2026-10-19