Great Time on the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is Australia’s most popular holiday region. It was originally known for its fine surf beaches but now it has developed into a diverse destination that can appeal to almost everyone. The region has gone to great lengths to promote its hinterland and its family attractions, and it has worked. Visitors are now encouraged to enjoy the beach, the shopping, country pubs and relaxing rainforests.

Surfers Paradise is still the centre of the action but I prefer Broadbeach as it is less ‘in-your-face’. There is a great beach, excellent accommodation, some of the best shopping and interesting restaurants. There are hotels, motels and caravan parks but if you are staying longer than three days a holiday apartment may be the best option.

Australia’s best theme parks are at the Coast or within easy travel distance. Few visitors visit this area without checking out at least one of these. The four major parks are all different so you need to do a little homework to decide which would be the best for you.

Quick Tips:

For most short-time visitors, the attractions will be the beach, the theme parks and the shopping and restaurants. Practically all the beaches along the 70-kilometre oceanfront are suitable for swimming and surfing, but for safety, swimmers would be well advised to stick to one of the 35 marked areas patrolled by lifeguards.

Some restaurants get very crowded in the holiday season so it is necessary to make reservations or arrive early and participate in an ’early-bird special’. Accommodation can also fill during holiday periods so again book ahead or try to avoid these periods (Christmas-New Year, Easter, and the Indy weekend).

Get to the theme parks early to avoid possible long queues for the most popular rides. Most parks take 5-6 hours to explore even at more quiet times of the year.

Best Way To Get Around:

The Gold Coast stretches for 70 kilometres along the beach and the hinterland is 40-50 kilometres inland. There are tours to all areas and some of these are recommended but many visitors will decide they want the convenience of their own ‘wheels’. Fortunately, there are numerous rent-a-car outlets in the major centres, some with ridiculously cheap older-model cars. If you don’t have your own vehicle and only wish to travel locally, public buses operate along the coast and to the theme parks for easy transport.

There are hundreds of holiday apartment buildings on the Gold Coast. Capricornia is not one of the largest or the newest but it does offer good accommodation at a reasonable price. While Capricornia is not right on the beach front, our unit had stunning ocean views. Others look inland towards the rapidly developing hinterland.

We chose Capricornia because of price and location. It is at Broadbeach, an area about 3 kilometres south of the centre of Surfers Paradise. Surfers Paradise has long been regarded as the centre of the Gold Coast but Broadbeach is an excellent alternative with better shopping and some great entertainment options. Capricornia is only one block from the beach and is within easy walking distance of all other facilities.

The apartments are spacious and modern. Each has a full kitchen, balconies, two bedrooms, laundry facilities and some have a study with day-night divans. You can sleep one to six. You are provided with tea, coffee, sugar, and dish washer powder when you first arrive but you would need to add to these if you are staying longer than a few days. The kitchen has a cook top, an oven, a microwave and a dish washer. There is plenty of crockery, cutlery and cooking dishes. There is also a delivery service of all meals from a range of local restuarants.

Capricornia comes equipped with a range of excellent facilities. There is underground parking which works well with a security key. The same key operates the elevators and prevents unauthorised people from accessing the building. We enjoyed the full-size tennis court, the heated pool and spa, and one night we used the B.B.Q area. There is also a games room and saunas, which we had no time to use. The office opens during normal business hours and this will make tour and cruise bookings for you.

We were completely happy with the facilities and location. It is a safe, peaceful area just a few blocks from excellent shopping and restaurant options and you can even catch the monorail across to Jupiters Casino for some day or night-time action. Buses connect Broadbeach with other areas of the Gold Coast and to the theme parks which are so much a part of this area.

We thought this little restaurant was a real delight. It is casual, bright, happy and the food is great. Better still, it was just a one-block stroll from our accommodation and it opened all day from 10.30am. We didn’t find it in time, but it also opens for breakfast on weekends.

The bright, fresh approach comes from hosts Mandy and Vitto, who ensure that you are welcomed and well looked after. We were travelling as a group of six people so it was always difficult to get consensus on what to eat. One evening we wanted something cheap but satisfying so we went for several of the pasta dishes. On another evening we were looking for something a little more formal so we tried some of the steak and seafood dishes. On both occasions we were more than happy with our choices. We thought the prices were appropriate for what was offered. We loved the friendly service.

There are numerous restaurants on the Gold Coast and even in Broadbeach there is wide choice. If Italian is your desire then La Strada is a good choice. It is probably not the swankiest or the most expensive in town but the food is good and it’s good value for money. That seems to be what most people are looking for when on holiday. We didn’t try the pizzas but they smelt and looked great. We hope there is a next time.

