I have had a lot of emails regarding Holidays. This is not really my area of expertise but I thought I would add a few helpful things.
First thing I would recommend doing is buying an entertainment book, they cost $50 but will save you hundreds, I know that Woolworths currently has them for sale. Most of the vouchers in the book are valid for up to 4 people so you only have to get the one book but will save on things like 'buy one meal get one free, 25% off theme parks, buy one get one free entry to entertainment, LOTS of savings!!
As far as accommodation goes, it tends to end up being one of the most expensive parts of the holiday. I really wouldnt suggest booking through a travel agent, it may be easy, but its also expensive. There is a FANTASTIC site www.wotif.com that has accommodation deals, the closer to the time you book, the cheaper the rates will be. If hotels/motels have lots of rooms available they will list rooms at heavily discounted prices just so they are filled rather than being empty. If you are brave enough I would suggest booking somewhere for a few nights, hitting a net cafe once you are here and booking nights as you go, it makes for an interesting holiday and will save you a bit of money. If you arent so game, or perhaps have a whole family and would rather stay put for the whole holiday, you could have a look at www.goldcoastholidaypark.com.au they have studios at a reduced rate of about $420 a week, cabins for $510 a week, 1 bedroom villas for $558 a week or bungalow for $600 a week (all off peak prices) This is obviously a budget option but if you werent worried about where you would be sleeping then it could be an option. They are also right smack in the middle of dreamworld and movieworld. They also have a nice motel section too but I think the price may start to get a little high, check out the site anyway.
http://www.totaltravel.com.au/travel/qld/goldcoast Has a lot of accommodation options, http://www.goldcoastinformation.com.au/ is another good one.
I have also been asked about Theme park Tickets, I would recommend buying them from here. There are dairys (convenience stores here) that sell reduced tickets ($5-$10 bucks cheaper) In fact there is one on Siganto Drive, which is across the road from movie world. (check your map) You may be in the position where, youll buy all your tickets, eg a Movie world return ticket (A ticket that enables you to go twice in the period of two weeks) go once, and either choose to or not have time to go back, so have wasted the money you spent on the 'return' ticket. There are great tickets such as '3 park super pass' which gives you unlimited entry to Movie World, Sea world and wet and wild (not dreamworld or whitewater wolrd, they are owned by different people) for $177 which you can buy at the gate. Dreamworld has a $10 return ticket that you can buy at the gate when you are leaving, which will enable you to go back to the park within 14 days. http://myfun.com.au/MyFun-Tickets-List/Warner-Bros-Movie-World-Tickets.htm Here is the link to the Movieworld, Sea World and Wet and wild pricing, and here is the link to Dreamworld and White water world http://www.dreamworld.com.au/content/standard.asp?name=Tickets
Quite often there are discounts on the back of the shopping dockets, eg Dreamworld 'Adults at childrens prices' etc, but these are usually for locals only, there ARE ways to take advantage of these, but youll have to email me if you want any info on that.
Down to transport - It is definitely a hard choice as to whether you hire a car or use public transport. The public transport system over here is FANTASTIC, but I would have to say, If you can afford to rent a car then do it. You could possibly save hours every outing due to not having to wait for buses, not having the extended travel time from the buses stopping all the time, and not having to bus-hop due to the bus not going directly to your destination. There is also the fact that buses may be cheap, but if there is a whole car load of you and you are catching 4-8 buses a day the car may actually work out cheaper, and a heck of a lot more convenient. There are lots of car rental companies over here, this site offers a comparison of all the larger rental companies, and may save you a bit of time rather than having to compare them all yourself - www.carrentalbuddy.com.au - the car types and prices vary so much there is not much point in me giving you a rough estimate, be sure to look into the smaller companies yourself if you have time. I can tell you though that some places advertise their cars for as little as $27 per day, and I can also tell you that the train from Brisbane airport is $45-$55 per person return (and that is only as far as Robina so you would have to bus the rest of the way to surfers)
Great Shopping Destinations would have to include:
Habour town is an absolutely awesome place to shop, it is a huge outdoor shopping complex filled with retail outlets that have up to 60% off standard retail prices. If you LOVE your shopping I would allow 2 days for habourtown! If you are tourist to the Gold Coast make sure you pop into Habour Town's VIP Tourism Lounge to obtain your free Tourism Club Card which entitles you to further discounts to particular stores and restaurants. A lot of tourists are unaware of this service but make sure you do it because it can entitle to you up to another 50% off store prices! Habour Town is on the corner of Gold Coast Highway and Oxley drive, Biggera waters.
