Advantages: Sun, surf, sand, golden holiday
Disadvantages: Bit touristy

...Australia's Gold Coast really does have it all....golden sands, golden sunshine...a dream destination. What a place. One morning I looked out the window of our 22-storey apartment to see massive whales frolicking along in the Pacific Ocean, water plumes bursting into the air - no binoculars needed to see such an impressive but unexpected sight. Australia's ''Sunshine State'', on the eastern side of this huge country, takes in the area from around Brisbane, down to Tweed Heads in the south. At the heart is Surfers Paradise - 80 kilometres from Brisbane and about an hours drive from Brisbane's international airport. There's also another international airport at Coolangatta and while that is closer to Surfers Paradise it doesn't accommodate many international flights. So, you want to know more about the Gold Coast? I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Lots to do
Disadvantages: Food in the park not fantastic

...Movie World Movie World is described as Hollywood on the Gold Coast (granted smaller than the real thing). It includes thrill rides all-family fun with shows and attractions. Every corner you turn you feel like you have been placed in a cartoon. It is opened daily from 10am to 5.30pm. On Anzac Day it opens later at 1.30pm and it is closed on Christmas Day. Warner Bros Movie World is located on the M1 Pacific Motorway at Oxenford, and is 21kms north of Surfers Paradise. You can get a shuttle bus that will run directly to the park from Surfers. We bought our tickets on the bus so we didn't have to queue in the long queues. Tickets cost $69 adult and $45 for a child. One Australian dollar equals to roughly 0.445 United Kingdom pounds. **GUEST COMFORTS** Guest services are at the front of the park once you go in the main doors... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A lovely area and so much to do
Disadvantages: not enough time

...This is one of those holiday resorts in Australia that most people have heard of, but I didn’t really know what to expect. When we stepped off the plane it was hot, even in August, but not too hot. The airport is about a 15 min drive from the town through rather interesting coastal countryside. The town itself is set out in the block pattern with roads running north/south and east/west, which makes it easy to navigate around. The shopping area is spread over a number of blocks with a wide variety of small local shops, big chain stores, the odd mall or two and of course surfing places. There are a lot of surf shops in the area as the Gold Coast has a good reputation for surfing. Eating out in Cairns can be quite cheap as they have a number of eat as much as you want for a fixed price places, fast food chains and in the evening... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The croc show! Its a great zoo all the animals look happy!
Disadvantages: Steve irwin wasnt there!

...can get to the zoo by train and you get off at Beerwah Rail Station it costs approximately $19 adult and $9.60 child return. You will be picked up by a free shuttle bus which will bring you to the zoo. This is what I did, I got the train from Brisbane and found that it was really easy and it's the cheaper option and we could spend as much time as we wanted there. You can also book tours from Brisbane. Australian Day tours offers tours departing from the Gold Coast and Brisbane costing $97adult and $59 child. You arrive at the zoo at 10.30am and depart at 4.15pm.Another tour you can take is CC's Croc Connections departing from the Gold Coast or Brisbane costing $90 adult and $55 child. It arrives at 10.15am and departs at 4.10pm. I feel that both these tours would give you enough time in the zoo so that you can see everything. These tours... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Lots to do
Disadvantages: Nothing unique

...Seaworld Seaworld is an aquarium/ theme park which educated you on animals and you have the option to have fun watching shows and going on rides that are scattered throughout the park. Seaworld is located on Seaworld Drive at Main Beach, just 3km north of Surfers Paradise. You can get a shuttle from Surfer's Paradise very easily, it runs every 30 minutes and you can be picked up from your hotel. If you are driving from Surfers Paradise, follow the Esplanade, Main Beach Parade then into Seaworld Drive, it is sign posted well and shouldn't be too hard to find. If you are coming from Southport cross over Southport Bridge, immediately turn left and follow the signs. From the Pacific Motorway, take the Smith Street exit and follow the signs. The address of Seaworld is Seaworld Drive, Main Beach, Gold Coast, QLD, 4217. If you need... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Too many to mention
Disadvantages: None

