Gold Coast Travel Answers

You can either fly into Coolangatta or Brisbane and get to any part of the Gold Coast within an hour. Coolangatta is the Cold Coast airport but Brisbane isn't much further and sometimes you find cheaper flights into Brisbane. I personally don't like Surfers Paradise but prefer Broadbeach and Main Beach. The beaches are much the same all the way from Coolangatta to Main Beach. June is Winter so the temperature could be quite cool. Probably high teens/low 20's. As far as the theme parks go Dreamworld is more about rides with probably the most extreme rides. Movie World has the rides and also the characters and some shows-a car show. Sea World has some rides and animal shows-dolphins, seals. It depends on what you're interested in. There is loads of accommodation so it depends on what you're after and what you want to spend. Look on wotif.com to get an idea.

You're really going to need to narrow down what you want to do because 3 full days (with a marathon in between) is really not a lot of time, depending on what your interests are like (e.g. do you want to go to more theme parks than scenery, etc.). If you like thrill rides, go for Dreamworld, as it'll be the best of the lot. That might take you most of the day, depending on your interests. It has the thrill rides, in addition to animals like koalas, kangaroos, etc. Aside from the beaches (and don't restrict yourself to just Surfers Paradise), you can go to the national parks like Mt Tamborine, Springbrook National Park, Lamington National Park. For shopping, it depends on what you're afteer. You'll find plenty of shops in Surfers Paradise, and they all open later than anywhere else. There's also Pacific Fair (a big shopping mall) in Surfers Paradise. You also have Robina Town Centre, and there's Harbourtown Shopping Mall in Biggera Waters which is full of discount factory outlets. For nightlife, Surfers Paradise has quite a few options. You could try Stingray at the QT Hotel in Surfers Paradise. It's going to be Winter here, but, the Gold Coast is not going to be as cold as areas south of Queensland like Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, etc. Keep an eye out on the weather forecast here (scroll until you see the GC section): bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/sec... What's your budget range? There are many hotels/apartments on the GC, so, it just depends on what your maximum price is per night. Take a look at www.wotif.com/ as suggested above, as you can get a good idea of what's available within your price range. You do not have to stay in Surfers Paradise, but shops do close later there than anywhere else on the GC and there other touristy things to see/do there like going to SkyPoint, Haunted House, Ripley's Believe It or Not, etc. Surfers Paradise has more nightlife options, but, I agree with the above - Look elsewhere at places like Broadbeach which I think has a nicer atmosphere, and it's only ten minutes drive away from Surfers Paradise, so, you're not too far away. Surfers Paradise is not near the Airport, but Coolangatta is the area where the Airport is. However, if you're going to the theme parks, most tourists will stay closer to more central areas like Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Main Beach, etc., as you'll need to travel a lot further if you're staying in Coolangatta.