Gold Coast Travel Forum

Hi,
My husband and i are planning to take our 3 kids ( 5, 3 and 1yr olds) up the Goldcoast this December during the christmas season. We were planning to stay for 2 weeks but im not so sure know since christmas season is high rate season for accommodation, 2wks will cost us a fortune!! plus i am also worried if 2 wks is too long? is there many things to do beside seeing all the attraction and theme parks? how many days would be enough to visit sea world, dream world, wet and wild, movie world, shopping and beaches?

As we are on a very tight budget , we would like to know if there is any cheap accommodation for a family of 5? cabin, apartment or self contain houses or hoilday parks?
is there any family or kids friendly type accommodation that you can highly rate? or have stayed at and really liked? i would like to know your opinion.

is there any great deals you know of during the christmas season please do let me know, your help is greatly appreciated!!

i love caravanning but sadly we dont own a caravan but i was just wondering is it alot cheaper, if travel and staying in our own caravan at holiday parks?? usually how much would it cost per night for a family of 5? we would be driving up from sydney so i guess petrol cost would be alot!!!

thanks in advance!!

Hi, we are coming up to celebrate New Year's Eve on the Gold Coast with three children aged 3, 4 and 6. Could you please tell me if any of the theme parks have family nights or what there is to do with children on New Years Eve. Also is there a good restaurant that we could go to that is family-friendly on this night.
We are also looking for a cheap tarago to rent while we are there (we need a 7 seater). We are staying in Southport. Does anyone know if there is a cheap car rental place near there.
thanks for your help

Is there much too do on christmas day on the gold coast.

i will be at gold coast staying surfer paradise for 5 days around 20th november. can someone advise me where can i learn surfing? 5 days enough for me to get into action?:)

Hi,
Husband and myself will be spending New year's eve in Gold coast. What is a good place to have NYE dinner and await the fireworks? or are there any other must see/do NYE happenings that we need to know about? We're not really into parties and getting drunk :) Saw there are cruises thats being offered. are they any good? what's the best option?

And oh, we're staying in surfers paradise and I dont think we'll be getting a car.

Thanks in advance!

Will be travelling to Cairns from Surfers Paradise to arrive there Oct. 22.
Bus, Train, how long is the trip? Will have 2 days to make it.
Any suggested stops along the way?

Hi

I am going to be in Surfers area from tomorrow night for a week.
I really really want to travel to Brisbane to experience the Riverfire show on Saturday, but being a budget tourist and no hire car etc. I worried late evening after the show and battling through the obvious crowds etc that i wont find a way to get back to Surfers and get stuck!

IF and How can i get back from centre of Brisbane late saturday evening (11pm ish?) to Surfers Paradise using public transport? And if anyone knows rough cost etc?

Many thanks

Lee

I am staying at Soveriegn hotel in the gold coast and want to go to a couple of theme parks. Do I need to rent a car - or is there transportation available from the hotels?

Thanks.

Dear all,
Can anyone recommend some good restaurant at Nerang town.Thank you.

Hi,

I am Lyana from Malaysia.
I will be travelling to Gold Coast from Dec 15 - 26, 2009. There will be 8 adults, 2 kids (2 & 7 yrs old) and 1 infant.

I would lik to know:

1. the cheapest care rental provider with good value for many
2. the taxi fare from coolangatta airport to santana resort, surfers paradise

My itenary as below. Anywhere else that I should go?

Day 1: Arrival in Gold Coast. Transfer to Santana Resort, Gold Coast.
Free at Leisure through out the day or shopping.
Day 2: Visit Harbour Town shopping centre
Day 3: Art & Craft Markets Gold Coast, Carrara Markets, Sirocco Factory Outlet, Trade Secret, Sporty’s Warehouse
Day 3: Dreamland
Day 4: Seaworld
Day 5: Movie World
Day 6: Beach
Day 7: King Tutt's Putt Putt
Day 8, 9, 10, 11????

Please help. We are also on tight budget

Ok, really not the site I should be posting on, we are new to the GC, at the moment living in an apartment in surfers with two kids, we have no idea where a good area to live is, everywhere here seems really beautiful. Just not sure of good schools etc as we know no one here, if any locals could help out it would be great, thanks so much!