Warner Bros. Movie World has transported the Lights, Camera and Action! of Hollywood to the Gold Coast. The theme park is part of the film studio complex established some 10-15 years ago between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It has since won the National Award of Excellence for a Major Tourist Attraction, three times.

I went with my wife and 16-year-old niece. Due to other commitments we didn’t arrive until about 1pm and found that we did not have enough time to do and see all we wished to. This was in the off-season when lines for attractions were short. In the peak-season it would probably take even longer. The message is, go as early as you can.

In some ways, Movie World is an unusual combination of movie history, fun park and children’s adventure. The latest attraction is the Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience. It is a children’s paradise. We wandered down a fully recreated Diagon Alley and then into a display of sets inspired by Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, many containing real artifacts from the film. Even though I had not seen the film, I enjoyed the experience.

The new Batman Adventure – The Ride 2 is a complete contrast. After entering the Bat Cave and being briefed about an emergency mission, participants enter a simulator for a stunning ride through the canyons of Gotham City chasing escaped convicts. This is a quantum leap from the original ride and it is great fun.

We saw the Police Academy Stunt Show, the new musical review Superstars Live in Concert and loved Freddie Mercury, the 3D movie, met Wonder Woman, Batman, Marilyn, and several other characters. We rode the Wild Wild West Adventure ride, the Road Runner roller coaster and the Looney Tunes River Ride. For some reason we all decided to miss the adrenalin rush on Lethal Weapon, the only suspended looping roller coaster in the Southern Hemisphere. We also missed the Movie Magic Sound Stages where you learn how sound and visual effects are created. We all had a great day and couldn’t resist a souvenir or two as we headed back home.

This was, and could still be, Queensland’s largest shopping centre. It is huge, sprawling and fun. It is a good place for some serious shopping but it is equally good for wandering and people watching.

The heart of the complex is a Myer department store. This is part of the largest retail company in Australia and it stocks a huge range of up-market and mid-market merchandise. Elsewhere in the complex there are other outlets of this same retailer trading this time as Target, K-Mart and Coles. Surrounding these large stores are hundreds of local and national retailers offering an amazing variety of products.

The women in our group were drawn here like moths to a light. They would have been happy to spend all day wandering the malls, walkways and alleys but the men had other ideas. We stocked up on food, had a coffee, thought about donuts, bought some sun glasses, a couple of T-shirts, and some kids toys then left as quickly as we could. There seemed to be plenty of undercover parking and there was a convenient bus interchange which seemed to be served from all the Gold Coast.

I have no idea whether this is the best shopping on the Coast but it would be hard to imaging anything better or with more choice. The layout is appealing because many of the walkways are uncovered so you can enjoy the great weather and there is a holiday atmosphere about the whole place. I’m told it is one of the more popular tourist attractions in the area. It is not difficult to see why.

Sea World has been open since 1971 but this was only my second visit. I went with my wife and 16 year-old niece. It was a close contest as to who enjoyed the experience the most.

Sea World draws over one million visitors each year and has been rated Australia’s top attraction on four occasions. It combines the amazing underwater world with a range of rides and attractions that appeal to people of all ages. We planned to spend four hours at the park but ended up being there for close on seven.

We caught most of the shows – Dolphin Cove where four dolphins perform amazing feats of grace, speed and strength; The Quest for the Golden Seal where nature’s comedians (sea lions) help search for a lost explorer; and Ski Challenge where a ski show is taken to new extremes.

We watched the Reef Discovery undersea adventure and the 3D Pirates movie. We rode the monorail, the Viking’s Revenge Flume Ride, the Thrillseeker Rollercoaster, and the action and adventure Bermuda Triangle boat ride. Finally we visited Polar Bear Shores, a near-natural Arctic summer environment featuring wind, mist, fog, rain, creeks, waterfalls, and four wonderful polar bears. We missed the Corkscrew roller coaster which was not operating, the Cartoon Network Cartoon Beach, the train ride, the skyway, and the Water Park.

As expected Sea World has many food and drink outlets and shopping opportunities. We managed to avoid most of these but spent A$18 on food, A$7 on drinks and A$8 on souvenirs. It would have been easy to spend much more. There are helicopter flights, the chance to swim with the dolphins and other offers which could cost into the hundreds.

Interestingly, we each chose a different thing as our best experience. I thought Polar Bear Shore was great. My wife was impressed by Dolphin Cove and our niece chose the 3D movie.

We visited in the off-season when the weather was hot. Fortunately the crowds were not too large and we found shade at most venues. The longest we waited for a ride was around five minutes. In the peak season it would be much longer. At the end of the day we were quite tired but we all thought it had been an excellent day. I would certainly return.

Open: 10am-5pm daily