Gold Coast Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
The Gold Coast [1][2] is an extensive coastal city (actually, a conurbation of cities, towns and suburbs) in the southeast corner of the state of Queensland in Australia, located between the state capital of Brisbane to the north and the New South Wales state border to the south. Now combined into what amounts to the 6th largest city in Australia (500,000 inhabitants), the Gold Coast has long been a high profile tourist destination for Australians and overseas travelers alike. The name of the chief constituent city of the region, Surfers Paradise, says it all...
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Understand
The Gold Coast was once an informal name for the stretch of coastal towns from Surfers Paradise in the north to the state border with New South Wales in the south. With a warm climate and miles of beaches, the towns have grown rapidly, especially with migrating southern retirees. The merged towns are now suburbs of the City of Gold Coast, and the city has also stretched out to take in more areas to the north and west.
The northern end (especially Surfers Paradise to Broadbeach) is more commercialized, with plenty of action for backpackers and "schoolies" (school leavers celebrating the end of exams). The southern end still caters mainly to families holidaying from the colder southern states. Away from the coast, the western side, called the "hinterland", consists of mountain ranges covered with rainforest, much of it national park.
Get in
By plane
The Gold Coast Airport (OOL) [3] is located in Coolangatta and has frequent connections from major Australian cities and some international flights from New Zealand and Asia. A viable alternative is to fly into Brisbane Airport (BNE), and catch the direct train (90 minutes from International Terminal to Robina).
By train
Queensland Rail runs an electric CityTrain service[4] from Brisbane to Nerang and Robina, with connecting buses to Surfers Paradise, Coolangatta, and into northern New South Wales.
Get around
Surfside Buslines provide the main form of public transport around the Gold Coast and stops are located on most main roads. Buses run 24 hours a day, but are more frequent in daylight hours. All the main tourist attractions are serviced by bus, but taxis are a better option if time is of the essence, or you are traveling at night. Expect to wait up to an hour or more for a taxi on busy nights. A taxi fare between the Gold Coast Airport at Coolangatta and Surfers Paradise costs around $55 and a sedan limousine is about the same. Stretch limousines are another option for groups of more than four with a cost of around $100-$110. Another way to get from Gold Coast Airport to an accommodation house further up the coast is to book a bus transfer. These usually cost somewhere between $15 and $30 per person. Trains run between Robina, Nerang and Helensvale, but the rail service is more useful for commuting to Brisbane than getting around the Gold Coast.
See
Beaches
There are 40 km of beaches to see and almost all are patrolled by volunteer and professional lifesavers. Greenmount beach in Coolangatta offers the most spectacular scenery and views up the coast and across to the famous Snapper Rocks surfing break, home of the Quiksilver Pro. Tallebudgeera Creek is a popular swimming lagoon with families, Burleigh Heads and Kirra are home to world-renowned waves and Surfers Paradise is home to backpackers, beach volleyball, and countless tourists. 105.7 Radio Metro has detailed surf reports at 7am, midday and 3pm each day.
Hinterland
Referred to as "the green behind the gold", the Gold Coast Hinterland is home to three national parks, numerous mountains, creeks, waterfalls valleys, and natural rock formations. The area is mostly covered in sub-tropical rainforest, but sections have been cleared for dairy farm land and wineries. The Hinterland is best seen by car or on a bus tour.
Do
The Gold Coast region is big on theme parks:
- Sea World [5] — first opened in 1958, moving to its present site in 1971, Sea World is the oldest, but also one of the best established theme parks in Australia.
- Dream World [6] — traditional theme park with popular tiger zoo and the home of the Australian Big Brother House.
- Warner Bros. Movie World [7] — movie-themed park with theatres and Warner Bros. themed rides.
- Wet'n'Wild [8] — water theme park with slides, wave pool, and 'dive-in movies' at night.
- Australian Outback Spectacular - New Epic Outback Show, complete with stampeding cattle, wild horses and an Australian Dinner.
Buy
The Gold Coast is renowned for cheap souvenir and t-shirt shops; plastic koalas are one of the most popular items. There are dozens of stores catering exclusively for the Japanese tourist market and Australian opals, sheepskins, wool products, and aboriginal "artefacts" are popular, although often overpriced. Local newspapers regularly run stories about "discount warehouses" being taken to court for selling souvenirs at exorbitant prices to Asian tourists on organized tours.
However the Gold Coast aslo caters to the big budget shoper as there are numerous designer botiques around the city.
Eat
The back arcades of Surfers Paradise have dozens of cheap Japanese and Korean "lunchbox" style restaurants and the quality is usually excellent, not to mention the price (less than $15 for a large main meal). Tedder Avenue in Main Beach and the Broadbeach area have the largest concentration of restaurants and cafes with food ranging from gourmet seafood to pub fare. Expect to pay $20–$35 for a main meal.
MEDEXOTIC-Shop 35 Chevron Renaissance, Surfers Paradise. PHONE: 5592 0004 . Easily one of the best middle eastern/med style restraunts on the coast. Friendly service with funky decore and great food. Belly Dancing every friday and saturday night from 8.00PM.
Drink
The Gold Coast's listing at WikiPubs.org [9] This outlines pubs and clubs located on the Gold Coast at the World Wide Pub Wiki, WikiPubs.org.
Try a local surf club for a cheap beer with a great view, you'll find one or two in every beachside suburb of the Gold Coast. Currumbin Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, Nobby Beach Surf Life Saving Club and North Burleigh Surf Lifesaving Club are the picks for their location, friendly service and good value for money food and drink. Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise offer the biggest choice of bars, clubs, and cafes, and you can order almost anything you can dream up.
Sleep
- Backpacker hostels are located in Surfers Paradise, Southport, and Main Beach with dorm beds starting at around $18 a night.
- There are a handful of luxury resorts, including the six-star Palazzo Versace Hotel[10], but apartment accommodation in high- and low-rise family resorts is by far the most popular choice.
- A two-bedroom apartment in Surfers Paradise will cost around $150 per night in the off-season, and upwards of $300 a night in peak summer periods.
- Serviced apartments are widely available, for stays as short as one night. Amenities typically include kitchen, washer and dryer, and separate bedrooms.
Get out
- Byron Bay is only an hour's drive south
- Gold Coast Accommodation Gold Coast Accommodation, Pub + Restaurant info
- Lamington National Park is half an hour's drive west
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