Gold Coast Tourist Guide
Last updated:
What’s On – Gold Coast
Your guide to the Gold Coast’s biggest events and festivals — with comfortable, fixed-price private transfers from Gold Coast Airport, Brisbane Airport and the Brisbane Cruise Terminal.
Gold Coast Events Transfers
Race weekends, festivals and Schoolies all land on the same handful of streets, and parking, taxis and rideshare tighten up fast. We run door-to-door private transfers to and from every event below, at a set price agreed before you travel.
Event dates below were checked with the organisers on 29 August 2026 and are updated as new events are announced.
Coming up — late 2026
- Fri 28 – Sun 30 August 2026
Gold Coast Show
Broadwater Parklands, Southport
119 years of the city’s agricultural show — carnival rides, showbags, animal encounters, competitions and fireworks each evening.
- Fri 11 – Sun 20 September 2026
SWELL Sculpture Festival
Currumbin Beach
Ten free days of large-scale sculpture staged on the sand, now in its 22nd year, with twilight walks, talks and workshops along the beachfront.
- Thu 1 – Sun 11 October 2026
BLEACH* Festival
HOTA, Home of the Arts, Bundall
The Gold Coast’s contemporary arts festival: eleven days of live music, dance, theatre, interactive installations and public art across the HOTA lakeside precinct.
- Fri 16 – Sun 18 October 2026
Groundwater Country Music Festival
Broadbeach
Three days of free country music across multiple stages, with Kasey Chambers, The Wolfe Brothers, Beccy Cole and Kaylee Bell, plus beachside line dancing and country markets.
- Fri 23 – Sun 25 October 2026
Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500
Surfers Paradise street circuit
Round 12 of the Supercars Championship opens the finals series, with three days of racing, concerts and entertainment through the middle of Surfers.
- Fri 6 – Sun 15 November 2026
Pan Pacific Masters Games
Venues citywide, hub at Gold Coast Convention Centre
The 14th Pan Pacs brings thousands of masters athletes to the city for ten days across dozens of sports, using the 2018 Commonwealth Games venues.
- Sat 21 November – Sat 12 December 2026
Schoolies
Surfers Paradise
Three back-to-back weeks: 21–28 November (the main Queensland week), 28 November – 5 December and 5–12 December. Book transfers early — these are our busiest weeks of the year.
- Thursday 31 December 2026
New Year’s Eve
Surfers Paradise and Broadwater Parklands
Free family fireworks along the beachfront and the Broadwater. Road closures tighten across Surfers, so lock in your pick-up point well ahead.
Looking ahead to 2027
- January 2027
Magic Millions Carnival
Gold Coast Turf Club and Surfers Paradise beach
Thoroughbred yearling sales from 12 January alongside the beach barrier draw, polo and the glamour raceday. Raceday date still to be confirmed.
- May 2027 — dates to be confirmed
Blues on Broadbeach
Broadbeach
Four days of free blues and roots across stages, pubs and parks throughout Broadbeach.
- Sat 3 – Sun 4 July 2027
ASICS Gold Coast Marathon
Southport and the Broadwater
Australia’s fastest marathon weekend, with distances from the 2km junior dash to the full marathon along the beaches and Broadwater.
Also worth knowing: the Pacific Airshow ran 14–16 August and the theme parks at Coomera and Oxenford stay open year round, with extended hours over the Christmas and January school holidays.
Getting to your event
Fixed prices, agreed up front. Every Gold Coast suburb is a set-price route to and from Gold Coast Airport, Brisbane Airport and the Brisbane Cruise Terminal — no meters and no event-weekend surge. See the full fixed price chart →
Road closures. The Gold Coast 500 closes the Surfers Paradise street circuit for most of race week, and New Year’s Eve shuts the beachfront. Tell us your venue or hotel when you book and we will set a pick-up point that stays outside the barriers.
Groups. A sedan carries three, the people mover seven and the maxi taxi eleven — all priced per vehicle, not per head, so a full car is the cheapest way for a group to travel.
Book early for peak weekends. Schoolies, the Gold Coast 500, the Pan Pacific Masters Games and New Year’s Eve book out our fleet well in advance.
Travelling Up for an Event?
Lock in your fixed price now — or call and we will sort the details with you.
Book Your Transfer