...OZ - TRALIA A long awaited retirement gave us the opportunity to visit friends in Australia in 1993. It was our second trip to this vast continent, the first being a quick visit for two weeks only, when I was still earning a living. We chose to fly Singapore Airlines, as we had heard good reports and we were not disappointed. The service offered by the charming air hostesses was excellent, the food and wine first class and all in all, worthy of recommendation. Our route took us via Frankfurt, Rome, Bahrain, Bangkok, Singapore ( stop-over), Darwin, Cairns ( a stop-over to visit the Barrier Reef – not to be missed) and finally to Sydney. Here we were met by our friends who live in Melbourne and staying with their daughter in Sydney. Having satisfied the inner man (and woman), we slept solidly for four hours and woke... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Convenient location & a total must-see
Disadvantages: Prices & gawping tourists

...Located on Australia's Gold Coast the 'Palazzo Versace' is 5 star hotel from, you guessed it, Versace, the Italian design house. The world's first, if you will!! Versace is known for its incredibly opulent & flamboyant style....and if you go expecting it, you certainly won't be disappointed!! This is the hotel all the celebs stay at once they are kicked out of 'I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here'...so with some judicious planning, you may get to rub shoulders with some newly resurrected D-list stars!! First lets talk about where its situated. For those of you who don't know the Gold Coast, let me tell you, I can hardly think of a better location for Versace's flashy trashy style. The Gold Coast is, to my mind, a bit like Blackpool meets Miami for footballers wives!! The hotel opened in September 2000 & has 205 hotel rooms... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The experience, The scenery, Meet new friends, It goes on...
Disadvantages: Need some money first, Travelling time

...following the Lonely Planet ant trail around Oz, that means one hell of a bus journey. The good news is that Australia is totally geared towards backpackers. It’s ideal for travel virgins planning on popping their backpacking cherry. The weather’s good, the locals speak English (all sorts) and the country’s Sun kissed beach views are fantastic! Better still, the good old strong pound means you make a killing on the exchange rate and what’s more, the bars and clubs are always pumping like draught Foster’s during happy hour. The East Coast trail namely Melbourne-Sydney-Byron Bay-Brisbane-Cairns (for the reef), extending out to the Red Centre for Ayers Rock – and not much else – is the well-trodden backpacker route. Quite recently though, with the East Coast becoming increasingly tourist-saturated, I’ve been told the savvy travellers have... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Anything you could possibly want in a holiday all in 1 country!
Disadvantages: Far from anywhere, long way to get anywhere

...then in this vast land! And around 90% of the population live within a couple of hours drive from the coast. Until you actually arrive in Australia you can't quite fathom the vastness of it, even though people told me it would take 2 days to drive from Brisbane to Canberra the idea just seemed so bizarre that you thought these 2 days would be packed with getting out of the car, stopping at the beach, having lunch in some nice café overlooking the beach and maybe a couple of hours driving here and there! It's not until you actually sit on a bus for 12 hours and then get out your map and realize you have only traveled about a third of the way up the entire coast that you appreciate how big it really is! In fact it is so big that there are 3 different time zones! The western side is either 2 or 3 hours behind the eastern side (depending on daylight... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Scenery, wildlife, beaches, lovely towns - pretty much everything!!
Disadvantages: Long drives to see anything (but in a way makes it good as not crowded)

...Having just had a 2 week holiday in Western Australia I thought it only right I should share it with you all! This is more an overview of the places I visited rather than an opinion on the whole state because even though I covered more than 2500 miles in 7 days I didn't cover hardly any of the state when you look on the map because it's that big! Western Australia covers 2.5million square kilometres and constitutes about one third of Australia, is well over half the size of Europe and yet it's population is a mere 1.6 million. Getting anywhere is a long drive, and hours upon hours staring at perfectly straight roads without seeing another vehicle is not uncommon. This is what adds to the character of the state though and I actually loved it because it feels so untouched and un-touristy compared to the East coast of Australia... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful