Brisbane and Gold Coast

I am planning to visit Brisbane and Gold coast next month, anybody been there before? any suggestion where to go and where to stay? looking forward to hear from you.

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I'm from that area and there is much to see and do depending on your interests. Brisbane is not really a tourist mecca but I would recommend staying at Southbank rather than in the CBD. Rydges is in a great location but there are many options depending on your budget. Southbank is just across the river from the City. www.visitsouthbank.com.au ...The Sunshine Coast is lovely and Noosa or Mooloolaba are 2 of the more popular spots along the coast with great beaches, shopping, nightlife, hinterland etc. The Eumundi Markets are very popular and inland from Noosa. http://www.sunshinecoast.org/ ...The Gold Coast is also popular and boasts many beaches and theme parks and you've no doubt heard of Surfers Paradise (rather touristy). It has a massive choice of dining and shopping options. http://www.goldcoasttourism.com.au/ ...If you head further down the coast across the border you've got Byron Bay which has a sort of trendy 'hippy' vibe to it now. Couran Cove Resort is also nice on South Stradbroke Island, off the Gold Coast. http://www.couran-cove.com.au/ ... there is much much more, like I said, depending on your interests, budget, time frame etc. Hope that helps!

Thank you Bakergirl, seems there are so many places waiting me to discover. whats the average spending per day, do you have any idea? I will be there for a week or so, hopefully the drink or dinner wont be too expensive since the AU$ is going up a lot recently :)

The fact that there is no direct flight from HK to Goldcoast, it takes almost 2 hrs from Brisbane International Airport. Last X'mas, I spend 2 weeks there and it is a really bad experience for me and my family. There is absolutely no service provided from the apartment, so I recommend u stay at Conrad or Holiday Inn in Goldcoast, it is more convenient because the cabs there are crazy expensive! If you decide to book any of the apartments, pls bring along some toilet rolls and instant noodles!! I am very serious, the toilet roll there costs almost HK$10 each and there is no refill from the apartment itself. Apart from this, the food there is 3 times expensive than in Hong Kong. As for shopping malls, bring your expectation lower to the standards comparable to something like 50s era. For those themed parks, as in Movie World and Dream world, they are not comparable to our Ocean Park and our little Disneyland here!! The entrance fee is talking about HK$300 but not including the transfer (Another HK$200)!!! For the supermarket and warehouse shopping malls, all stuffs are from China. For sightseeing tours, the price is extremely high and poor quality among all Asia countries. In addition, the dinner buffet in their 2 five stars hotel are similar to the food in Fairwood Fast food in HK. If you are living in Hong Kong and travel a lot, you will be very disappointed. With the same amount you spend, you can be the king in other Asia's top leisure destinations. Good Luck!

Hi Singapore-mom, is it real? seems horrible experience that you had during Xmas trip. My friend told me its like one hour drive from Brisbane to goldcoast. I know everything is cheap in asia, since Aussie$ is going up alot recently. I have been to western australia was ok though i mean i stayed in a 2 star french style hotel. but just everywhere closed at 6pm, unlike Hong Kong or Canada at 10pm. um....people suggested me to go to theme park and mentioned about Fraser island. anyway, will check it out soon and let you know if they are the same as yours. cheers.

The drive from Brisbane Airport to the main part of the Gold Coast is about 1 hour. If you take a bus or the train it will take longer. You will find eating out at many restaurants more expensive as we are very spoilt for choice in HK but there are also things that are cheaper, in particular locally produced items. Fraser Island is a fantastic spot and you can do a day tour or stay over night. Kingfisher Bay resort is the main accommodation there and is on the non-surf side of the island, offers an eco-style experience. They operate their own 4WD tours of the island. If you don't want to stay on Fraser you are better to stay at the Sunshine coast and do a day trip from there as it's a long day from the Gold Coast and even Brisbane. I'm sure you will be impressed with the beaches, open spaces, fresh air, clean ocean, beautiful wildlife, natural attractions and laid back nature of Australia... There is more to it than food and shopping and please don't compare it to HK or Asia as it offer a completely different experience! Good Luck with your plans victoriabc!

Hi Bakergirl, thanks for your suggestion where to go and eat. Actually we have booked our hotel, called Q1 in Goldcoast and Treasurey Casino in Brisbane. We are going to rent a car driving around, it should be fun...I know Australia is much laid back lifestyle thats why I want to get out of the busy city to take a rest. thanks again!

Hi - moving to HK in July, from halfway between Brisbane and Gold Coast, and have lived in both areas for many years. Don't forget the Hinterland - the mountainous area behind the Gold Coast. There is a range of accommodation from which to choose, and the rainforests are truly beautiful. Consider O'Reilly's - the canopy walk through the trees is quite amazing.

Lots of native birds. http://www.oreillys.com.au/ You can drive up there for the day, too - spectacular views from the restaurant.

Thank you Trocadero. Oreillys looks cool.

I used to live in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Q1 is fantastic, it has a great viewing deck, good choice! The treasury is good too, right in the middle of Brisbane city, but I wouldent bother going to the restaurants in the Treasury, there's much more exciting places to go!


If you want day trips, consider Maleny in the sunshine coast hinterland, gorgeous little mountain village that makes amazing fudge! You can rent cottages out there with spa's (very romantic).


For the Gold Coast, Surfers is quite touristy but if you want better beaches head a couple of suburbs out to Southport.


In Brisbane, there's some fantastic dining choices in West End, it has a bit of a hippy vibe. There's a cafe called The Three Monkeys which has the best coffee, really good place to relax and play chess (they supply games and you don't get hassled to order more items). The City Cat is a good way to get around from Southbank to the City, and is really nice at night. There's buskers and markets in Southbank on sundays (take your bathers!) markets at Fortitude Valley (the valley as it's locally known) on saturdays. The valley is the nightclub district and there's some homeless people there, they might ask you for cigarettes or money but they're usually ok. Umm, The Regatta on the River is a good place to have breakfast on the verandah.


For prices, standard spirits drink expect to pay Australian $6, for a pot of beer about $4, coffee between $3-4, a fairly standard restaurant would have mains ranging from $12 - $16.50, dessert usually starts around $6.


Cabs are very expensive, maybe consider hiring a car? Then you can check out the hinterland and other hidden treasures at your leisure. Public transport in the city is good, but gets worse as you get further out. If you get public transport ask for a daily ticket, otherwise you get charged for each journey you make (the drivers/staff won't tell you the cheapest way to get around, you kinda have to figure it out yourself). The tickets can be used on all buses/trains/city cat, you just flash your ticket to the driver, or whoever's standing at the train exit when you get on/off.


'Theatre in the round' usually has some good shows playing, and there's the comedy club in paddington, they always have shows running. There's a lot of hidden art exhibitions and galleries in the valley, but info should be available online.


Unfortunately the best parts of brisbane/GC arent set up for tourists, you kind of have to know what your looking for, but Brisbane is very friendly so don't be afraid to ask questions! Hope this helped!

Ah, just read the post where you said you were hiring a car! Sorry!

Thank you KitFaerie for you detail info. it looks like the drink is almost the same price in Soho or LKF. I would definately go visit Hinterland. thanks again.

Interested to read of Maleny. I'd never have remembered the name, but about 20 years ago it was one of the 2 places (the other was Buderim) in Queensland that we shortlisted as potential home locations for our future retirement. Nice place.

I am going to stay in Q1, its located in surfer's paradise. will definately check out by myself. thanks Car lover.