G’day mate! If you are thinking of visiting the Gold Coast, why not try out this 5-day itinerary?
Gold Coast was definitely a family-friendly place and there was a lot of nightlife, which was great. This was part of my two-week road trip from Sydney to the Gold Coast in the middle of the year in 2023.
The full road trip route can be found here.
[Accommodation] Purple Pickle
This apartment was a stone’s throw away from Surfers Paradise Beach, and it was so fun because the beach was not crowded. Best part was that our room was on a high floor, so we got a crazy ocean view, cityscape, and sunset views all in one! The apartment had a full window glass pane, with a balcony.
We also enjoyed the rooftop terrace, BBQ facilities, a small garden, lounge, gym, and seats open-air rooftop. Free parking is available. This was a pretty great stay.
Address: 3440 Surfers Paradise Blvd
Day 1
Bali In Paradise (Halal)
It felt so good to have some legit Asian food after a few days on the road, that we even made multiple trips during our stay in Gold Coast. The shop is located in the Chop Chop Asian Street Food area, and is near the Hilton Surfers Paradise Carpark.
We tried the bakso soup, chicken satay set, fried rice and nasi ayam bakar which cost about S$80 with three drinks. The serving size was large, and the sambal was actually spicy.
Address: Shop 8.05/3113 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217, Australia
Paradise Centre
The evening atmosphere right in the heart of Surfers Paradise was electric! Besides the eye-catching billboards and decorations, buskers and talented street performers were plenty, drawing in big crowds of all ages. We spent quite a while enjoying the atmosphere and seeing gravity-defying stunts, worthy of tips!
There are a few malls and shops along the streets here that makes the place vibrant too.
Address: 2 Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217, Australia
Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets
Only open Friday to Sunday (dates change based on the season), the night market was a treat. There are over 100 booths with such eye-catching products, including live caricature, paintings, creative name calligraphy, customised keychains, binoculars, and iron on patches. There were many unfamiliar products like gemstones, 3D sculpture lights, a wax sculpture of your hand, and more.
Also enjoyed the live performances, from joyful tap dancers, a performer who dances with metal balls effortlessly, and Silver Steve. Pretty satisfying way to end the night.
Address: The Foreshore, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217, Australia
Day 2
Carrara Markets
Apparently this was Australia’s largest permanent weekend marketplace. Probably why the parking was a challenge, and you just have to wait it out until a lot opened up.
The open-air market was fun because we managed to get good deals, but you have to really explore it to find the good things. There were many collectibles and comics, handmade items, household products and leather vintage items around.
No halal-certified food here, so breakfast is up to your own discretion.
Address: Cnr Manchester Rd &, Gooding Dr, Carrara QLD 4211, Australia
Pacific Fair Shopping Centre
The mall is somewhat designed like VivoCity, but on a much larger scale that you could get tired and lost. Luckily, there were a number of designated seating areas and also an open green plaza in the middle of the mall. There was a good variety of shops including local brands, department stores, and also luxury stores. Bought my first lulelemon here!
Remember your carpark section to locate it easily.
Address: 2 Hooker Blvd, Broadbeach Waters QLD 4218, Australia
Harbour Town Premium Outlets
I mean, no reason to ever skip an outlet mall! Think we spent two to three hours shopping non-stop because of all the good deals and discounts (quite worth it!). There was a good mix of products, and brands. Apparently, this was Australia’s largest outlet shopping stop.
Address: 147-189 Brisbane Rd, Biggera Waters QLD 4216, Australia
2Bros Parkwood (Halal)
Wished they were my real bros who could cook up delicious and fresh fried chicken back in SG! Tucked away in a row of eateries in Parkwood, this Nashville-style fried chicken eatery was so delicious, we even ordered it again on UberEats on another day.
The fried chicken was served hot and fresh, accompanied by pickles, and the burgers came stacked with generous amounts of lettuce. The Halal cert was displayed clearly near the counter. While the dipping sauces came at an additional cost, the flavor more than made up for it.
Address: 310 Olsen Ave, Parkwood QLD 4214, Australia
Day 3
Dreamworld
Fun Fact: The desserts shop had some halal sweet options to bring back as souvenirs.
Buy the tickets in advance on Klook, and utilise the discounts and vouchers, and straight away enter the park without queues! Dreamworld is very family-friendly, so the roller-coasters and other rides were fun and not too extreme. There were bumper cars, Ferris wheel, 4D experiences and more.