Hi all

Will be in GC 1st week of December. Now i've got to solve the transport problem. We will need to have transfer between brisbane airport to our hotel at Broadbeach. I've check with GC Charter and they are charging us $370 for a private 2 way transfer. It's over budget for me. I've looked at coachtrans and conxion too.Rates are better but it's not a private transfer and i'm worried about the taken taken to drop all passengers might be too long and my baby might get cranky.Both my hubby and i cant drive too. So no car hiring for us.

What should i do? Visiting all the theme parks will need transport too. Please offer some advice. Thanks.

Hello,

I will be bring my 3 kids, 12,10 and 3 to GC in first week of Dec. As we are going free and easy, we will need transportation around GC. I understand that there is a GC shuttle where we can book at the airport. It offers freedom pass that will allow us airport transfers and travel to most attractions in GC . Is it still in operation?

We intend to visit dreamworld and movie world and do some shopping. Any other place that we should visit?(along shuttle line) Where's the best place to shop for great deals on clothes and souvenirs?

Lastly, we intend to book an apartment. Any good recommendations.Thks a million.

Dear all,

Does any one know what the cheapest transport is from Gold Coast (any of beaches on Gold Coast) to Hervey Bay (near Fraser Island)? I.e. is there public transport available for this route?

Thanks so much!

I will be reaching Brisbane airport at 10pm on 21 aug.Will be driving for the 1st time in Australia.I would like to ask is it easy to drive from airport to holiday inn surfers paradise.Any sign should i take note....also is that time a school holiday?I will be staying at cedar lake country resort for a few days,how is that place?Thanks for the helps in advance.

we have 6 weeks between byron bay and cairns, is 6 weeks a good amount of time to see everything in between? surfers paradise, byron bay, airlie beach, great barrier reef, fraser and the whitsundays etc etc

if anyone could give me some opinions on where to stay longer or just any general information would be much appreciated,

cheers folks

Hi
Is there a coach service that would take me from Gold Coast Airport to Brisbane CBD?
Thanks.

Hello :D

going over to surfers paradise next week (for a week's holiday) and wondering how's the H1N1 flu virus situation over there ... thanks to advise.

:D :D :D

Hi - we're visiting family in Brisbane over xmas this year and want to spend a week recovering afterwards in either Noosa or Caloundra.

We'll have a 2.5yr old and a 6mth old baby to entertain...

We've heard Noosa is classier but pricey and Caloundra may be best for kids/families.

Does anyone have any recommendations on which town and any resorts/hotels you've been to which offer apartment style /self catering accommodation with aircon and a good shallow pool for toddlers? Maybe a playground with slides, swings?

Most of the "Kid Friendly" resorts assume older kids with deep pools and access right outside the accommodation - too scary.

Hi,

I'll be going to Gold Coast soon end of July for 4 days with my elderly parent who cant handle too much walking/hiking.
The weather will be one thing to cope with as it'll be in mid of winter, but planning things to do there will be another? Can anyone reccommend places to visit/things to do there that isnt too adventurous and more of leisurely nature.

I had thought of taking the catch a crab tour- not sure how interesting this is, can anyone comment?

As we are muslim, winery tour is out. So any other suggestion would be appreciated.

4 of us will visit gold coast 2 weeks later. We will touch town to brisbane airport on thursday morning. My hotel is Royal Wood, Ashmore. I believe that its too early for me to check in, thus we plan to walk walk around brisbane airport. and the rest of the day is free.
my second day is to catch a crab cruise, finish at 11am then plan to go currumbin wildlife sanctuary, evening time will be suffer paradise
On sat we go to sea world and sun we go to Movie world
the monday plan to go some market place to buy some fruits back to my country, thus we choose tropical fruit world then harbour town for shopping.
Can anyone suggest to me that where should i go except tropical fruits world and what should i do afrer i reach airport on thursday

Hi to all fellow VTers!!

We are planning to spend a week in the Gold Coast as part of our Australian Holiday. We have 3 children in our group aged 15,12 and 8. I'd love to have some suggestions about how we could spend our week. I mean which theme parks are really good and what are the other attractions in the Gold Coast which should not be misssed?? Any suggestions for hiking spots??

