Cabarita is a small town on the Tweed Coast, half an hour south of Coolangatta, with a right-hand point that wraps around Norries Headland. It catches the same swells as the Gold Coast with a fraction of the crowd, which is exactly why locals like it.
The point and the beaches
The point at Cabarita works like a smaller version of the Gold Coast points: swell wraps around the headland and peels down a sandbank. It needs a decent east to south-east swell and a southerly wind to line up. The beaches either side of the headland are more exposed, so they pick up more swell and suit north-west winds.
Between the point and the beaches, there's usually something to surf on most wind directions. That flexibility is the real appeal of the Tweed Coast.
Worth knowing
- The headland is a good lookout for checking the point and both beaches at once.
- Sand banks shift after big swells, so the beach breaks change a lot season to season.
- It's a quiet town. Be a good guest in the water.
We don't text on a forecast. We text when the live readings for Cabarita (swell size, period, direction, wind and tide) all fall inside the window that particular break needs, and only in daylight.
Want to see what real alerts look like? Our firing board shows the spots that have actually turned on recently, with the swell and wind at the time.
Related reading: Duranbah (D-Bah) Surf Guide and How the Seafloor Decides Wave Size.
Closest spot guides
- D-Bah, about 20 km away
- Snapper Rocks, about 20 km away
- Kirra, about 20 km away
- Currumbin Alley, about 25 km away
Or browse every break we cover in our Australian surf spot guides by region.