The amusement park pretty much had long queues for most rides – we even interacted with fellow Stays in the queue using airdrop as we messaged each other photos of Stray Kids, and tried to figure out where they were in line.
There were relaxing things to do too, including a skating rink, mascot performances in winter outfits, photo spots, a Dreamworld sightseeing train, snow soap bubbles to play with at fixed timings, and game booths. The must visit is the wildlife park, which had majestic tigers standing very near to the glass walls that took my breath away.
Game and Cultural Exchange: I somehow won the biggest price which was a huge marshmallow. We had to compress it and cling wrap to fit in our luggage. The game master even shared how his parents are Asian Muslims, and conversed with us in Malay since he could understand bits of our conversation at the booth.
Photo credit: Anita
Address: Dreamworld Pkwy, Coomera QLD 4209, Australia
For dinner, we headed back to Bali on Paradise and explored the area at Woolworths Surfers Paradise (Circle On Cavill).
Day 4
Warner Bros. Movie World
Definitely a must-visit amusement park in Gold Coast. We visited during the period of ‘Super Hereos and Super Villains’, so the theme park was decorated with a Joker take-over at the fountain and Batman trick-eye photo spots.
Overall, the rides here were all SUPER FUN! We started with the Batwing Spaceshot since it was near the entrance and had a short queue in the morning.
After doing being launched 61 meters into the air, we then headed to the DC Rivals HyperCoaster in no time, which was AMAZING. It is the tallest, longest, and fastest hypercoaster, and you get a beautiful bird’s eye view of the theme park at 61.6m, and then blasting off to 115 km/h. So many exhilarating turns and drops.
Right beside it was the Green Lantern Coaster, which had a queue, but it moved fast because two to three batches can go in the same duration. It had a steep inverted drop and thought it was a pretty interesting ride amongst all the roller coasters so far.
We were also lucky that the rain did not stop us from having our Superman moment at Superman Escape, a high-speed launch coaster that goes from 0 to 100 km/h in just two seconds. They had to do a few rounds of testing in the light rain before they re-allowed entry, and we managed to ride it back to back while the crowds were not aware that it was back in service.
There were other chill rides like the Alien Invasion 3D Justice League, which is a 3D coaster ride and shooting game, as well as the Scooby Doo 4D Adventure show. There was a batman exhibition when we were there too. Interestingly, the Hollywood Stunt Driver 2 show did not change at all since we visited the place more than 10 years ago.
You could also spot many Warner Bros. characters roam the park for interactions and photos. There were little to no queues at all so we managed to take with a whole bunch of them while they were still in character, adding to the fun atmosphere. The street shows were also fun to catch as you take a break from the thrilling rides.
We just breezed through the entrance with our Klook tickets.
Address: Pacific Mwy, Oxenford QLD 4210, Australia
KINGS Steak & Seafood (Formerly Seven Brothers Family Restaurant)(Halal)
We were the first ones in the restaurant for dinner service, and was received warmly by the staff even though they had not fully finished setting the tables. The place was located in an unassuming place in between a church and a Chinese restaurant. Luckily the restaurant itself was clean and presentable.
Halal Australian steaks are just too good. They also sold lamb chops, which was superior.
Address: 10A Frank St, Labrador QLD 4215, Australia
Day 5
Beach Day @ Surfers Paradise
What is a Gold Coast trip without a day by the beach? Playing with the sea was super fun as the high tide pushed us along. We did not do much, but the strong waves definitely took a toll on us as we had a long nap in the afternoon.
The weather felt like air-con weather, so we did not actually feel the sun shining down as you play in the water. The tan line was very obvious a few hours later though.
Cocohut Taste of Thailand (Halal)
This was actually a pretty decent meal, and the food was served hot and fast. We bought chicken rice, tom yum, and fried rice. Quite liked it as it had an authentic Asian taste, as the staff were mostly Thai. The place was crowded during lunch with casual guests and office workers.
Address: 3114 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217, Australia
I guess one of the reasons we often go back to Australia is because of the cool but sunny weather, its offerings and how family-friendly it is. Views were top class.
We hope to be back for another round! Let us know your own recommendations that we should check out 🙂
Uminsummer 
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