Thanx!!

Nazima.

Hi...
Im going to Gold coast, planning to stay in Surfer's paradise for 4 days, taking my 5 year old son with us. Beside going to theme parks, I'm interested to bring him to a see koalas and kangaroos.
I've done some research and it seems that there are many but could not have a clear view which is best. I am more interested in a place where my son can interact with the animals, such as feeding them and or patting them....

Can anyone please advise me where to go and that is closest to surfer paradise.

Thanks a bunch.

Hi, i am a malaysian and will be taking my family to GC this June. All of us hv never been to GC and no frens there. i am hoping to get some info on the bus transportation and also some travel tips as i want to make a enjoyable and memorable trip for my family. We hv booked our hotel at Santana Resort.

i want to know :-

1) how much is the taxi fare from coolangatta airport to santana resort
2) is there any bus service from airport to town? how much is the fare?
3) cheaper to take a taxi or bus since we hv 4 pax?
4)

My boyfriend and I will be on the Gold Coast for just over a week in early May and we would like some advice on where to stay. We're looking for a place somewhere in the under $30 per person price range. Has anyone been to a really great hostel that they would like to recommend?
Also, other than surfing, any advice on what sorts of things we should really try to do/see while there?
Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi guys, new to this forum. Will be heading over to gold coast in 2 weeks, 19th to 26th april. ive been there twice before, but that was almost 10 years ago haha. currently, my itinerary is as follows

day 1: arrive at brisbane airport around 10am, half day farm tour (included in the tour package) before heading back to hotel (paradise country resort)

day 2: SEAWORLD!

day 3: MOVIEWORLD!

day 4: will be going over to sunshine coast, travel agent said the place is a must visit so will be spending the day there

day 5: supposed to be dreamworld, but im changing it to currumbin wildlife sanctuary after reading all the comments here abt that being a must visit.

day 6 & 7: this is where i need help the most. i have 2 free days. i might use up one day to go dreamworld, depends on my gf. so i need activities and suggestions that can occupy me for 1-2 days. please help! :)

day 8: flying back home in the afternoon.

and also do recommend some interesting places or GOOD dining places near my hotel area. thanks!

Hi everyone!

I'm thinking about traveling to the gold coast for the last three weeks in April..I have a friend who lives there so I will have free accomodation etc.. and don't want to pass up this chance to go! However I'm really curious about the weather...I've researched averages are 16-25 celsius but I'd love to hear from someone who's actually lived or been there in April!! I have a limited budget still so would want to spend a lot of time suntanning etc..at the beach and worry it will be too cold or raining all the time...any advice would be so soo appreciated! Thanks:D

Hi,
we are travelling to Gold Coast in April with two young children aged 6 and 9. We were planning to take the kids to Movie World, Fantasy World, Wet n Wild world and sea world. I wanted to know if all these theme parks are really worth going to with children of this age? My younger one is only 100cm tall and I know she won't be able to ride in many rides, but then again, we want them to see the best of Gold Coast. But i really would appreciate hearing from people who have been there, is it worth the 4 days to visit all the theme parks?

Is there anything else to do in GC besides beaches and theme parks cos we have an extra day with nothing much to do. Pls advice :-)

Hi All,

any idea how can I get to Central Park Plaza (area of factory outlets shops including no less than 3 huge Billabong shops, and other famous brands such as Timberland, Cult and many more) from Watermark Hotel Gold Coast located at Surfers Paradise Blvd?

Thanks

Hi All,

I will be going GC next week and will be staying at paradise resort.
Have include the following places in my itinerary:

1) Theme Parks - Movie World and Dreamworld
2) Surfers Paradise (shopping areas like cavill mall)
3) QDeck observatory deck
4) Pacific Mall / Harbour front Mall/Australia fair
5) Central Park: Billabong Factory
6) Gold Coast Hinterland - includes Mt Tamborine, Lamington park
7) Brisbane City Sights

Any other places I should go and should not miss or I should actually give it a miss?

For 6 and 7, I was thinking of signing up with tour operator. Any tour operators for recommendations? Is Scenic Hinterland Holiday Day Tours good?

Thanks