Gold Coast

http://www.visitgoldcoast.com/things-to-do

Theme Parks
https://traveltips.experienceoz.com.au/gold-coast/theme-parks
http://www.gold-coast-australia-travel-tips.com/movie-world-gold-coast.html


Accommodation:
http://www.goldcoastholidaypark.com.au/?q=accommodation-and-sites/luxury-villas

Getting around:
http://www.railmaps.com.au/brisbane.htm
http://www.gold-coast-australia-travel-tips.com/gold-coast-transport.html
http://translink.com.au/travel-information/network-information/maps
http://shop.translink.com.au/epages/shop.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/shop/Categories/Gold_Coast_go_explore_Card

If you are staying close to the railway stations at Varsity Lakes, Robina or Nerang - you could take a train to either:

• Helensvale Station for Movie World, Wet n Wild, Paradise Country & Australian Outback Spectacular
• Coomera Station for Dreamworld & WhiteWater World.

To get to Sea World by public transport you will have to take at least one bus, and there aren't express buses that go to Sea World.

Translink Journey Planner is the best way to work out how to get around Gold Coast using public transport. It's not the easiest to use, so I have written some tips to help make it easier for visitors to understand!

Gold Coast Attraction Transfers Using Taxis

Taxis can be useful for getting around to some of Gold Coast tourist attractions. For example if you are staying in Surfers Paradise or Main Beach and want to go to Sea World, then a taxi could be a very cost effective and flexible option.

If there's a big enough group of you, then paying for a taxi to take you to Dreamworld may be worthwhile for a once off, but you may find that the shuttle passes with Airport and transfers are better value.

Gold Coast Cabs phone number is 131 008, you can book online ahead of time, or your hotel can call a taxi for you. There's an extra charge for booking a taxi. When booking you will need to tell them how many people, if you have more than 4 people you will pay more.

There are Maxi Cabs for larger groups and that can work out less expensive than taking the shuttles - but you will have to work that all out using the taxi fare estimator. Put in the details of where you are going from and to and it will tell you an approximate price. This will change in reality based on traffic conditions when you actually go. If you have more than 4 people then add 50% to the estimate and that should give you a good idea of the cost.

Taxi's tend to be a bit hard to get at peak times, so it is worth booking, especially your return journey, and make sure you give them a name and check when you hop in the taxi you have the right one. They have a change over around 3pm each day, so that can be a particularly hard time to get taxis.

Brisbane to Gold Coast

Train

Map of Train Routes – Click for larger image

You can catch a train directly from either the Brisbane Domestic, Brisbane International direct to the Gold Coast. The train begins at the Airport Domestic terminal, then proceeds to the nearby International Terminal. You can also catch the train in the Brisbane city at either Eagle Junction, Wooloowin, Albion, Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane Central, Roma Street, Cultural Centre/South Bank or Park Road stations. On the way to the Gold Coast it stops only at Coopers Plains, Loganlea and Beenleigh. There are six stations on the Gold Coast being Ormeau, Coomera, Helensvale, Nerang, Robina and Varsity lakes.

On the Gold Coast the train stations are located inland from the center of the city so you’ll likely need to catch a connecting bus or taxi to your final destination. If you are coming to the theme parks then get off at Coomera, if Southport is your final destination then choose Helensvale Station, for Surfers Paradise/Broadbeach it’s Nerang Station, for Miami/Burleigh/Coolangatta choose Varsity Lakes Station. For a large map showing all the stations see Brisbane and Gold Coast rail network , for timetables and planning bus connections from the stations see Translinks Journey Planner.

The trip time for the train is about 90 mins from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, as a more exact example from Brisbane Domestic Airport to Surfers Paradise (via a connecting bus from Nerang Station) would take about 2 hours and 17 minutes.

There is also the Airtrain service, which is the same train as above but you can opt to have a chauffeured car for the connection rather than use the public bus which is called AirtrainConnect, see airtrain.com.au.

If you are going to be using public transport in South East Queensland then get an SEEQ card, it’s prepaid and makes travelling a breeze, see SEEQ Card from TransLink.

Timetable:

http://www.railmaps.com.au/brisbane.htm

Australia Visa Update

http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/601-