Things To Do In Mount Tamborine: The Complete Guide (2026)

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Mount Tamborine has been a regular escape for us for years — an hour from Brisbane, half an hour from the Gold Coast, and a world away from both. We’ve visited in all seasons, with our kids at different ages, and it never gets old.

It’s hard not to love a place so scenic, but my favourite part is how it has a European vibe. When looking for things to do in Mount Tamborine, there’s no shortage of outdoor activities, quaint shops and yummy eats to fill a day or more.

Here’s everything worth doing on Mount Tamborine — from rainforest walks and glow worms to wineries, craft beer and the best cheese in the Gold Coast hinterland.

For a unique experience book a glow-worm night tour to Curtis Falls

Quick Picks: Mt Tamborine Activities

• Best things to do in Mt Tamborine with kids: Thunderbird Park
• Best nature trails: Cedar Creek Falls
• Best places to eat & drink: Fortitude Brewing & Witches Chase Cheese
• Most unique experience: O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards alpaca walk, glow worm tour

The Ultimate Guide To Mount Tamborine

Mount Tamborine sits in the Gold Coast Hinterland, about an hour from Brisbane and 30 minutes from the Gold Coast. It’s made up of several small villages — North Tamborine is the main hub with most of the shops, cafes and restaurants — surrounded by more than half a mountain of national park.

Tamborine Mountain is a popular destination to visit on a day trip from Brisbane or the Gold Coast, as a haven for nature lovers!

This guide will help you plan your perfect Mt Tamborine itinerary with fun things to do for families, kids and for adults, whether you are visiting for a day or staying a while.

Best Time To Visit Mount Tamborine?

Year-round, but spring (September to November) is particularly lovely with mild temperatures and wildflowers. It gets busy on weekends and during school holidays — visit midweek if you can.

Best Places To Stay In Mount Tamborine

There are several different accommodation options on Mount Tamborine, from camping and caravan parks to luxury B&Bs and self-contained apartments.

Stay connected from the moment you land with an eSim. There’s no need to swap physical SIM cards. It takes just a few minutes to set up before you leave. We always use an eSim from Airalo.

The Best Things To Do In Mount Tamborine

Now that we’ve got the basics of visiting Mt Tamborine planned, it’s time to plan the fun stuff! Here are our top picks for the best things to do on Mount Tamborine:

Stoll The Gallery Walk

The Gallery Walk is an 800-metre long stretch of road lined with cafes, restaurants, boutique shops and art galleries.

With more than 70 stores, it’s the perfect place to spend an afternoon exploring and enjoying some unique retail therapy!

Make sure you stop by Chocolates On Gallery Walk, where you can sample some of their delicious handmade chocolates. Granny Macs Fudge Store is also a must-stop with over 40 flavours of fudge to choose from!

You won’t want to visit Mt Tambo without a cooler or esky to take home some goodies!

The German Cuckoo Clock Nest is another great stop with the famous Bavarian-inspired Chalet that features incredible displays of cuckoo clocks, grandfather clocks and watches. This is a rare opportunity to get yourself an authentic German clock without having to leave Australia! We always love popping in here.

Plan your visit to Australia’s best chocolate factories and tasting experiences.

Glow Worm Caves Tamborine Mountain

The Glow Worm Caves are a fun thing to do on Mt Tamborine with kids! Our last visit was with a toddler who thought it was pure magic!

These magical man-made caves are home to thousands of glow worms that light up the darkness with their bioluminescent bodies. During a tour, your guide leads you through the rainforest boardwalk and through the cave with guaranteed sightings no matter the time of day.

The best part of this is it means you can fit the glow worm experience into your day trip, without having to stay overnight if you’re short on time.

There is also a self-guided insect and frog exhibit included with your glow worm experience.

The Glow Worm Caves are located in Tamborine Mountain at Cedar Creek Estate Vineyard and Winery. There is also a butterfly walk experience.

You can also book a glow-worm night tour to Curtis Falls if you want to see a naturally occurring glow worm cave.

Thunderbird Park

Thunderbird Park is one of the best family activity hubs in the Gold Coast Hinterland and there’s genuinely enough here to fill a full day. Their claim to fame is being Australia’s biggest adventure park — and so many activities on site, that’s hard to argue with.

The standout for families is the Tree Top Adventures zip-lining course.

Younger kids (aged 3-7) have their own Junior Course, while those 8 and over can tackle the full course. The Canyon Flyer is the big one for older kids and teens, a guided experience with 7 ziplines to kick things off. Sessions run on weekends and Queensland school holidays across three time slots a day. Book ahead as these fill quickly.

Beyond the ziplines, the TreeTop Challenge high ropes course has more than 100 challenges and 11 flying foxes, plus a giant swing.

The other thing it is well known for is the Thunderegg Crystal Mine, which is a guaranteed hit. Kids fossick for thundereggs in what claims to be the world’s largest thunderegg mine, or pan for crystals to take home.

There’s also mini golf, laser skirmish, a funfair and on-site accommodation ranging from campsites and basic cabins through to glamping — making it worth considering as a base for a night or two rather than just a day trip.

Peddly Picnics

For something a little different, Peddly Picnics offers a guided cycling and picnic experience around Tamborine Mountain, a lovely way to explore the area at a relaxed pace while sampling local produce along the route.

It’s one of those experiences that sits perfectly between a nature walk and a foodie afternoon, and a good option if you want something more structured than wandering the Gallery Walk.

