Gold Coast SkyPoint Observation Deck Ticket

The tower and the observation deck on level 77

The observation deck sits near the top of the Q1 building, a residential tower on Surfers Paradise Boulevard completed in 2005 and rising to about 322 metres including its spire, which made it the tallest residential building in the world when it opened and still the tallest building on the Gold Coast. Its curved glass form was inspired by the Olympic torch and the Sydney Opera House sails, and the spire is visible from most of the coast. The public deck occupies level 77, about 230 metres above the beach.

From the ground-floor reception you show your SkyPoint ticket and step into a high-speed lift that climbs the tower in around 43 seconds. The doors open onto a glass-walled floor that wraps right around the building, with exhibits on the city's history and large windows angled so that you can look straight down onto the sand.

What you see: beaches, canals and hinterland

The view from the SkyPoint Observation Deck is the reason people search for the best view of the Gold Coast. To the east the Pacific fills the horizon and the surf line of Surfers Paradise Beach runs directly below; north the beaches lead past Main Beach to the Gold Coast Seaway and the long sandbar of South Stradbroke Island, with the Broadwater and the Southport skyline inland; south the coast curves through Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads towards the headlands near the New South Wales border.

Turn west and the city changes: the Nerang River, the islands and canals of the residential suburbs, and beyond them the dark ridges of the hinterland with Mount Tamborine and the Lamington plateau. On the clearest days the high-rises of Brisbane are visible to the north-west and the Cape Byron headland far to the south, roughly 100 kilometres away.

Planning your visit: opening hours and the best time to go

The deck is open every day from 7:30 in the morning until 9:00 in the evening, with last entry at 8:30 pm, so the SkyPoint opening hours cover sunrise, the bright middle of the day and sunset in one ticket. Your ticket is valid for one entry on the day you choose; the booking panel shows a default late-morning start, but you can arrive at any time the deck is open that day. Most visitors stay about an hour, longer if they order from the café.

For photographs of the beach and the surf, mornings give the cleanest light from the east. For the classic image of the towers lit against a red sky, arrive about 45 minutes before sunset and stay as the city lights come on. Weekday mornings are the quietest time at the windows.

Surfers Paradise around the tower

The tower stands at 3003 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, one block back from the beach and a few minutes' walk south of Cavill Avenue, the pedestrian mall at the centre of Surfers Paradise. The light rail stops nearby, with direct trams to Broadbeach, Southport and the Helensvale rail interchange, and there is paid parking in the basement and in surrounding streets. The foreshore promenade, the beach and the Cavill Avenue cafés are all within walking distance, which makes the observation deck an easy first stop on a Gold Coast itinerary.

Many guests combine the deck with a river or canal cruise from the western end of Cavill Avenue, a surf lesson on the beach below or an evening along the Esplanade. Seeing the layout of the coast from above first makes everything else on the Gold Coast easier to place.