Holiday in Gold Coast & Sydney


coldwinter

New Member
Hi skylar

So what are the best buy there? I saw there is a Nike factory outlet, is it cheaper than in sin? Or any brands?

For the glow worm tour, is it ok to bring a 8mths old bb along? required a lot of walking?

Thanks once again
 

skylar

New Member
Coldwinter,

ya, Nike is there.. some are cheap but not the new seasons ones lor... other brands unless u want those aussie made one lor.. go check it out.. not bad lah..

glow worm, have to walk abit leh... dun really encouraged lor to bring BB but u can if u want to lah.. go check out the web site so u will have a better idea ya!
 

chern

New Member
hi jellytots,
I am back from Gold Coast holiday. Here is how I spent my 6days5nites in GC.

Day1(sat)-Arrive Bribane 6.20am. Transfer to GC hotel & check in at abt 8am. Take a short nap cos did not sleep well in plane. 12pm left hotel to surfer paradise for lunch & to purchase Dreamworld tickets (cost A$56/pax after discount). Then took a bus to Pacific Fair and transfer to Carara Flea Market by a shuttle bus. Shop at Carara for abt 1hr and then went back Pacific fair for more shopping and dinner. Most shops close at 5pm. Finally went back hotel by bus and sleep early.

Day2(sun)-Took a bus to Dreamworld and reach b4 10am. Spent the whole day at Dreamworld.....and took bus back hotel at 4pm+++

Day3(mon)-Morning went to Paradise country farm(half day tour with lunch). After which spent the whole day at Habour Town shopping. Nite time went to Surfer Paradise(SF) for dinner and more shopping.

Day4(tue)-Went to Movieworld and spent the whole day there.....nite time went SF for dinner and shopping again.

Day5(wed)-Went to Seaworld and spent the whole day there.....nite time went SF for dinner and shopping again.....there's nite market at SF beach...too bad that few nites was raining and very few stalls was opened for business.

Day6(Thur)-Morning went to Sporty warehouse(not worth going cos thing not cheap...waste of time) and afternoon went to SF for final shopping. 4.20pm head for Brisbane airport to catch nite flight back to Singapore.....Home Sweet Home.....

I did a lot of shopping as I have a lot of free time. Did not go pubbing as the pub there don't seems good to me...heehee...
 

coldwinter

New Member
Hi Chern

Where did you buy your dreamworld tickets? As for the bus, is it the normal public transport?

Is the Carara Flea Market and Harbour Town worth going? How do we identify the shuttle bus to Carara Flea Market at Pacific Fair? Is there a timetable?

Sorry for the list of questions.. :p
 

chern

New Member
hi coldwinter,
i bought the tickets at surfer paradise. there are a few attractions booth selling all tickets and i bought from the booth opposite HMV shop. this booth is the biggest.
the bus is normal public bus (yellow color) called surfside bus....

Carara is like flea market (pasar malam). T-shirts there selling from A$8 onwards. got some other things such as paintings....carara only open on sat & sun from morning till 4pm. If u like to shop pasar malam then can go n see see look look.
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i went cos dun wan to miss out anything. Dun worry...there is a bus interchange in Pacific fair and there is indication of where the shuttle bus is. And if u want to skip Pacific fair, then actually u can take the Carara shuttle bus directly from Surfer Paradise...they also pick up from SF.

I like Harbour Town but i went tat day was a holiday so many factory outlets such as Nike & Esprit is close lor...me very very disappointed. I only manage to buy 2 Adidas T-shirts at $10/pc. Other than the factory outlets, the normal shops things are not cheap lor. For me, I feel you should not miss out Harbour Town.
 

coldwinter

New Member
We will be staying at Breakfree Paradise Centre, is the booth opp. HMV somewhere near to our apartment? May I know the busfare? Do we have to pre buy the tickets.

Does the booth sell the Movieworld ticket? Is it cheaper as well? I went to the movieworld website and the online price is A55 per person.

Adidas Tshirt at 10?! WOW!, definitely a die die must go place for us...ha.ha...

