Coolangatta is the end of the line for the Gold Coast's and Queenland's beaches, as around the corner past the Tweed river you've officially gone south of the (state) border to New South Wales. And truth be told, it's also one of our favourite places to swim or just hang out in the entire city. The surrounding neighbourhood is as laid back as they come, with some of the best cafés around, while on the beach itself there are excellent conditions for both surfing an swimming, the latter thanks to two stretches known as Greenmount and Rainbow Bay, which are the only north-facing beaches in town. The golden sands are also almost literally just across the street from the Gold Coast Airport, which might be a negative for some, but we love airports and sight and sound of planes taking off and landing – unfortunately the runway is parallel to the ocean, so you don't get to see the jumbo jets a few metres above the waves like at the famed Maho Beach in St Maarten. However, perhaps best of all are the sunsets (or sunrises for that matter), with the glistening skyline of Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach on the very distant horizon some 30km away.