Itinerary suggestion for Gold Coast/Brisbane?

Question

Hi I'll be in Gold Coast (GC) in Oct.

I'll be staying at the Seaworld Resort and will be there for 5 days.

I am interested in renting a car would like anyone's recommendation for places to visit.

Here's my draft plan.

Day1: Seaworld Resort

-I am interested in whale watching. Any idea if it's much cheaper to find other operator besides seaworld?

Day2: Movie World

- Would it be too much to spend an entire day there? Or if we decided not too, what else is around that's worth visiting?

Day3: Drive to Brisbane

- Any recommended sight seeing place? Eateries that should not be missed?

Day4: Winery and Zoo/Farm (around GC)

- Any suggestion on this? Perhaps half a day spent in the vineyard and the rest will be at a zoo.

Day5: Shopping (around GC)

Malls and also markets. Preferably all within the similar area.

I am also interested in trying out the local seafood restaurant. Any recommendation? Reasonable price and good food. Place that we can get fresh scallops, lobsters, crabs, etc

Answer 1

Day 1 - as you only have 5 days, the Sea World Whale Watching will be best for you. Most of the other tours are near Hervey Bay which is several hours north of Brisbane and difficult or impossible to do in a single day.

Day 2 - It's possible to spend a whole day at Movie World, but nearby is Wet and Wild. If you have kids with you, they would love to spend a few hours there. It's good for adults too, but kids really love it and it will be warm enough for everyone at that time of the year.

Day 3 - In Brisbane, drive to Mount Coot-tha for a fantastic view of Brisbane and points east and north to the sea. Park near one of the Citycat stops and take a round trip Citycat ride on the Brisbane River. The round trip takes you between Brett's Wharf and the University of Queensland and is well worth doing and very inexpensive as it's a commuter ferry. Time it for lunch at Brett's Wharf Restaurant (seafood - fairly expensive, but very good) at the easternmost point of the route and on the way back, stop off at Southbank. Take your togs for a swim in the lagoon at Southbank. The brilliant Southbank Lifestyle Market operates Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday and hopefully it will fit into your itinerary - don't miss it if you can possibly get there.

Day 4 - You could go to Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin's place north of Brisbane) or perhaps you could do that on day 3 in conjunction with the Brisbane trip. Go to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Don't know anything about the vineyards around the GC but have never yet found any Queensland wine that was worth drinking (have tried valiantly though) and the CG is not really a good climate for it, but the tours are probably interesting.

Day 5 - Shopping in Surfers Paradise is an interesting mix of tacky and boutique. Best mall shopping is at Pacific Fair.

Good seafood and reasonable price don't usually go hand in hand. Omeros Bros. near Seaworld is probably your best bet.

Enjoy your holiday.

Answer 2

Day 1:  Whale watching is not really a specialty of the gold coast - I really do suggest you do this at hervey bay or elsewhere... You should go diving with dolphins though - now that is awesome!

Day 2:  Have to spend a day there... not worth it otherwise.  Make sure you go on a week day.  I think this is becomming better than Dreamworld now... but both are pretty good.

Day 3:  Southbank is a nice place to go in Bris - plenty of places to eat - you can catch the train or city cat across to the city... Try out Poppy's Basket Bakery for a nice casual lunch - pretty much opposite the Imax theatre.  You can catch a movie at the Imax too if you want.

Day 4:  Winery & Zoo?  Well the best wineries around are in Stanthorpe (and I would actually strongly suggest you make a day to go there).  There are some okay wineries in the gold coast hinterland around O'Reileys - but I don't know of any zoos - the only zoo in brisbane is really just the australia zoo which is on the sunshine coast... and there are a few very minor winerys around there too if you wanted to travel up there.

I would suggest that stanthorpe is a tiny bit closer than the sushine coast - but there are no zoos!  There are a lot of arts and craft places there - ie, a nice 'gormet' soap shop, a lavender farm, etc.  And the wineries are all starting to make a really good name for themselves.  There are two places you HAVE to go to if you go to Stanthorpe - 1st is Lucas Estate Winery - beautiful wines and really friendly service.  Great for wine tasting.  2nd is the Bramble Patch - yummy fresh fruit icecreams and lots of other fruit products.  Also a nice garden to have a quick look at.

Day 5:  Just go to surfers - (surfers paradise) there is plenty of shopping and other stuff to do there.

Answer 3

If you're going north to Hervey Bay, go whale watching from there instead.

Day 2 - I would choose Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.  Rainbow lorrikeets feed early am (8-9am) or afternoon (4 to 5pm).  They also have a night program,

Day 3 - It will only take about one hour to drive from the Gold Coast to Brisbane depending on conditions.  Mt Coot-tha lookout and Botanical Gardens (top and bottom of the mountain could be a possiblity)  Southbank (markets Fri night and Sat / Sun) and city.  You have to go on the city cats (a ferry, takes 2 hours to go the entire circuit but you can get on and off).  There's more than plenty of places to eat - general, Asian, Turkish. Indian, steak, seafood, whatever you want...

Day four:

Go into the Gold Coast hinterland.  You can go to a number of wineries, a township like Mt Tambourine has nice arts place and quirky little visits and there's a few National Parks (Lamington is a lovely National Park but mostly a day out so you wouldn't get to much else)

Day 5:

DFO near the gateway / airport iin Brisbane.  Direct Factory Outlet, cheaper stuff from the known brands.  

Markets - Brisbane city (Riverside Markets) - SUnday only and Southbank - weekend.  Eumundi Markets (Sunshine Coast - long way...) but good - Wednesday and Saturday??? Cararra Markets (Sorry no idea)

Answer 4

You must go to peters fish market at the spit on the gold coast. You pick the fresh ingredients and they cook it how ever you like... i drive from brissy all the tme to get it yummo

Answer 5

In Brisbane, don't miss South Bank and the river. By October, the Brisbane Wheel will also be up so don't miss the beautiful views from that one. (It's like the Eye of London.)

Answer 6

I have just been to the GC for a long weekend.

Currumbin Sanctuary was great. Q1 has amazing views. Pacific Fair is a shopping Centre. Burleigh heads has great beaches.

I emailed the queensland tourist bureau and got info and then planned the trip.