Short holiday in the Gold Coast

whaddadeal on 22/01/2013 - 02:19

Hi,

Traveling up to GC for 4nights/5days in a couple of weeks with my gf and was just looking for any tips on what I should do. I know there are a lot of forums but its just way too much info and gets a bit confusing. We will be staying in Surfers paradise.

Basically do you guys have any suggestions on nice restaurants, not really looking at fine dining, but any famous restaurants in G.C that you can only find there. Money isnt so much an issue, I just want to get a real taste of the G.C culture.

Any deals you are aware of to get tickets into the amusement parks, eg. movieworld etc.

Any specific landmarks that you'd say is a MUST-GO, and would also be easy to access (public transport?).

Also any shopping centres thats a must go would be nice.

Our itinerary goes along the lines of:
Day 1: reach GC in the morning, check in and head to the beach. Head to a restaurant (or cook ourselves - would like to go out to dinner at least twice though)
Day 2: go to amusement parks and then dinner
Day 3: GC related activities, perhaps see some landmarks or what not - then dinner etc
Day 4: same as Day 3
Day 5: Shopping and then head home

Thanks for the help, REALLY appreciate it! :)

Travel

Comments

  • DEvok on 22/01/2013 - 02:53

    Well I must say, there are many things which can be done even in a couple of days, as long as you have a car! I went down to Sunshine Coast drove from sydney, stay there for 10days, drove around Brisbane etc. if you want some comedy entertainment with nice food, try going to Draculas.com.au, it's $100 for 3 course , ghost train theme ride Manson, and comedy stand up, performances, besides that, you have enough beaches and theme parks that would keep you pretty busy in those days. Want more info, just pop down to the information centre… many activities to chose from, Hope you make the most of it with your girl, I sure did :)

    • strangeloops66 on 22/01/2013 - 12:05

      LOL at "make the most of it with your girl, I sure did :)"

      Relax phancy, I'm sure DEvok has not even met the girlfriend. Well, 99% sure…

      • voteoften on 23/01/2013 - 07:54

        I suspect phancy is a girl and that she is going with her BFF gf.

  • buzymum20 on 22/01/2013 - 08:04

    Really don't need a car if you're staying in Surfers. Anywhere else can be reached by the local bus system. this will allow you both to look around and not have to concentrate on driving or parking. Worth while visiting Harbour Town as the outlet shopping is really great. Allow a full day and sign up for the visitor card. You will find details at your hotel or at the local Tourist info. Avoid the timeshare scratchie promotions, unless you want to waste 90 mins of your time. You may gain cheaper themepark tickets, but is it worth the price? If you are a member of NRMA, you get get discount on your themepark tickets there or bring your membership card and get them at RACQ for the same price, if you are unsure of which parks to go to. Have a good time.

  • miss arrow on 22/01/2013 - 08:41

    Enjoy your trip :)

    Definitely use the motor club (RAA, NRMA etc) to buy your tickets if you're a member; cheaper too if you stay with the same group (owners) of theme park - check out http://themeparks.com.au/

    Which parks to see? We loved Dreamworld for the roller coasters and Movie World for the shows :) They're all good though.

    We usually just head down to Cavill Avenue to get dinner so don't have any restaurant recommendations.

    Q1 is good if you're in to views :)

    If you're flying and using Brisbane airport, there is a free shuttle bus to DFO - great for a day of shopping.

    Have a great trip :D

    • scotty on 22/01/2013 - 22:58

      Do note that NRMA/RAA member actually has different pricing than buying online directly (or from MyFun.com.au). Sea World for example,

      • NRMA: Adult $81, Kids $54
      • MyFun: Adult $83, Kids $50

      There's also entertainment book 15% off on those theme parks.

      I'm on holiday on the Gold Coast at the moment, and bringing my 2 girls + a niece to Sea World tomorrow. I've done my research :)

  • MITM on 22/01/2013 - 11:08

    Check out www.hotdockets.com.au enter postcode 4217 and you might find some useful vouchers - like Four Winds revolving restaurant, Broadbeach.

    Harbour Town for OzBargain style outlet shopping is a bus ride away. Some restaurants there have "dine & movie tix" deals at www.Reading Cinemas - so you could combine shopping/dinner/movie (gold class too). Guessing you'll have bags to deal with though-should be able to leave at box office.
    Robina Town Shopping Centre is just as far away, and closer is Pacific Fair in Broadbeach with Broadbeach Mall close by (shop/dine). Oasis shopping centre is on Broadbeach Mall and has a $2 monorail ride across to Jupiters Casino. Australia Fair is a good walk away across Southport bridge, a bit tired though.

    Beach day: Catch bus to Marina Mirage (designer) Shop Cntr (on way to Seaworld). Fishermans Wharf tavern is next door for early lunch/views. Walkway over road and thru Sheraton to a quiet beach. (stop at pool bar for a drink) Can walk further up beach to the seaway wall/views.
    Jetty access=$, wall access=free. Walk back along beach to SP - Nice

    +1 for breakfast at Bazaar Buffet, QT Hotel, Staghorn Ave (ex Gold Coast International Hotel). Book a table saying you're locals 1st time = $25pp. Walking distance as is Q1 observation deck, visit before sunset to see night & day.
    My pick is Movieworld for roller-coasters. Superman is the best. Enjoy

  • c64 on 22/01/2013 - 13:17
    +1

    if you are real lucky, you might experience an authentic gold coast drive-by shooting to give you many years of fond memories

  • voteoften on 23/01/2013 - 08:11

    On day 2 you say you want to visit amusement parks, as in more that one park.

    My daughter and I used to go to the GC a LOT. In one run we went 5 times in 10 months, with the shortest being 8 days. We had annual passes to all the parks except wet n wild.

    We went to a park every day. I think in one instance, we did two parks in one day. I think we went to sea world in the morning to see if she could get picked as the child audience participant for the dolphin show. Then when she wasn't selected, we went off to either movie world or dreamworld. It is unlikely you will be able to do more than one park in a day of you are not familiar with the parks and how they work, etc. If it is raining, Movie World is the best choice.

    We went to the Outback stampede or whatever it is called a few times. It is a dinner show. The nice thing about it is that it is free flow grog during the show although you have to train the waiters to keep up your drink service. They tend to swing by and serve everyone once. I let them know that they need to get me my drink first and then again in the same swing through.

    Inside the amusement parks, probably the best option was to eat at the sit down restaurant, which happens to be a buffet. It's only about $20 - $25 for an adult for food. You won't pay that much less for a fast food meal. The best of these restaurants was Movie World. The characters would come through the restaurant and you could easily get between 5 and 12 photos with the various ones.

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