The Sister City of Brisbane, CA. True Story.

Advantages: Everything you need, neatly packaged into an attractive city
Disadvantages: Not on many people's itineraries - though it should be!

...I headed to Brisbane for a few days as a suitable stop over from Cairns to Sydney, and a suitable base from which to explore Fraser Island and Byron Bay. It was location more than anything that attracted me, but in the end Brisbane ended up being one of my favourite places during my time in Australia. Brisbane is in the middle of the east coast of Australia, just north of the Queensland / New South Wales border, and the capital of the former. The time difference between Brisbane and the UK varies, as does the time difference between Brisbane and Sydney since once adopts summer time and the other doesn't, but currently when it's midnight here, it's 10am in Brisbane. Though you can fly into the international airport from most of the Asian stop over options, most people fly into Sydney or Melbourne and then jump on a domestic flight. I...

zoe_page 12.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Brisbane (Australia)

Brilliant Brisbane

Advantages: Lovely
Disadvantages: No Star Attraction

...Brisbane is like a second home to me, I have been there many times because to see family. What I like most about Brisbane is the friendly atmosphere. This is what makes it so special. I can't imagine a more relaxed city. Brisbane lacks a big name attraction to draw as many tourists in as Sydney, but there are loads of places to visit in the near vicinity. The Gold Coast is an hours drive south. There you can find miles of white sand beaches, casinos, huge theme parks and a wicked nightlife. To the north is the sunshine coast, which is a lot quieter, but has some spectacular scenery. Brisbane itself has it's own unique charm. The Queens Street Mall is great for shoping and South Bank, in the city centre is a nice area for leisure. There's always lots of sport going on in the city. The Aussie Rules at the gabba is great fun. Don...

MattSlat 14.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of Brisbane (Australia)

Brisbane only a short walk away

Advantages: location to city, price, location to facilities
Disadvantages: not handy to CBD for disabled people

...We booked this accommodation through wotif.com and found it very handy to the city centre without being too close and expensive. It was approx. 1.2km walk (across Storey Bridge) to the CBD and around 800m to the Queensland Museum. Accommodation fine for travellers who are spending more time out and about enjoying Brisbane itself. Chinese restaurant attached to hotel (Adam's Oriental) is brilliant and lovely food. We found it to be a traditional style chinese restaurant with a chef who has catered for the King of Brunei and numerous Prime Ministers. Cafe however has seen better days with poor service. Otherwise great place to stay (only 200m to Coles supermarket too). The room we had was value for money and would recommend this to any travellers needing something that isn't going to hurt the bank balance but still be in walking distance...

tiger96_nz 24.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Sapphire Resort, Brisbane

Sleep, swim, drink, eat, BUNK

Advantages: A superb hostel - everything
Disadvantages: Nest of little visitors but this didn't phase us

...Bunk hostel is just on the very outskirts of the city centre of Brisbane (about a 10 minute walk) near the nightlife and entertainment of Fortitude Valley and directly next to Chinatown. If you arrive by bus or train into the Brisbane transit centre, the courtesy Bunk van will come and collect you. The hostel was really lovely - clean and modern and was probably one of the best looking places we stayed in. This may be due to the fact that they not only offer hostel accommodation but stylish loft apartments too. The hostel offers a variety of rooms from singles, twins, doubles and dorms, all with stylish modern décor. We booked an 8 bed dorm costing us $28 a night per person (roughly £14). The dorm was lovely and one of the best we came across with a screen down the middle of the room with 4 sets of bunks on either side giving each...

frankiefromings13 11.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bunk, Brisbane

Moreton Island - Dolphin Feeding

Advantages: The opportunity to feed dolphins in the wild
Disadvantages: hard to get there

...Moreton Island is situated 35km away from Brisbane. The island is 98% National Parks which is very obvious when you are exploring the island as there isn't a lot of shops or houses. In my opinion its like a mini paradise with its sparkling clear water and unspoilt beaches. HOW TO GET THERE You can get there by ferry which operates 6 days a week and you can take your vehicle if you wanted to. This is how we got there and we chose to do a day tour package that we could feed the dolphins in the wild. There are loads of different tours to suit different people where you can whale watch, feed the dolphins, watch the dolphins being fed or just do a day cruise. Our package was a 'Extended day cruise with dolphin feeding', which cost $90 adult and $50 child. This included transfers on a bus from Roma Street Transit Centre in Brisbane...

