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Gold Coast

Surf Beaches, Theme Parks and the Hinterland

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3 daysIdeal stay₹8,500From / night₹3,140Food / day₹7,850Entry

A 50-km strip of surf beaches and high-rises south of Brisbane, centred on Surfers Paradise: the theme parks (Movie World, Sea World, Dreamworld, Wet'n'Wild), surf lessons at Currumbin and Burleigh, and the rainforest of Lamington and Springbrook an hour inland. Popular with Indian families for the theme parks; busy in the Christmas holidays and school breaks.

Highlights

  • Surfers Paradise beach
  • Theme parks: Movie World, Sea World, Dreamworld
  • Burleigh Heads headland walk
  • SkyPoint Observation Deck
  • Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Springbrook glow-worms and waterfalls
  • Surf lesson at Currumbin

Things to do

  • Theme park day (Movie World or Sea World)Morning · 7h
  • Burleigh Heads headland walk and beachMorning · 2h 30m
  • Springbrook rainforest and glow-worm tourEvening · 5h
  • SkyPoint at sunsetEvening · 1h 30m
  • Currumbin Wildlife SanctuaryMorning · 3h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Gold Coastvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Gold Coastvia Klook

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When to go

Best time: April – November

Heads up

Summer School Holidays: Full and Dearest

Australian schools break from about mid-December to late January. Beach towns, camping grounds and domestic flights fill up and prices rise 30-60%, with minimum stays over Christmas and New Year. Book months ahead, or come in February or March.

  • Humpback whale migration — Humpbacks pass the east coast from about June to October, resting in Hervey Bay beside K'gari from July to October, where whale-watching boats leave daily; Byron's Cape Byron headland and the Gold Coast see them from land. In Western Australia they pass Margaret River and Augusta from June to December.