Thanks.
 

jellytots77

New Member
calling dappy... are u the one tat mention where to get cheaper 3 worlds tix tat time hur... aiyo cant find the post liao leh...

yo chern... *muaks* u still remember hur... so how u enjoy ur trip... from the way u describe hor like nothing much we can do especially nite time... u seem to be shopping every nite at surfers hur...

btw nbr been there b4... ask u hor... surfer is like beach like tat one rite... can swimming at the beaches in sufer isit... paiseh hor bery mountain tt lah... also can rest at the beaches or pinic there isit... thinking of doing tat mah... kekeke

hmm... u mention abt the shuttle bus to carara market and pacific fair... we need to pay one rite... and is harbourtown bery near surfer or need to take bus one... also u nbr went to Australian Fair hur...

btw which hotel are u staying...
 

canon

New Member
Thanks Chern, for your sharing. I'll be going next Friday and my schedule is similar to yours with 2 worlds and farm thingy.

I hoping to have more time at harbourtown. Any reason why you din go for the glowworms? Also how was Dreamworld? Went there at least 9 years back so it's still the same(thrill rides that I'll skip) then I may want to give it a miss.
 

chern

New Member
Hi coldwinter,
Is Breakfree Paradise in SF? I saw many apartments under breakfree so not sure which one is yours. Once u in SF, just walk ard and i am sure u can find the booth....its opposite HMV. dun worry too much as SF is very small only. very sorry, i dun know the price for movieworld cos i only bought the dreamworld ticket as my package already have movieworld n seaworld ticket. but i heard that if u buy movieworld, seaworld n paradise country farm tickets together then would be cheaper...think this is called the ultimate pak...our agent book for us this ultimate pak. No need pre buy tickets in Singapore...go there n check out their best package better. And Yes, the booth sells all kind of tickets including glow worms and other attractions.

minimum busfare is A$2 per single trip....the longer the journey, the more expensive. from SF to dreamworld/movieworld, return(both ways) tickets is about A$5.40/pax. from SF to pacific fair, it is A$2/pax for single trip. from pacific fair to carara, its A$1/pax for return tickets...
the same bus ticket can be used for transfer to other locations but provided it is within 2hrs and within the bus ticket distance....ask the bus driver if not sure...or check out the busguide book which i think u can get in your hotel tour desk...very very helpful.

yep...A$10 for adidas t-shirt to me is quite worth.

Hi jellytots,
i quite enjoy my trip althou i can say quite disappointed with the worlds cos all 3 worlds r quite small lor. movieworld characters not many leh and the bat woman and wonder woman very ugly leh...heehee...
to me, cos i see the pubs all i not interested lor and so expensive so nite time is mostly shopping in SF which is so small only. the rest of the town shopping all close at 5pm leh...only SF shops open till 9pm. so...where can we go???? luckily i am those who sleep early type so ok for me.

yes, SF has a beach and the beach is a long stretch...its is just next to the SF shopping area...surely u cannot miss it one.
if u not good swimmer better dun go swimming cos the waves is quite big and that is y its call surfer paradise cos the waves is very good to windsurf...
can rest at the beach of course....picnic i not so sure leh...should be can lah...the beach very clean n beautiful and the waves very nice.

carara, pacific fair, harbour town & australian fair all need to take buses from SF. not able to walk.
i did not go australian fair cos it look so small (we pass by) and seems nothing much except for a few supermarket and close at 5pm too so not much time to go there. remember that 3worlds already take up 3 whole days.

i stay in Mercure Resort...I saw concorde hotel...it is in the heart of SF and just a few minutes walk to the SF...very good location.
 

coldwinter

New Member
Hi chern

Thanks for the info! Btw, did you get good rates for A$? which money changer did you go? The last rate that I saw is 1.285.
 

chern

New Member
Hi mingles,
i did not go for the glow worm cos i went to glow worm cave in New Zealand liao. guess should be the same....quite boring lor.
harbourtown not very big too. a few hrs is good enough for me.
dreamworld is mostly rides and if u dun like to take thrill rides, think u can skip dreamworld.
 

jellytots77

New Member
yo chern... tks tks... u hv been a wonder to tell me so much... so i will take bus to the worlds not so ex anyway compare to those provide tpt there...
 

chern

New Member
hi coldwinter, the rate i have is even higher as the time i fly off the rate is the highest lor. i change at 1.288 at chinatown. now i see lower liao. i see plenty of taxis ard everywhere but not much ppl take...most take bus. so i dunno how the rate for taxis...sorry..cannot help u.