Check their website for current tour options and availability as the schedule varies seasonally.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Mt Tamborine is one of the most popular spots in Australia for hang gliding and paragliding with incredible views over the Gold Coast skyline and Hinterland.

If you’re looking for an adrenaline-pumping activity, then this is definitely something to add to your Mt Tamborine bucket list!

There are a few different companies that offer tandem flights so you can experience the rush of take-off, flying and landing without having to do any of the hard work yourself!

Mt Tamborine Botanic Gardens

The Mt Tamborine Botanic Gardens is one of the most picturesque places in the area, with open grassy areas, and over 11 hectares of garden areas.

The gardens are home to an incredible array of native and exotic plants, as well as a stunning waterfall and pond. There is also a Japanese garden and rose garden here. The gardens are open every day and entry is free!

This is one of the best places to enjoy a picnic in Mt Tamborine, especially if you picked up some delicious local produce, cheese and sweets from your Gallery Walk. Bring your picnic blanket or set up at one of the many picnic tables.

It’s a cute spot and doesn’t get to busy usually.

Some of the most popular are Witches Falls Winery, Cedar Creek Estate Winery, Castle Glen and Albert River Wines. But you will find plenty more wine tasting opportunities in North Tamborine and the surrounding region.

It’s a little further away, around 35 minutes from Mt Tamborine, but O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards is a favourite of ours. Not only do they have delicious wines, yummy food and beautiful grounds to enjoy a picnic, but you can also do an alpaca walk! There is no greater joy than having your own alpaca buddy for a while!

Grab A Brewery Tasting Paddle

Mt Tamborine is also home to several craft breweries, so if you’re a beer lover, this is the place for you!

Fortitude Brewing is one of the best South East Queensland microbreweries and cellar door and we almost always stop here for a meal, paddle (for Simon) or some takeaways when we are visiting. They brew both Fortitude and Noisy Minor beers on site.

They often have live music on weekends and you can either grab food from the brewery or grab a cheese platter from Witches Chase Cheese.

Bearded Dragon Hotel at the foothills of Mount Tambourine is another great place to visit and grab a tasting paddle. They offer their own brews and lots of other varieties too and it’s a really cool Aussie pub icon.

Visit The Markets

Visitors come from afar each month to visit the Tamborine Mountain Country Markets, which are run on the second Sunday each month at the Mt Tamborine showgrounds.

The Green Shed Produce Market is a farmers’ market held every Sunday at the Tamborine Mountain Showgrounds from 7 am to noon.

Witches Chase Cheese Factory

Witches Chase Cheese Factory is a working cheese factory where you can see the cheese being made and then sample and buy some of their delicious products. You will find Witches Chase at Fortitude Brewing, making it a perfect opportunity to pair with local beer (or wine)

We never leave Mt Tambourine without some cheese to take home! The Tamembert is a favourite. Their version of Camembert. So good!

Some popular places to dine with a view are St. Bernard’s Hotel and Cedar Creek Estate Restaurant. Unfortunately our favourite spot, The Police Place, closed down after 40 years.

You will find a lot of European influences in the food and architecture of Tambourine Mountain also, which adds to the appeal during your day trip or longer stay.

Mt Tamborine Walking Tracks

There are plenty of walking tracks to explore on Mt Tamborine and you can easily spend a day (or two) exploring the area.

Tamborine Mountain National Park is one of the largest national parks in South East Queensland and was also declared Queensland’s first national park back in 1907.

Here you will find many different walking tracks and trails to suit all levels of difficulty, from short walks with the kids to longer full-day treks.

Curtis Falls

One of the most popular is the Curtis Falls track, which is a moderate 1.1km return loop that takes around 30 minutes to complete. The track winds through the rainforest and passes by the stunning Curtis Falls before returning to the car park.

There are a few steps to walk on this route though so be prepared for this one the way back.

MacDonald Rainforest Circuit

If you’re looking for an easy family walk that doesn’t involve too many stairs or steep sections, the MacDonald Rainforest Circuit is the pick of the Mt Tamborine walking tracks. It’s a relatively flat 1.4km loop graded level 3 — expect around 35 minutes at a comfortable pace — winding through lush rainforest and peaceful palm groves.

It’s particularly popular with birdwatchers and is one of the better options if you have small kids or anyone who finds the stairs on the Curtis Falls track a challenge. Look for it in the McDonald section of Tamborine Mountain National Park.

Cedar Creek Falls

Cedar Creek Falls is an easy-grade walk off of Cedar Creek Falls Road. The Cedar Creek Falls lookout track is a 500m return walk and takes around 15 minutes.

Otherwise, it is a 30-minute return trip to the rock pools with stairs on the return walk. The pools are a great spot to cool off during the summer months too!

Places To Visit Near Mount Tamborine

If you’re looking for more things to do while you’re on the Mountain, you won’t struggle to find options. The Gold Coast Hinterland… and the Gold Coast itself are both on the doorstep of this beautiful mountain range!

There is no shortage of things to do on Tamborine Mountain. Whether you’re a wine lover, foodie or just love nature and hiking, there’s something for everyone. We’ve listed just a few of our favourites here, but there is plenty more to do in the Scenic Rim beyond beautiful Mount Tamborine!

We hope these best things to do in Tamborine Mountain help you plan your visit!

Have you been to Mount Tamborine? What are your favourite things to do there? Let us know in the comments below!