Gold Coast Markets: Days, Times and Where to Go

Gold Coast markets run almost every day of the week, and the busiest are on weekends. Carrara is open Saturday and Sunday, HOTA fills Sunday mornings, two night markets cover the week, and three beachfront markets each take one Sunday a month.

This guide lists them by day, with the hours, the spot and the practical bits, so you can pick one for today. Carrara, the Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets and Miami Marketta are free to enter; the HOTA and Coastal Markets organisers do not publish an entry price.

Gold Coast markets at a glance

Market	Days	Hours	Where
Carrara Markets	Every Saturday and Sunday	8 am to 3 pm	Gooding Drive and Manchester Road, Carrara
HOTA Markets	Every Sunday	6 am to 11:30 am	135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise
Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets	Wednesday, Friday and Saturday	4 pm to 9 pm	The Foreshore, beside the Esplanade, Surfers Paradise
Miami Marketta	Wednesday to Saturday	From 5 pm	23 Hillcrest Parade, Miami
Coastal Markets Broadbeach	1st and 3rd Sunday of the month	8 am to 2 pm	Kurrawa Park, Broadbeach
Coastal Markets Coolangatta	2nd Sunday of the month (and the 4th Sunday in months with five Sundays)	8 am to 2 pm	Queen Elizabeth Park, Coolangatta
Coastal Markets Burleigh	Last Sunday of the month	8 am to 2 pm	Justins Park, Burleigh Heads

Gold Coast markets on a Saturday

Carrara Markets is the big one, open from 8 am to 3 pm. Entry and parking are both free, according to the organiser, and the car park holds well over 4,000 cars. It is about 60 minutes by car from Brisbane CBD. Our Carrara Markets guide covers what is on site.

For a Saturday evening, the Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets run from 4 pm to 9 pm on the foreshore, and Miami Marketta opens its night market from 5 pm.

Gold Coast markets on a Sunday

Sunday has the most choice. Carrara keeps its 8 am to 3 pm hours, and HOTA Markets is the early one: 6 am to 11:30 am every Sunday, beside the arts precinct at 135 Bundall Road. Come early if you want the best of the produce.

The three Coastal Markets run from 8 am to 2 pm on set Sundays, so check which one is on:

• 1st and 3rd Sunday: Broadbeach, at Kurrawa Park on the beachfront.
• 2nd Sunday: Coolangatta, at Queen Elizabeth Park. In a month with five Sundays, it also runs on the 4th.
• Last Sunday: Burleigh, at Justins Park off The Esplanade.

The organiser says all three trade rain, hail or shine, but it advises checking its social media for updates.

Gold Coast night markets

Two markets run in the evening, and both are free to enter.

Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets

Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 4 pm to 9 pm, on the foreshore beside the Esplanade. The organiser says street parking is free and that it posts trading changes on social media. Our Beachfront Markets guide has the detail.

Miami Marketta

From Wednesday to Saturday, from 5 pm, at 23 Hillcrest Parade, Miami. No bookings are needed. It is a street food night market, and ticketed gigs are extra. Parking is limited on the nearby streets, so the organiser suggests walking in from the Miami light rail stop. See our Miami Marketta guide.

The markets one by one

Carrara Markets

Carrara is the weekend market for a full morning out. It sits on the corner of Gooding Drive and Manchester Road, opens at 8 am and closes at 3 pm on both Saturday and Sunday, and charges nothing for entry or parking. The organiser’s map and services page lists the amenities on site, and its how-to-get-here page covers the road and bus routes.

Plan on a couple of hours. Go early if you want a close park and quieter aisles, and stay until lunch for the food stalls.

HOTA Markets

HOTA Markets is the early one. It runs every Sunday from 6 am to 11:30 am at 135 Bundall Road, in the arts precinct beside Evandale Lake, so it pairs well with a walk by the water afterwards. The organiser, Goodwill Projects, posts trading updates on social media. HOTA’s parking rules give free parking before 9 am, then the first 4 hours free from 9 am if you enter your registration, but HOTA warns that parking can be limited during the markets, so ride-share or public transport is worth considering.

The Coastal Markets at Broadbeach, Coolangatta and Burleigh

These three are run by the same organiser and share the same hours, 8 am to 2 pm, but each has its own Sunday. They sit on the beachfront, so they suit a swim or a walk on the sand before or after.

• Broadbeach is at Kurrawa Park. There are two sets of toilets, one at each end of the park, and the light rail makes it the easiest of the three without a car.
• Coolangatta is at Queen Elizabeth Park, off Marine Parade, close to the Queensland and New South Wales border.
• Burleigh is at Justins Park, off The Esplanade, with toilets at the southern end of the park.

Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets

This is the market to pick if your day is on the sand. It runs on the foreshore beside the Esplanade, so you can walk straight from the beach to the stalls from 4 pm. It is open three evenings a week: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Miami Marketta

Miami Marketta is an evening street food market with free entry, open from Wednesday to Saturday from 5 pm. It also hosts ticketed gigs, which cost extra, and one-off markets on its calendar, so check its website for what is on the night you go.

Which Gold Coast market should you pick?

• A big family morning with free parking: Carrara, Saturday or Sunday.
• An early start and fresh produce: HOTA, Sunday from 6 am.
• A beach day with stalls on the side: a Coastal Market at Broadbeach, Coolangatta or Burleigh, on its Sunday.
• Dinner and a stroll after the beach: Surfers Paradise Beachfront on a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday evening.
• Street food and live music at night: Miami Marketta, Wednesday to Saturday.

If you are visiting on a weekday, only the two night markets are on, so a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday plan means Miami Marketta, with Surfers Paradise Beachfront added on Wednesday and Friday.

Getting to Gold Coast markets

Drive times from Brisbane CBD, without traffic: Carrara about 60 minutes, Surfers Paradise and HOTA about 65, Broadbeach about 70, Burleigh and Miami about 75 and Coolangatta about 80.

Parking is free at Carrara. Surfers Paradise Beachfront has free street parking, and Miami Marketta has limited street parking. At Broadbeach there is on-site parking in front of Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club, and at Burleigh there is the Justins Park car park plus street bays along The Esplanade. Coolangatta has on-site parking along Marine Parade, including disabled bays. G:link light rail runs to Broadbeach, and the Gold Coast bus route 700 serves the southern beachfront.

The council parks pages list toilets at all three Coastal Market parks, including a disability toilet at each.

Planning your market day

• Cost: Entry is free at Carrara, Surfers Paradise Beachfront and Miami Marketta. Bring cash and a card for stalls.
• Best time: Arrive early at HOTA and Carrara for the best choice. Go close to sunset at the Surfers Paradise foreshore.
• What to bring: A hat, water, reusable bags, and a towel if you plan to hit the beach after a Coastal Market.
• Check first: Trading changes are posted on each organiser’s social media pages.

For something longer than a market, see our guide to things to do on the Gold Coast, or our posts on Broadbeach and Coolangatta Beach. More markets are in the Markets category, and dated events are on what’s on.

HOTA also runs a Christmas Twilight Market on Saturday 19 December, 4 pm to 9 pm.

Details can change, so check the organiser’s website before you go.

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