hi jellytots, no problem....i promise to share one so i muz keep my promise...hee..
yep...take bus cheaper than any other transport.
 

canon

New Member
Thanks Chern. How's the weather there so far. I'm going with my nephews. Both of them very young so my sis is packing gloves and everthing. Dun think it'll be that cold right? From the papers, it was like 23 Degrees (H) and 17 Degrees (L).
 

chern

New Member
hi mingles,
i was not so lucky...
the first 2 days was sunny and hot. and the 3rd day onwards, its raining thru out.
but luckily its all quick showers....rain 20-30mins then stop for 1hr then rain again for 20-30mins and stop for 1hr....and cont....so i carry an umbrella with me all the time.

generally, i can say its not that cold during my stays there. i went round with t-shirt n jean only but when the wind blow, its a bit cold...kids should n must wear windbreaker...dun think need gloves though but no harm bringing along in case weather changes....

bring sunscreen cos the sun is quite scorching.
 

kankan

New Member
help sisters! Im supposed to make visa for the aussie trip. I called up a few agecnies, none wanna do the visas for me. Do u gers know of any agencies who will do that>

Thanks...
 

kankan

New Member
Thanks gers! Im still so troubled by it haha :eek:)

Anyway, Im wondering whether there is anything nice to be done in Gold Coast since it will be winter by the time im going (june). I felt a little stupid to go GC at this time period! Cuz My dearie wants to go!

Can U folks suggest anything nice??
 

iggy17

New Member
hi del tan,
me gg too, 8 Jun - 12 Jun, how abt u? can share yr itinery?

8 Jun: arrive at GC airport from Mel in morning, F&E for the rest of day.
9 Jun: Seaworld
10 Jun: Dreamworld
11 Jun: Movieworld
12 Jun: F&E
13 Jun: Fly back to Mel and then back to Sin
 

canon

New Member
Hi all,

Just came back from GC. Weather was good but the 2 worlds (MW and SW) were quite disappointing. MW is old and outdated in their showings. At least for SW, you can tell that more effort and $$ are poured into conserving the park.

Went to Harbour Town. That's good but not everything's cheap so have to browse thoroughly. Some Aussie brands and Addidas are good buys. Pacific Fair is very big, and if you go on thurs, they open till 7pm. Actually i spent most nights at Jupiters Casino la....

Paradise Country Farm is another letdown. Too commercialised. Not worth it.

Oh yes, we tried the surfside bus. easy to find. Can ask hotel for their timetable. I paid A$2 each to get to Pacific Fair direct. Our hotel, Courtyard, is in the best location. it's right in the heart of Surfers, next to Paradise Ctre. hard rock cafe is right below our hotel. 2 mins walk to everywhere in surfers central.

2nd best is Concorde and Legends. For Watermark and mercure hotel, got to walk abit. Not far though.
 

kankan

New Member
hi iggy and jelly tots, sorry for the late reply. Not been on the net for long ;)
My visa is done by my bf's mother travel agency. As she is always on biz trip, so the agency does the visas for us FOC! But my friend did it foor 10 bucks!


Anyway my itnerary is as folows after browsing thru sporebrides forum:
v 13th June (Monday ) à Queen's Bday
Ø Major shopping centres closes at 6pm

Day1-

6.30am: Arrive Brisbane. Transfer to GC hotel & check in at abt 9am.
11am: Head to Surfer's Paradise and try to book tours with the local travel agency (Hinterland Tours è Mt Tambourine & O'Reilly's A69, Aquabus A26, Dreamworld entry tics A60, Brisbane sightseeing A70) Additional 300SGD/Pax
Lunch @ Chevron Renaissance with Coles supermarket and few shops...lotsa eateries though....
1pm: Head for 'World's First' amphibious Aquabus tour along the beachfront Esplanade, Narrowneck surfing beach to the Spit, viewing, Palazzo Versace, the Sheraton hotel, Sea World and Nara resort,etc (this bus can travel on water and land hee…)
2pm: Take a bus to Australia Fair SC for shopping and buying groceries (15mins). .
Evening: Either settle dinner at AF SC or return back to SF to have dinner or shopping.


v 14th June (Tuesday)

Day2-

Take a bus to Dreamworld and reach by 10am. Spend the whole day there (I want to cuddle a Koala!!)
Leave around 4++ & proceed to Ashmore Road Steak & Seafood restaurant to have dinner. After that, to beach for star-gazing


v 15th June (Wednesday)

