Australia is Hugh. We flew into Brisbane, which is Queensland's capital.
- Gold Coast is 60 km south
- Sydney is 900km south
- Great Barrier Reef (Cairns) is 1600km North !!
- 1 730 0000 SQ km, Singapore only 650 Sq Km
- Queensland has less than 5 million residents !!
- refer to map below for some of the popular attractions
** please refer to end of page for more links and tips on Gold Coast
~~~ ~~~
We will be blogging about our daily adventures over the coming days,
refer to our Itinerary (thanks to Mummy's friend Auntie Shirley).
Sat (day 1)
- am - arrival
- pm - Glow worm @ Natural Bridge
(http://www.tourgc.com.au/ )
Sun (day 2)
- am - Carrara market (http://www.carraramarkets.com.au/)
- pm - Harbour Town shopping (http://www.harbourtownshopping.com.au)
Mon (day 3)
- am - Paradise Country (farm) (http://paradisecountry.myfun.com.au)
- pm - qDeck 77th (http://www.qdeck.com.au)
Tue (day 4)
- MovieWorld (http://movieworld.myfun.com.au/)
Wed (day 5)
- Seaworld (http://seaworld.myfun.com.au/)
Thu (day 6)
- DreamWorld (http://www.dreamworld.com.au/)
Fri (day 7) - head to Brisbane for one night
- am- Queensland Museum Southbank (http://www.southbank.qm.qld.gov.au/)
- pm- Citycat river cruise (http://www.brisbaneinformation.com.au/information/brisbane/transport/brisbane-citycat-and-cityferry.html )
~~~ ~~~
Ok, after the above overview, are you excited?
We left Changi and arrive at Brisbane morning 0630, after 7 hours flight.
Our Hotel, Marriort Courtyard, is 45 min away, and smack at the center of Gold Coast.
After checkin, we quickly search for our breakfast.
Video : City View
Lesson #1 - the meals portion are Hugh,
and we can expect French Fries at every meal!
Where is our famous Gold Coast surfers Paradise? We spotted sexy bikini girls and tail them. They must be going to the beach, right?
We got our postcard pictures to show our folks back home. Cool.
The Wind and Waves never stop! So many tourists line the beach!
Video : Surfers Paradise
The whole day was a cool 20 degree. Aircon weather !
Cavill Avenue and Hard Rock Cafe's big Guitar is at our foot step.
Restaurants and convenience stores jostle for attention ! So much variety.
In the evening, we head out to catch some Glow Worms.
Lesson #2 - the Sun sets at 5pm in Gold Coast, the days are short !!
Our Glow Worm site is at Natural Bridge.
Glow Worms line the ceiling, and you can view the blue or green lights. Mesmerizing.
Since no tripod, and our DSLR cannot afford to wait too long for exposure,
Daddy suggest we look at this video clip.
Still clueless about Glowworm?
Click for wiki explanation.
**Tips on theme park tickets :
Tickets can be purchased online at http://myfun.com.au/ or at most hotel lobby.
Please get the bundle multiple-themepark tickets for Families, to maximise your dollar
Research links and credits :
http://www.nothinglikeaustralia.com/
http://www.gold-coast-australia-travel-tips.com/
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/see-and-do/gold-coast
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland
Above SeaWorld map taken from http://seaworld.myfun.com.au
=======
Feel free to visit Sengkangbabies Gold Coast explorations!
No Swimming at Surfers Paradise??
Day 1 - GoldCoast Arrival and Glow Worm
Day 2 - Shopping - Carrara Markets and Harbour Town
Day 3am - Paradise Country Farm, pet a animal or two
Day 3pm - Qdeck 77th
Day 4 - Movie World
Day 5 - Sea World
Day 6 - Dream World
Day 7 - Brisbane (wip)
.
Hi I am planning a trip to Gold Coast with my 2 year old boy. Just checking do you think Gold Coast is suitable? And is it cheaper to book online ourselves or thru agent? ANd if we get the world tickets ourselves, will ther be transfer included?
ReplyDeletehi Corinne, GC is extremely family friendly. I would recommend (1)ParadiseCountry, (2)MovieWorld, (3)SeaWorld in that order. Food and Transport are easily available. For pricing packages, I would recommend u to visit "http://myfun.com.au" for their bundles first.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteTks for your advice. You mean transfer to Paradise country and any of the world is easily attainable at the hotel? Cos we actually have free air tickets. Just wondering if get land tour from agency will be more ex.
Try membership's discount at MyFun first. Then compare the prices. Generally, booking one themepark alone will be more expensive than booking those 2in1 or 3in1. Most Hotel recept got one tourDesk counter :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Andy, i have a few questions, please.
ReplyDelete1) Did you get the airport transfers to/from the hotel direct from the Marriot Courtyard or you took a taxi service or through MyFun?
2) Where exactly do you go to get the transport to get around, for e.g. to Paradise Country, Movie World, Harbour Town etc?
3) Would you recommend staying at the Marriot Courtyard?
4) We're planning to go in May....should we avoid May? hahaha!
I love your itinerary by the way! :D
- Hajudasan
hi Hajudasan,
ReplyDeletethank you for dropping by :)
1) Taxi service recommended by friend. Same company sent us back to airport departure.
2) Public transport. Check with hotel concierge. You just wait at bus stop, buses are very punctual.
3) Not bad, easy access to the beach (10min). Food and shopping all easily accessible. (I do not have another hotel to compare, try tripadvisor)
4) check Goldcoast links for monthly highlights, best visit timings :)
If you have facebook, all the major themeparks (even MyFun) have an online presence. You can pop by and ask more questions about promotions etc.
cheers,
andy
May i know the company that provided the airport transfer? Thank you. (:
DeleteHi I am recommending that you ask your hotel/apartment for the latest updates.
Deletecheers, Andy
Hi Andy,
ReplyDeleteWill it be too squeezy in a day to do both the Carrara Market and Harbour Town Shopping Centre Trip? Are they next to each other?
Thanks for advise.
Brian
Hi Brian,
ReplyDeleteyou can spend 2 to 3 hours at each location, if you love shopping. Carrara market has more activity on Sun.
From our hotel "courtyard marriott", estimated bus ride :
- 20min to Cararra
- 30min to Harbour Town
Would recommend you to ask your hotel concierge for updated details.
cheers,
andy
Hey Andy
ReplyDeleteI would like to check with you about the glowworms cave. Did you guys head up there as a tour as in the video or you guys drove up there yourselves?
Thanks! :)
hi Lee,
ReplyDeletewe went on a coach. The place is quite far flung and there is no lighting on the road in the evening.
Some of the corners are very close to the edge of the forest. You definitely need a GPS.
Hope this helps.
cheers,
andy
Hi andy,
ReplyDeleteDid u and family book a tour for the glow worms cave? where did u book from and roughly how much? Thanks alot.
hi Germum, sorry for the Late reply. We book it through http://www.tourgc.com.au. I cannot recall the cost off hand, but it includes coach and one dinner.
ReplyDeleteCheck with your Hotel concierge. Most receptio nwill have tour-recommendations.
regards,
andy
Looks like your family had a wonderful time in the Gold Coast. Hope that the trip was good enough for you to want to try the rest of Australia in the future too!
ReplyDelete