DeniseKelly40 11.12.2007 (16.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of Moreton Island, Brisbane

The earth is not only for humans

Advantages: Cuddle a koala, hold other animals, hand-feed kangaroos, brilliant Aussie experience
Disadvantages: None whatsoever

...Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is an animal park set in the natural wildlife of Brisbane, Australia. This was one of the main reasons that we stopped off in Brisbane as it is the world's first and largest koala sanctuary, and home to over 130 of the cute little animals. The koalas can be found in their own homes all over the sanctuary where they are separated by age and gender including the teenage boys, kindergarten and the retirement home. Due to the fact that they sleep 19 hours a day, the koalas will more than likely be asleep in the fork of a tree when you pay them a visit but, as this is their natural habit, this is the only place you would want to see them. The main reason for the popularity of the park is the fact that you get the opportunity to hold and cuddle a koala. Many celebrities have taken part in this experience...

frankiefromings13 14.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane

Barbies, Beer and Broncoes

Advantages: Great weather, some good clubs and restaurants, a place to just 'hang out'.
Disadvantages: A bit 'sleepy', not as exciting as the larger cities

...If you’re into sunshine, rugby and drinking loads of beer, then Brisbane is the place for you. Though perhaps not an obvious destination for the short-term tourist, this city is certainly a more accurate depiction of Australian culture than Sydney or the Gold Coast. Being the closest I have to a ‘home town’, I have a kind of love-hate relationship with Brisbane – when I’m there it annoys me and often bores me to tears, while when away I often miss it profoundly. Though nowhere near as exciting as London, Edinburgh or even Melbourne, it still has its merits. The City is pretty much like any other – a big mall (by the way, by mall we mean a big paved street with shops on either side, not an indoor shopping centre), loads of department stores, food courts, pubs, high rise apartments blocks and so...

gennymutant 27.05.2001 · Read review
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Review of Brisbane (Australia)

Who Moved My Cheese?

Advantages: Central, bar, cafe and large kitchen
Disadvantages: thieving guests, and not the cheapest hostel in town

...Dear Mrs Thatcher once said, "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't. " I frequently applied this principle to my stay in Australia - from 'gourmet' take aways to 'luxury' hotels. However, despite the name, and what that inevitably did not mean, I stayed at the Palace Backpackers twice this December, on either side of a trip to Fraser Island. Brisbane's a lovely city but it's decidedly up market, at least in its accommodation choices. All the big names have residences, as do several independents and smaller chains. As such, there are very few hostels in the city itself, with most a short bus ride away in nearby suburbs such as Fortitude Valley. Palace Backpackers however is right in the middle of the action, across the road from the central train station and close to the shops, the bus...

zoe_page 09.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Palace Backpackers, Brisbane

the Edmondstone Motel was great and would stay again

Advantages: a really nice place to stay cosy, clean, modern friendly handy and in expensive
Disadvantages: we have nothing negitive to say about this place

...we travel to brisbane on a regular basis,but found the Edmondstone by accident a few months ago. In our opinion,we can highly recommend this little motel because.It was not only inexpensive but clean, quiet and in a great location.From the moment you enter the reception you felt welcomed. It is nice to be recognised and even our names remembered, and just friendly people. In my opinion the rooms looked neat and tidy and spacious.Actually from our first visit we realised that it looked like they had been newly renovated . The bed was a king size and was soooo comfortable. After running around all day on business it was nice to come back to a cosy environment, after eating locally( great recommendations ) and then flopping on the bed to watch some telly on a large flat screen TV ( bigger than ours at home ) . The staff were helpful...

cutty 24.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Edmondstone Motel, Brisbane

Make the effort to stop over

Advantages: weather, people, cost/standard of living
Disadvantages: humidity, can be hard to find work

...I lived in Brisbane for a year and had a brilliant time. It's got a bad reputation from backpackers as they think it's boring and not as much to offer as Sydney or Melbourne. Frankly that's what's best about it. Although it's not a particularly big city it still feels like you're actually in Australia as it's still got a big town feel to it. That of course has it's disadvantages as well, and sexism can be rife if that offends you, but you learn to deal with it. The standard of living is brilliant, rent is pretty cheap, wages are better for even bar work than over here, and you can still have a brilliant social life and save money for your travels. I managed to save up for my flight home in 6 weeks and still pay rent, bills and go out just about every night. Eating out is great with a huge choice. Japanese, Vietnamese...

corman 27.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Brisbane (Australia)