
Kayaking at Palm Beach – A Relaxing Gold Coast Water Adventure
If you enjoy peaceful water experiences and outdoor fun, kayaking on the Gold Coast is a fantastic activity to add to your holiday. Kayaking at Palm Beach offers the perfect mix of calm waterways and scenic coastal surroundings, making it suitable for beginners, families and experienced paddlers alike.
Staying at Blue Ocean Apartment places you close to some of the best kayaking spots in the area. With the beach and nearby waterways just moments away, enjoying kayaking near Blue Ocean Apartment is easy and convenient.
Water Activities Near Blue Ocean Apartment
Palm Beach offers a wide range of water activities near Blue Ocean Apartment, making it a great choice for active holidaymakers. At Blue Ocean Apartment you are ideally located with easy access to 2 of these 5 great rivers,

Blue Ocean Apartment is perfectly positioned at the southern end of Palm Beach, right on the banks of Currumbin River – proudly known as The Family River. In fact, when you stay here, you don’t need to travel anywhere to enjoy it… you’re already there.
Currumbin Creek feels like a scene from a classic 1960s coming-of-age movie. At the old-style boatshed, friendly staff help visitors into kayaks at a nostalgic price of around $15 per hour. Nearby, a simple rope swing launches laughing children into clear, blue water. Life moves slowly here—no one is rushing, shoes are optional, and there’s plenty of space for everyone to enjoy simple, carefree fun.
The shallow, calm waters of Currumbin make it ideal for families, beginners, and young children. After a short introduction to kayaking, kids happily paddle, tip each other over, and laugh without a care in the world. Small groups drift into sandy inlets, turning the river into an imaginative playground filled with “pirate treasure” and colourful fish.
Heading further upriver, you may spot a large flying fox colony while gliding through mangrove-lined waterways. Crabs scuttle below the branches, and fish move quietly among submerged tree roots. Further upstream, the Boatshed also offers guided tours for around $45, passing a peaceful waterfront koala habitat. When you’re done, swap your kayak for a coffee at the Café by the Bridge and relax as the kids continue splashing and playing nearby.
Where : The Boatshed, 2-4 Thrower Drive, Currumbin
Suits : Families, Difficulty : easy
Hire : www.currumbinboatshed.com.au
The next closest option is Tallebudgera, the romantic river at the northern end of Palm Beach, just a relaxed 20-minute walk along the beach from Blue Ocean Apartment. Considered the prettiest of the five rivers, Tallebudgera features a winding course, secluded beaches, and untouched natural beauty, making it an ideal destination for romance. Hire kayaks from All Coast Paddle Board Hire opposite Burleigh Headland for $20 per hour and allow the gentle current to carry you past the quiet, forest-edged Echo Beach. Paddle west as the water shifts from turquoise to emerald, heading toward the distinctive outline of the Springbrook Plateau, the river’s source. Along the way, discover small islands barely larger than your kayak, perfect for two, a picnic basket, and a bottle of champagne. On your return, Echo Beach awaits, where weddings are often held on its soft white sands.
Where : Talebudgera Leisure Centre, 1525 Gold Coast HWY, Palm Beach
Best for : Couples : Easy
Highlights : paddling across to Echo Beach and exploring Burleigh Headland
Eat : Bring a picnic or head to the leisure for good coffee and sandwiches
Hire : www.allcoastpaddleboardshire.com.au
“I’ve never had anyone come out and not catch a fish,” says Andy Klienschmidt of Kayak Fishing Tours (from $115) as the sun rises above the horizon. Andy calmly and confidently explains how the specially designed, pedal-powered fishing kayak and its equipment work. Unlike the southern rivers, there are no waterfront houses here and very few boats, creating a peaceful fishing environment.
Choose from a half-day or full-day standard tour, or opt for the adrenaline-filled shark fishing tour, available from November to January. Pike, flathead, trevally, and whiting are among the species you may catch. Andy has a talent for turning almost anyone into a fisherman, with optional bait-gathering lessons that include collecting worms on the beach and pumping for yabbies—an ideal introduction for beginners.
Where: Colman Road, Coomera: 34 kms north of Sufers
Best for: Fishing, wilderness - easy / moderate
Highlight: drifting down a mangrove - lined creek
Eat: what ever you catch, Andy also provides nacks
Tours: www.kayakfishingtours.com.au
In a city where the pace is often hectic, the longest of the five rivers offers a calm retreat for quiet reflection. Adventure Outlet delivers kayaks for $120 per day to Jabiru Island near the mouth of the Coomera, allowing visitors to experience the untouched wilderness of Coombabah Lake, an internationally significant tidal wetland that remains much as it was when the Kombumerri people travelled these waters in stringybark canoes.
Today, kayaks and canoes are still the only permitted watercraft, and the peaceful atmosphere is filled only with the sounds of native wildlife, the breeze, and the call of square-tailed kites overhead. Coombabah translates to “place of turtles,” though its greatest draw is the rich birdlife. The 2,000-hectare shorebird sanctuary is protected under international agreements with China and Japan, providing a vital resting place for migratory species such as the endangered Eastern Curlew on their journey to Siberia. For those seeking a physical challenge, the 16-kilometre paddle to the base of Tamborine Mountain is invigorating—especially fitting given that Coomera means “blood” in Aboriginal language.
Where : Jabiru Island, Paradise Point 17 km north of Surfers.
Best for : Confident Kayakers looking for solitude and adventure : Moderate
Highlight : a nautical pas de deux with black swans on Coombaba Lake
Hire/Tours : www.adventureoutlet.com.au
A historic trade route linking Nerang, Surfers Paradise, and Southport, the Nerang River weaves through a city with more kilometres of canals than Venice and Amsterdam combined, making it best explored on a guided tour. High above the city at Hinze Dam, Seaway Kayaking Tours offers a rare chance to paddle in the city’s drinking water, surrounded by forested mountains, followed by a post-paddle brunch ($115).
As many participants are first-time kayakers, tour leaders Andres and Daniel are patient with beginners and focused on creating a relaxed, enjoyable experience. Here, you glide over the upper branches of submerged trees in the flooded valley, free from tides and boat traffic. After brunch, an interpretive museum walk provides insight into the Gold Coast’s early settler life.
Further downriver, Australian Kayaking Adventures brings strong local knowledge to life. Owner Steven Vah shares fascinating Indigenous and modern history during the two-hour Sunset Tour ($55) around Surfers Paradise, where guests enjoy wine and cheese amid high-rises and waterfront mansions. For wildlife encounters, Steve’s Dolphin and Stradbroke Tour ($85) offer excellent opportunities to see Australian pelicans skimming the water like seaplanes, or the rare golden wallaby found only on South Stradbroke Island. Dolphins are commonly spotted, and encounters with turtles, stingrays, tropical fish, dugong, and even humpback whales have been known to occur, making the experience uniquely immersive from the quiet of a kayak.
Where : Hinze Dam tour departs western boat ramp, Nerang- Murwillumbah Road Advancetown ,
23 kms west of Surfers: Sunset Tour departs River , Drive Budds Beach, Sufers
Best for : Adventures easy/moderate
Highlight : Moutain scenery; Broadwater wildlife
Tours : www.seawaykayakingtours.com.au and www.australiankayakingadventures.com.au
3 TIPS FOR HAPPY YAKKING:


Hire your Kayak here on Currumbin Creek, Palm Bech on the Gold Coast.
Source: Jetstar Magazine : November 2015
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