Where to stay, and what to do in the Gold Coast?

September 8, 2008 8:31 AM

Where to stay, and what to do in the Gold Coast?

My wife and I are traveling to Australia in a few weeks. We were going to spend a few days in the Gold Coast. We were thinking of staying at the Legends Hotel for the trip. It looks to be in the touristy city centre. Does anyone from the area know if this is a good idea?

More generally, if anyone has any ideas on things we should definitely see while there, please speak up.

posted by chunking express to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

I stayed here, which was simply extraordinary. They built their own coral reef to teach snorkeling!
posted by answergrape at 9:56 AM on September 8, 2008

I held my first koala at Currumbin (koalas smell...and look kinda stoned, fwiw). Great place!

This thread also had some good stuff.

If anyone offers you a fish called barramundi for dinner....take them up on it.
posted by answergrape at 10:02 AM on September 8, 2008

Thanks for the answers. Can anyone make similar recommendations for Melbourne? I'm going to check some old ask.mefi threads now.
posted by chunking express at 10:13 AM on September 8, 2008

Surfers is really touristy and kind of tacky and "plastic". The Gold Coast is really long, and there's really no need to stay in Surfers. I am fond of Coolangatta, which is a bit further south, has great beaches and is kind of more "real" Gold Coast.

I actually prefer the Sunshine Coast, which is the coastline north of Brisbane (the Gold Coast is south). The Sunshine Coast isn't as built-up. Mooloolaba and Maroochydore are both nice. Noosa is a favourite with tourists but it doesn't feel tacky - they have limited the height of buildings and the size of shop signs! It doesn't have amazing beaches though. Behind the Sunshine Coast is the hinterland, with some great forests, views and pretty little towns. The Eumundi market is a must. The other great thing about the Sunshine Coast is that Steve Urwin's Australia Zoo is there (RIP).

Try to fit in a trip to Fraser Island, off the coast north of Brisbane. It's beautiful.

I am not a native Victorian so I can't help too much with Melbourne, except to say that I love it! It has some beautiful parks. Make sure you use the trams; they're fun (if you're not used to them, maybe :) ). Take the tram out to St Kilda to see the sea.

When I was in Melbourne I did a day trip out to Phillip Island to see the little penguins. It was great; they're wonderful! Do consider it!

Have fun! :)
posted by Jacqulyn at 2:14 PM on September 8, 2008

Oh, sorry, ideas for the Gold Coast:

- Springbrook and Lamington national parks is really nice - O'Reilly's and Binna Burra
- I like Wet 'n' Wild as a water park, but I don't have much to compare it to and it's not very "Australian"
- I'm not that keen on Movie World - I would recommend Dreamworld over Movie World if you're into theme parks
- The Zingara show at Conrad Jupiters is not worth the money
- Harbour Town is good for clothes shopping bargains
- Pacific Fair shopping centre is enormous
- If it's the right season, go whale watching
- See if there are going to be any events on when you're there

Actually, I've just had a look at the map again, and I would say anywhere south of Surfers is a better bet than actually staying in Surfers - but that's just my opinion! I would say the further south you get, the less touristy it gets.
posted by Jacqulyn at 2:36 PM on September 8, 2008

Surfer's is almost Vegas by the Sea, good for people watching, there is plenty of theme parks to go to. An hour's drive south is Byron Bay in NSW....very laid-back hippy place also good for people watching, there's whale watching in the right season. Yeah and as said the Sunshine coast is way less developed and nice, but a lot further north.

Melbourne is fantastic, anywhere in the central city is good to stay, the city is flat and easy to get around. Look out for the old red city loop tram, will take you around the city for free (very slowly). I am not against touristy experiences so a dinner out on Lygon Street for Italian food is always fun, just make sure you hold out for a free bottle of wine or something. Also recommend going out to St Kilda, a beer at the Espy as the sun goes down over the water is a good time. Melbourne is also good for clothes shopping....brunswick st for 'hipster' type stuff and bridge st for factory shops.
posted by DOUBLE A SIDE at 3:20 PM on September 8, 2008

Well, that hotel is near the Cavill Mall, so you should go there for shopping touristy type stuff for sure.

Slightly to the north there are a few theme parks well worth visiting, such as Dreamworld, Warner Brothers Movie World and Wet N' Wild. On the Gold Coast itself, at Southport, there's another theme park called Seaworld that's not too shabby either.

There's also some cool attractions on the Gold Coast like Draculas, Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum and Putt Putt (mini golf).

The Gold Coast's most popular beach, Main Beach, is near your hotel and it's OK but I find it too crowded. The beach my partner and I love going to is a little to the south, right on the border of Queensland and New South Wales, called Cooloongatta Beach. It's a very nice beach, a bit less crowded (mostly only because it's a longer drive for the locals than Main Beach is) and maybe even a bitt bigger than Main Beach. Infact, if the Legends Hotel is not booked in yet, I would reccomend staying at a hotel at Cooloongatta, again only because it's less crowded and therefore a bit less touristy than the area around Main Beach. My partner and I stayed at the Mantra when we were there, and I'd reccommend it.

Over the border into New South Wales there's another place called Cabarita Beach. It's a bit of a drive from where your hotel is (I suspect it'd take you at least an hour, if you don't get lost) but it's a nice little town with a nice, secluded beach and a great viewpoint on the hill there. My partner and I were going to get married there next year until we found an even better spot (I'm not telling!)
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:25 PM on September 8, 2008

Oh, and in regards to Melbourne (just saw your follow-up there), here's my 'What Do I Do In Melbourne?" thread from not too long ago. There are a lot of good suggestions in there that I followed, although for the record, I thought that The Espy was highly overrated.

While in Melbourne we stayed at the Sofitel Hotel as part of a package deal to see the musical Wicked. I went via this website to get a good tickets/accommodation deal, and would recommend it to you too, especially since I thought that the Sofitel was a pretty swanky place to stay in. And if you haven't yet seen Wicked, I can only say GO SEE IT! I thought it was awesome and I dare say your wife will love it too.

Have fun!
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:32 PM on September 8, 2008

Thanks for all the advice so far. I love this site. It seems like the gold coast is actually looking less likely as a destination for our trip, while Melbourne is looking very likely. (We were thinking of staying at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in St. Kilda. It's 100/night via wotif.com.) There was lots of great stuff in the last Melbourne thread here, but if people have even more to say now, please do.
posted by chunking express at 7:03 AM on September 9, 2008