Hi all! We are travelling to Gold Coast in January for 5 days. We have never been to GC and are after a relax holiday mostly enjoying beaches and eating out at nights.
Any advice about accommodation? Where to book to be close to the beaches and restaurants? Also, what to be aware of when selecting accommodation?
I was hoping to find some accommodation deals during Black Friday time. However, I haven't not seen anything? Any advice on how to save an accommodation?
Thanks!
Thank you very much for these tips.
How is Mermaid Beach area in terms of cafe, restaurants and bars? We will most like do not have a car, so will not be able to drive to Surfers.
I would also appreciate if you can comment about the area in Burleigh Heads. Thanks!
Hi Ulya, I stayed up at Burleigh Caravan park about this time last year with a mate for 4-5 nights. Flew up from Sydney so no car, just caught public transport buses/tram and uber late at night. Got a GoCard and was surprised at how easy it was to go up and down the main hwy from our accommodation into Burleigh and on to Surfers and Broadbeach. Mermaid from memory had a decent amount of cafes/food options, but Burleigh has many more again. Burleigh has a great beach, along with a headland for bushwalks, and swimming in the creek/estuary with lifeguards is recommended - pretty family friendly. Also has a Saturday farmers market. Recommend it as a good area to base a family.
@carwashhair: Thanks for this tips! It looks like Burleigh is a right place for us. I will definitely consider it.
Mermaid beach: cool food places dotted along the Gold Coast highway, great if you have a plan, but sucks if you're walking aimlessly for food.
Thanks!
As DrFlox says, they're dotted around. You can find them easy, but probably not the best if you just want to have a quick wander to a cafe.
Burleigh Heads would be far better in this regard - has it's own little shopping village.
Plenty of buses that go along Pacific Hwy, so easy to get up to Surfers, from the airport, etc.
Here's the Mermaid Beach place: https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/16060578?checkin=10-01-2017&…
That's not the room we stayed in, and it appears to be the only one available for those dates, but if you jump on Airbnb, you might find something (and make sure you sign up through the referral program if you do not yet have an account - you'll get a discount).
Thanks! I will check airbnb place, but from what was said, Burleigh Heads seems to be the right place for us. I am checking accommodations around it.
Thanks for this tip.
I will check this service again. However, from my previous experience, the accommodations on offer their are tend to be financially feasible for large groups, m.b. more than 4 people. It will be only two of us.
How about house swapping? We've done this 3 times over the years and have found it great as accommodation can be costly when its for a family of 4.
http://houseswapholidays.com.au/
I've seen a few houses there that are close to the beach.
Thanks for the advice. It is probably not for us as I cannot imaging anybody living in our house…. Otherwise, this is a great idea!
Burleigh heads is great, there's a bunch of food places (PM me if you want a few suggestions) and shops on James st. The Gold Coast highway can be a bit noisy. Where are you coming from and what are you use to?
Anywhere on the coast is nice if you're after the beach. It all tends to be the same beach, I.e., the surf at mermaid will be similar to the surf in broadbeach… But as carwashair mentioned, burleigh south has the bushwalk and the creek on the southern end which gives you a different type of experience. The bush walk is nice too, takes about half an hour and it's all well paved and not too hilly (easily done in thongs and wet swimmers).
If you want to be close to food, go burleigh. You might want to consider broadbeach too… Mermaid and nobby's beach are nice, not as many food options though (they're a bit more spread out) but should be ok for 4-5 days… I guess it depends on what you're comparing it to. For example if you're from Syd, then, they may seem small.
Travelling up and down the Gold Coast highway on public transport is easy. There's also a bus from the airport to surfers and it pretty much stops at most of the places that you've mentioned.
If you want to do shopping there's pacific fair which has been renovated recently and has food.
As for accommodation, the usual I guess, e.g., air BnB, hotels.com and cross reference with reviews from something like trip advisor.
Thanks a lot for such a comprehensive reply! Burleigh Heads sounds like the right option for us. I would love to explore the bushwalk!
We are from Melbourne , but live in a quite suburb, so would like to be a bit in the centre of life for a change.
The cafe scene will be smaller than the Melbourne scene. The shopping will be better in melbs, but I think the beach is better on the Gold Coast (I don't know much about Melbourne beaches). Burleigh heads and burleigh waters covers a lot of space if you don't have a car… So if you do stay in burleigh, search the address on google maps to make sure you're close to James st… Otherwise it'll feel like you're stuck in the burbs.
Hold on "so would like to be a bit in the centre of life for a change." burleigh heads isn't the centre of life, it's busy during the day and evening, but it doesn't have clubs etc.
Great pizza at James St arcade. 1 pizza is enough for 2, and good surf club across the road with oceanfront dining.
Markets every 2ND Sunday under the Norfolk Pines and a short walk north is North Burliegh surf club and headland with great views to Surfers.
Thanks! We are still thinking about the neighborhood in GC.
If Burleigh Heads are busing during the day and evening, this is enough for us. Unlikely, we will go clubbing. Thanks again!
Paradise Resort if you have kids.
The caravan parks at Southport, Main Beach and Miami have oceanfront cabins, and probably caravans for rent.
Thanks!
We've stayed at Diamond Cove in Mermaid Beach a couple of times. Short drive to Surfers, 5 min walk to the beach.
2nd time booked via Air BnB so got it quite cheap.
That would be an option if you want somewhere cheaper.
Otherwise, if you'd prefer beach views, I've always loved the high rises around Burleigh Heads (Burleigh Beach Towers, Burleigh Gardens North, one that use to be called Pacific Regis - think it has a different name now).