Preparing for a Holiday to The Gold Coast

There is now less than 3 weeks before I go jet-setting to the gorgeous Gold Coast with my friend Lisa from No Excuses! As you can imagine a lot of preparation has already gone into this trip,   I don't want to get there and worry about what I will be doing while I am there.





Check out my Blog Catching My Breath.... to see what all the fuss is about!

We are very lucky now that we have at our fingertips the NET to quickly find places of interest around where we might be vacating too.  I really did not know how much the Gold Coast had to offer. Everyone knows about the Theme Parks and beaches but there is so much more on offer, from river cruises, winery tours, Island cruises and Nature Tours. Plus so much more.

My first step was to organise my accommodation  I learned of a gift certificate system on ebay, where a gift certificate of say $30 is purchased for a certain hotel/apartment. It has a set price which is heavily discounted from the regular price and this price lasts for 12 months from the date of purchase. I chose a beautiful apartment block just metres from the beach, right in the heart of Surfers Paradise.  (When my certificate was purchased it came with a bonus one to give to a friend or family, or it could be used at another date for me if I chose.)

After receiving the gift certificate I had to choose a date, this was not so easy as I had to fit in with my husbands schedule, he has taken a week off work. He put in for vacation time and when he received his approval I was quick to dial the Hotel and make my booking which was quite easy and painless.

I think the most difficult task for me to do in preparing for this holiday was in booking the flights. I had to co-ordinate with check-in, check-out times, our own family schedule and the airport flights and check-in times. I searched the internet for the cheapest flights and found that Flight Centre had the best deals all round. Just a note that when booking a flight remember to check if your checked in luggage is included. I had to add this to my flight price and even this was cheaper through Flight Centre. My flight will be with Jet Star so look out for my review on their service.

My next step was to decide on busses or a hire car, I had to weigh up the costs versus flexibility and my length of stay. Because I also have a friend coming along with me I was able to devide the costs which made it a bit easier to decide. After searching the internet I found that Hertz car hire, was the most convenient (being at the airport, hours of operation etc.) and cheapest rate for a better vehicle than most other car hire places. Also I could book it online, choosing the option to pay ahead I ended up with a cheaper price.

Now for the fun stuff!!!

Finding out what to do while I am there.

As I said before, the gold Coast has a lot to offer and here I will share with you a few things I might be doing while I am there. You will have to look out for my holiday blogs as to what I actually end up doing.

First there is the theme Parks, Sea World, Dream World, Wet N' Wild Water World, Movie World. It is possible to see a few of these places for a discount price by purchasing a Gold Pass. 

Another place which I think could be interesting is the Wax Museum. A definite must is Skypoint - one of the worlds tallest buildings. You can choose to do a Skypoint climb which takes you to the outside and the top of the building.  For those who are not so game there is the viewing deck where you can see 360 degree views of the Gold coast skyline. 

There are whale watching cruises, Extreme Jet Boating experiences, Land to river, to land cruises all in the one vehicle called the Quaker Duck, water cruises which include a meal for a very reasonable price and Tropical Fruit World, which has all the worlds largest variety of tropical fruit to be found.

I found this web site, Gold Coast Famous for Fun very helpful in finding a lot of activities to do, how to get there and events that may be on at the time of your stay.

So I am counting down the days and how little time I have left to go shopping for some summer clothing. Most of my clothes are more for the winter months since we don't have a lot of hot weather down here in Victoria. Who needs and excuse to buy new clothes anyway! 

Happy Holidays!