Pacific Fair is another AMAZING shopping mall/complex and is in Broadbeach, not far from Jupiters Casino. Make sure you pop in to the VIP Tourism lounge for you discount card there too. Another good day or two worth of shopping. Hooker Blvd, Broadbeach Waters
Australia fair is a huge mall too, Last time I was there I noticed they had a child minding service - Drop 'n' Shop Childminding is located on the Ground Level in the Fig Tree Foodcourt. Fully supervised with arts, crafts, playstation games, facepainting and an enormous playground!Drop 'n' Shop is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am - 2pm. Only $1 per half hour. During School Holidays Drop 'n' Shop is open Monday - Saturday, 10am - 2pm.
I have had a few people mention the 'brick works' to me, I didnt find it overly fantastic but there is one great clothes shop there call Trade Secrets which has pretty heavily discounted designer items. Worth a look. 107 Ferry Road, Southport.
DONT MISS the Carrara Markets, Saturday and Sunday, 6am-4pm, they have anything and everything, and will definitely take a whole day if you are a full-on shopper, they also have a courtesy bus $1 pick up and return. Gooding Drive, Carrara://www.carraramarkets.com.au/carrara-markets-bus-services.html
Another great place to shop is the Billabong factory outlet store, in the same plaza they have their Billabong seconds store, A cult factory outlet, Quicksilver, voodoo dolls and timberland outlets, Kuta, Coastside, and a couple more. Central Park Plaza, Central Park Ave.
DFO is another cheap spot to shop, with over 100 big name brands under one roof, with savings of up to 70%. You will probably see it as you drive out of Brisbane Airport (if thats where you fly in) as they are located at 1 Airport Drive, Brisbane Airport.
HIGHLY Recommended.....
Draculas Cabaret Restaurant, Awesome. Broadbeach. www.draculas.com.au
Infinity, a fantastic maze illusion, like nothing you will ever experience anywhere else. You'll never forget it I promise! Chevron Renaissance Building, Cnr Surfers Paradise Blvd and Elkhorn ave. http://www.infinitygc.com.au/about-infinity.htmlI
If you are over the north side of town, Near the theme parks, there is a great restaurant/Bar/Cafe/night club/gaming room called the Lost City. It is a favourite of ours and have never had a disappointing meal or service. And for those on a budget it is very well priced. They also do supervised kids activities, so you can have a peaceful meal, Wed-Sat from 6.30 :) http://www.thelostcity.com.au/
There is the most AMAZING playground in Southport, it has funky types of swings, pedal Coasters, roundabouts designed to look like wee carousels, a see-saw that goes around and up and down as you pedal, it is just unbelievable. There is also a netted swimming area. BBqs, Picnic areas, its huge, all free, and a great day out. It is across the road from Australia Fair, along the Broadwater. Make sure if you have younger kids you take them there for a picnic lunch!
Other attractions
Ripleys Believe it or not. Cavil Ave. www.ripleys.com.au
The Wax Museum. Cnr Ferny ave and Orchid ave, Surfers Paradise. http://www.australiagoldcoast.com/
Bungy Park. Cnr Palm Ave & Gold Coast Hwy
Surfers Paradise http://www.funtime.com.au/data/index1.htm
Australia Zoo. (its a wee way away, either side of 2 hours from the gold coast) Quite pricey too. Here are Directions: http://www.australiazoo.com.au/visit-us/how-to-get-here/
Currumbin wildlife sanctuary. I have heard Currumbin is great, But if you are looking at saving funds, and are already planning on heading to dreamworld, then Currumbin isnt really a must, as dreamworlds wildlife part of the park offers a very good range of Kangaroos, Koalas and other wildlife like Currumbin. http://www.currumbin-sanctuary.org.au/content/home.asp?
Outback Spectacular. I have heard it is a lot of money for not much. Great show but, still a lot of $. Check out the Movie world site for info.
If you have little ones and Just want a bit of time out, head to our 'Kiddy Winks' page for a list of indoor playgrounds and Cafes.
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