The Gold Coast boasts 40km of pristine sandy beaches and is located 70km south of Queenslands capital Brisbane and 947km north of New South Wales capital Sydney. It has an estimated population of 480,000 inhabitants and is the seventh largest city in Australia.
It is also Australia’s favorite tourist destination with a favorable climate, diversity of attractions, sophisticated nightlife and restaurants, safe environment and world-class resorts. Inland from the Gold Coast are three magnificent national parks: Springbrook, Lamington, and Tamborine, which feature beautiful rainforests, picnic areas, nature walks, and spectacular lookouts.
Air-conditioned:
The Gold Coast has a comfortable subtropical climate with an average of 20 years.
Summer – December to February – 20-28 degrees C.
Autumn – March – May – 15-25 degrees C.
Winter – June – August – 11-21 degrees C.
Spring – September to November – 15-25 degrees C.
Attractions:
One of the biggest attractions of the Gold Coasts is its natural attractions, which include 40 km of golden sand beaches, eco-tourism throughout the interior and national parks, onshore and offshore fishing, diving and boating. There are also two wildlife parks located at Currumbin and Burliegh. The Hinterland is also popular for its growing wine industry and vineyards.
Adventure attractions include motorcycle tours, parasailing, skydiving, hot air balloon rides, jet skiing, power boating, helicopter tours, go-karting and motor racing.
Four theme parks provide hours and hours, if not days, of entertainment value with something for everyone. The four theme parks are Movie World, Wet ‘n’ Wild, Sea World and Dreamworld, located between Southport and Coomera. Dreamworld is also the home of Big Brother in Australia.
Night life:
Gold Coast is popular for its famous nightclubs located on Cavill Avenue and Orchid Avenue, where you can party until the wee hours of the morning. There are also two world-class nightclubs located on Broadbeach, as well as a large casino and convention center.
Dinning room:
Main Beach and Broadbeach are popular for their main streets lined with quality restaurants catering to all tastes in a relaxing atmosphere.
Accommodation:
On the Gold Coast there are more than 13,000 rooms available from Coolangatta to Hope Island, including motels, guest houses, apartments and hotels. The resorts are first class and the big names include Palazzo Versace, Marriot, Sheraton Mirage, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Conrad Jupiters and Sofitel. Most of these are centrally located in Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Main Beach, and most have water or inland views.
Choosing the right accommodation for you depends on your budget, the number of people and what you would like to be close to.
Transportation:
You can fly into Gold Coast Airport (30 minutes from Surfers) or Brisbane Airport (50 minutes from Surfers) and transportation from there can be by taxi, hire, bus or limousine. Buses run on a regular schedule throughout the area and a train runs from Robina to Brisbane.
Big events:
The Indy Championship is a major event on the calendar, as are the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show, Magic Millions Horse Racing Carnival, Schoolies Festival and Surf Carnivals.