Gold Coast Trip Planning & Itineraries

Day One: Tour the Gold Coast

Start the day with a sunrise hot-air balloon ride over the Gold Coast hinterland, landing at O'Reillys Grand Homestead for breakfast and champagne. Next, head off on a full-day tour of the Gold Coast and hinterland, highlighting Palazzo Versace and Marina Mirage, and including a cruise along the Broadwater Canal. This tour also takes you to the World Heritage-listed rainforest of Springbrook National Park - revisit on a bushwalking tour that nature lovers will not want to miss. Queensland's vibrant capital, Brisbane, is less than an hour away, so take a city highlights tour or more in-depth Best of Brisbane tour.

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Day Two: Gold Coast theme parks

Of course, the Gold Coast means theme parks, and we've got them covered with fun passes and fuss-free Skip the Line entry. For the best value, check out our multi-park passes. The two-day World Pass combines Dreamworld's thrilling Claw, Tower of Terror, Giant Drop, Cyclone and Wipeout rides with the world's hottest water rides at WhiteWater World. You have five days to squeeze in three big parks with our Theme Park Fun Pass: Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet 'n' Wild Water World. For the ultimate multi-pass, pick up a Theme Park Super Pass, giving you unlimited entry to the three parks over 14 days. Or get Skip the Line entry to Wet 'n' Wild, the sea creatures of Sea World or film fun at Movie World, and don't waste time standing in queues.

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Day Three: Day trips from the Gold Coast

There are heaps of fun-filled activities waiting for you on the Gold Coast, especially if you're into the great outdoors and wildlife. Spend the day at Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's living legacy, Australia Zoo, or make a nocturnal visit to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary for a guided tour by flashlight. Join a small group eco tour to the Mt Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk to experience tropical Queensland at its best. Two of the state's best-known islands are easily visited from the Gold Coast. The Moreton Island 4WD Tour reveals the island's beaches, dunes and freshwater lakes. The Fraser Island 4WD Tour takes you to the world's largest sand island for a day of 4WD touring and beaches.

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Palazzo Versace

For the ultimate in designer-label glitz and five-star luxury, Palazzo Versace is awash with marble and mosaics, rich fabrics and opulent Versace designer touches. This stunning white marble palace is a world unto itself, with several in-house restaurants, palm-lined pools and an on-site spa.

Vibe Hotel

Vibe is a boutique hotel in a high-rise body, right in the heart of Surfers Paradise. Fresh, fun and very funky, it makes use of bold designs in turquoise, purple and lime green that lend a city-slick edge of modernity. Some rooms have balconies, others have stunning hinterland views.

Gold Coast International Hotel

You get a lot of bang for your buck at this super-shiny, recently renovated hotel. Choose from spacious rooms and spa suites, but the real star of the show is those views - every room has a sea or hinterland view from its balcony, sublime by day and glittering with lights by night.

Oskars

A perennial favorite with restaurant critics and gourmets alike, Oskars is one of the Gold Coast's finest, almost touching the beach at Burleigh Heads. Seafood is the order of the day, perhaps Queensland mud crab steamed with coriander, chili, lemongrass and coconut cream.

Tandoori Place

No ordinary Indian restaurant, Tandoori Place has six knockout locations on the Gold Coast. Come here for kangaroo korma or knock-your-socks-off vindaloo roo. It also serves traditional Indian curries and tandoors (clay ovens). Evening bookings are essential and takeaway is available.

Omeros Brothers Seafood

It makes sense to indulge in seafood on the Gold Coast, and Omeros is one of the best places in town to try local favorites like Moreton Bay bugs, grilled lobster and oysters (natural, mornay or kilpatrick). Whole fish is another specialty at this seafood restaurant, maybe sole, snapper, barramundi or whiting. Pastas and steaks round out the menu for non-pescatoreans.