Travel Diaries Vol 7 - Gold Coast Life, Australia

Travel Diaries Vol 7 - Gold Coast Life, Australia

You will meet raging oceans which will knock you down. You will meet golden beaches which will give you light. You will meet dense forests and unique wildlife which will take you on adventures. Explore them. Get lost with them. They all have something to teach you.

Gold Coast is a metropolitan region south of Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. It offers a vibrant mix of theme parks, shopping, beautiful beaches and entertainment. 

Accommodation:

We left Cairns with a heavy heart and flew to Gold Coast to explore the next five days. Gold Coast is about 2 hour flight from Cairns and I guess, 2 hour drive from Brisbane. 

Out of five days in Gold Coast, we chose to stay for three nights in QT Gold Coast and rest of the two days in Hilton hotel, so that we could explore different properties. QT Gold Coast is a pretty boutique hotel with a funky decor. Hilton Hotel was just the same as other properties but V is the gold member of Hilton so, we got an upgrade to spa room, better view and complimentary breakfast. 

Clubbing night. Take a look at the lavish restroom in Vanity Night Club.

 Room with an ocean view in QT Gold Coast.

QT Gold Coast property and the breathtaking view from our room. 

Day off to Surfer's Paradise Beach.

Could not get enough of this Mexican bowl with black beans, brown rice and chicken. Also, Boost protein smoothies were our saviour throughout the trip. I wish it was in India as well. 

There are plenty of options for healthy food in Australia. We discovered this joint called 'Grilled Healthy Burgers'. Gorging on this gluten free chicken burger had become a regular thing for us. 

Beach Essentials!

Things to do in Gold Coast:

- Gold Coast serves up a steamy cocktail of sun, sand, surf and activity. There is the famous Surfer's Paradise beach with a shimmering strip of clubs, bars and restaurants. Broadbeach is sandy and chic whereas Burleigh Heads has seaside charms. 

- There are lot of theme parks like Dreamworld, Seaworld, etc to get the adrenaline pumping. V and I were not much into adventure sports and those nerve wracking rides. So we skipped the theme parks.

- Shopping is great in Gold Coast. You get good deals in outlet malls like Robina Town shopping centre and Harbour Outlet mall. Please keep in mind that all these places shut by 5:00 PM. 

Travelling Tips:

- If you have few days, make sure your hotel is in the vicinity of Surfer's Paradise as it is always buzzing. Hilton Hotel is in the middle of all the activity. We hired a sports car for five days to go to the outlet malls and explore other beaches. 

- You must include the weekend for a night of club hopping. There is usually no activity on a Monday/Tuesday evening. Also, most of the best clubs are all along the strip of Surfer's Paradise. 
- Australia is generally a very expensive country. Water is more expensive than wine. A bottle of water usually costs around $4 in hotels and restaurants. In Gold Coast, we went to a Woolworths super market and picked up lot of yummy protein bars and super-saver pack of water bottles. The healthy food section here left us spellbound.

Read more about my first leg of honeymoon here: Singapore Escapades 
Read second leg of the honeymoon here:Cairns City - The Great Barrier Reef (1) & Cairns City - Daintree Forest (2)

Talk to me on Twitter

Instagram/Snapchat: @meghasarin