Day3-

Mt. Tamborine &O'Reilly's hinterland tour (9 am to 430pm)
Climb up to the cool quiet rainforests of Lamington Plateau. Visit Mt. Tambourine for its wonderful view of GC and the blue Pacific Ocean. Morning tea and leisure walk in fresh mountain air.
Head to "Green Mountains" of O'Reilly's and lunch @ O'Reilly's Rainforest Guesthouse
Visit Canungra Valley Winery (award winning winery) for wine tasting
Bird feeding also included
Explore hotel nearby for dinner and leisure walk along the beautiful beach


v 16th June (Thursday) --. Night time shopping is available :eek:)

Day4-

Alternative: Morning go to Paradise country farm (half day tour with lunch) or Ripley Believe it or not Museum many interesting things to see)
Noon: Shopping @ Harbortown SC! There are lotsa factory outlets there!
happy.gif
If gotta time, can go Pacific Fair for more shopping, walk walk see see keke..
Night: Visit posh Conrad Jupiters Casino & Dracula Cabaret Restaurant (dinner + show) è 20+ /pax
Night shopping @ SF pasar malam shops! Every Friday night - 5.30pm to 10.00pm


v 17th June (Friday)

Day5-

A visit to Brisbane is a must! Cruise along Brisbane river to view attractive suburbs and the trademark places of Brisbane (south bank parklands, newstead house, etc) (8 to 530pm)
Early rest..


v 18th June (Saturday)

Day6-

Must visit Carrara Market (just up the road from Pacific Fair) which only opens during weekends!!!! There are quite a no of stalls there like a couple of hundreds, they are at Nerang-Broadbeach Road stretch ya!
3pm: Home sweet home!
 

jellytots77

New Member
yo del... thanks for the update... wow u seem to enjoy ur trip man... care to share average how much per pax did u spend (excluding tix, tax and accom)...

btw u mention star gazing... wow is it tour type or wat...
 

kankan

New Member
Hi jelly tots! i just came back, wait for my updates on my trip ok! I mostly covered what i said in my intinerary.If u want to see my pics, u can give me yr email and i will send invitation to U
happy.gif

Eh, me n dearie change 1200 SGD (900AUD) & we signed the day tours by cr od around 330SGD.
Hope that helps.!
 

metta

New Member
Hi,

May I know if anyone drove from Sydney up to Gold Coast? I am planning to do a 6 days self-drive up, then fly back to Syd. Anyone please suggest where I can stay at Byron Bay and Hunter Valley? What activities can I do there and do I need to pre-book? How much will car rental cost for 6 days? Thanks so much!
 

kankan

New Member
Hi sch, I suppose U will be reading this when back!
If u wanna see the pics, please give me your email address then i can send invitation yo U hee :D
Hope U enjoy it!!
 

schnauzie

New Member
HI Del,
yup I'm at brisbane right now..stayin at my sis's place. goin to pacific fair, surfers and harbour town for the next 2 days. alot of shopping ;p broke ;p alot of winter sale goin on now...but night time nthg much leh..goin clubbin later though ...keke
heh my email add is [email protected]

thanks!
 

jellytots77

New Member
yo schnauzie.... wow shiok shiok hor... update me when u back ya... i will be gog there in Sep05 leh... so looking forward...

btw care to share... wat tpt did u take to ur sis hse fm airport... cos mine dun come with airport trf... so abit worry abt the price leh...
 

schnauzie

New Member
Hi all, just back from my trip to gold coast, brisbane n melbourne ;)
jelly - my sis's fren picked me on his car when i reach but when we return to brisbane from melbourne, i took an Airtrain to the City (20 mins to reach City - Roma Station or central station) from there it is a transit centre where u switch to other trains to whichever station u wanna go. as my sis live in the suburban, we changed train then took a bus...took nearly 2 hrs to get home coz we missed the airtrain n needed to wait 35 mins for the next one. The air train costed $11, alternatively u can take this bus which also bring you to the city, it cost $9 but take 30 mins. The frequency of the bus is abt 30 mins.
takin cab in aussie is expensive so nv take cab
 

melodie

New Member
hi del, can share ur pics wif me? i'm going to aussie this thurs... tks! [email protected]

gers, ask ur travel agency to do the visa for u, dun do online, more expensive... travel agency do $10 only
happy.gif


jelly, u're going there nxt mth, tm flies hor...
happy.gif
 

jellytots77

New Member
yo sch...hmm... mine is the sydney airport no trf leh... so i take fm there hur... duno ex or not hor...

