Where to surf near Palm Beach

Palm Beach is a beach break, which means it changes with the sandbanks and the swell rather than staying the same year-round. The advantage of staying on the sand is that you can look at it from the lawn before deciding whether to bother.

Out front, the artificial reef off Nineteenth Avenue has reshaped the banks in recent years and the stretch between there and the surf club picks up most swell directions. It works best on a smaller swell with light offshore wind in the morning. On a big south swell it closes out, and that is the day to drive.

Currumbin Alley, a few minutes south, is the obvious alternative and the best beginner wave on this part of the coast: a long, gentle right that breaks over sand at the mouth of Currumbin Creek. It gets crowded for exactly that reason, and the inside section is where learners should stay.

Wind matters more here than swell size. A west or south-west wind holds the faces up along this whole stretch and is why everyone surfs early; by mid-morning in summer the north-easter usually arrives and flattens everything out. A small, clean swell with a light offshore beats a big messy one at every one of these breaks.

Burleigh Heads, ten minutes north, is a serious wave. On a solid east or south-east swell the point produces long, hollow rights, and the lineup is competitive. Watch it from the headland before paddling out — it is not a wave to learn on, and the rocks at the top of the point are unforgiving.

Further south, Snapper Rocks, Rainbow Bay and Greenmount form the Superbank, one of the longest sand-bottom point breaks in the world. On the right swell it runs from Snapper through to Kirra. It is twelve minutes from the house and it is the reason people move here.

A rough progression if you are learning: start on the inside at Currumbin Alley on a small day, move to the banks out front at Palm Beach once you can turn, and leave Burleigh and Snapper until you are comfortable in a crowded lineup. The southern Gold Coast is a competitive place to surf and local etiquette is taken seriously — wait your turn, don't drop in, and you will be fine anywhere on this coast.

Board hire is available at Currumbin and Coolangatta, and there are surf schools at the Alley running group and private lessons most mornings.