yo mel dear... no lah... is Sep05 lah... btw ur AD how hur... when over liao bo... aiyo... i forget leh...
 

kankan

New Member
hi there! sorry been busy hee
happy.gif

Jelly, how happy for U that U r going Aussie soon! Sure U'll enjoy yourself!
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) Melodie and Sch, I have sent invitation to u gers to view the pics. Sch, did U take any pic?? hee...
 

melodie

New Member
jelly dar... my ad over liao, was in mar
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tomolo me go aussie liao, will update u when i get back...

hi del, tks for sharing ur pics... very well-taken... u guys looked so happy!
 

jellytots77

New Member
yo del... i also 1 2 see... u nbr email me rite... [email protected]

yapzzzz.... looking forward for my aus trip but not wedding lor

yo mel dear... paiseh lah.... i really busy until i forget mah... also too many of u liao... i also cant remember who get married and when lor... yo enjoy ur trip... come back update me ya... also bo sent ur pix for me to see...
 

melodie

New Member
jelly dar, i'm flying off soon, will share pics when i'm back... ur ps pics ready bor? nvr show me also... i'll send my pics to u soon...
happy.gif
 

jellytots77

New Member
yo mel dear... enjoy ur trip and update me when u back wor... pix pix hur... still hvn find time to load leh... now busy with work and wedding prepartion... will sent u once i done up can... i wait for urs hor... :p
 

brittany

New Member
Hi Mingles
I understand that you hv stayed in Courtyard Marriot during yr Jun trip to GC.
I will be going to GC in Sept and plan to stay at Courtyard Marriot. May I know your feedback on this hotel. Besides it’s good location, is the room clean & spacious. As I will be traveling with my 20mths baby, I’m quite particular abt the room cleaniness. How many days did you spend in GC, how’s the weather in Jun, is it cold?? What is your itinerary like, can share w me?? Did you book any local tour packages to DW, MV, sunshine coast etc. Sorry to hv ask you so many questions?? Finally can share any pics w me??

Hi, Del
I have also read abt your itinerary and it’s kind of gives us some light to our planning. Thanks for sharing here!!!
happy.gif

My hubby & I will be going to GC in Sept with our 20mth old BB. Since this is our 1st time to GC and will be bringing our BB along, we hv lots of planning & worries, guess travelling w/o a baby will be easier. Don’t mind if I ask you lots of questions here. May I ask .....
1) Which hotel do you stay in GC??
2) How do you travel fm Brisbane to yr GC accommodation. Did you book any coach transfer fm S’pore??
3) Where did you book your local packages in Surfer’s Paradise. Is it cheaper to book there or in S’pore??
4) How do you take a bus to DW?? How long is yr journey and bus fare??
5) Did you visit the Bryon lighthouse and Sunshine Coast??
6) You hv a brisbane day tour fm 8am to 5:30pm. Besides the cruise, what else does this package includes?? It’s seem a long hr tour?? Do they bring you to some shopping area in Brisbane and does it also includes a meal??
7) How’s the winter in Brisbane/GC?? Is it v cold??
8) Can share your pics w me
happy.gif


Hi, Jelly
U r also going to Aussie in Sept?? Which part r u going to??
Hv u booked yr flts & hotels/svc apt??

Cheers
 


canon

New Member
Hi Brittany,

Courtyard Marriott is in a superb location. Cavill Ave is at the back of the hotel, linked by a shopping mall. Very convenient. Yes room is clean and spacious, staff very helpful too..I was there for about 7 days. Booked my F&E package with SA Tours. Included SW, MW and Country Paradise.

In my opinion, can skip Country Paradise; it's too commercial. We got our DW tickets from a ticketing counter located in one of the malls in cavill ave. These counters are actually almost everywhere. Prices are the same but I spotted one small counter (along HMV stretch) which sold for about $2 cheaper. HMV is just opp Courtyard Marriott.


Weather was nice...we went in May, temp started to dip from 4pm onwards...good to walk around in, now may be slightly colder i guess
 

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