Australia: Gold Coast Advice. (Need to rent Car?)

[Fazer8511]

Hi Bros and sisters,

 

Will be bringing my family and friends to the Gold Coast in Queensland at the end of the year,

8 of us in total for 4 nights. I need advice from those of you who have been there recently, is it more convenient

for me to rent an 8 seater vehicle or can we get by on public transport?

 

We intend to visit all the worlds, Dreamworld, seaworld and movieworld.

Any advice you can give would be much appreciated.

Also, which company should I rent from if need to.

 

thanks and best regards.

[Gilahonda]

Hi Bros and sisters,

 

Will be bringing my family and friends to the Gold Coast in Queensland at the end of the year,

8 of us in total for 4 nights. I need advice from those of you who have been there recently, is it more convenient

for me to rent an 8 seater vehicle or can we get by on public transport?

 

We intend to visit all the worlds, Dreamworld, seaworld and movieworld.

Any advice you can give would be much appreciated.

Also, which company should I rent from if need to.

 

thanks and best regards.

 

had been to Gold Coast 3 times and have always rented from Avis coz its reliable.the last time,they gave us a spanking new 3 mth old Holden.Its huge and if im not mistaken,its 3.4litres and cost AUD1000 plus for 1 week rental,3 years ago.MPV is better since theres 8 of u,cost is slightly higher,but then again u can split the cost among ur family and frens............futhermore,ur holiday is just 4 days.

 

the good thing is,even if i rent at their city outlet, i can just return the car at the airport outlet when i depart for Spore plus in a huge country,when ur car breaks down,u need to know who to call and in this case its AVIS and they have quite a reliable breakdown support staff.

 

thats all i can share with u........

[Fazer8511]

Wah, thanks bro, you are an early riser.

Your suggestion to rent from a reknowned company sounds good,

guess I should also look at the best insurance coverage to cover my ass.

 

Thanks once again.

[Yoongf]

Gold Coast is famous for their theme park opening hours of 10am to 5pm.

Given such short opening hours, have to be very efficient in transport time.

 

Dreamworld and Movieworld is about 30min expressway drive from the Gold Coast town centre. If got traffic jam, can be 1 hr. Their road works can really cause bottlenecks, and buay paiseh one.

 

There got many car rental companies. Got international franchise or those "rent a wreck" kind. International tourists better get those branded one. If got kids.. the rental for the car seat is very ex. Might as well go buy one or bring along.

 

 

[Beanoyip]

End of the year.. are you serious.. Prepare for 40 deg sweltering heat..

 

Yes it's best to rent a car, easier to get around..

[Bommii]

If all 8 are adults then i would reccomend to rent 2 saloon cars instead of an 8 seater MPV.

1. It can get v.uncomfortable

2. You will have baggage for 8 people, never seen good boot area in a MPV.

 

just my 2 cents

[Fazer8511]

Hi All..thanks for the replies and suggestions.

Yes...year end holiday, beginning of December,

I remember being there once, also during December and it wasnt that hot,

but weather nowadays is unpredictable.

Definitely need an MPV as there will be 4 kids with us, so space shouldnt be an issue.

 

Cheers once again.

[Theoldjaffa]

hihi,

 

i just came back from Gold Coast last week. nice weather of 10+ degrees. First time visitor, i thought it was a very very nice place to holiday in.

 

i rented my car from East Coast Car Rentals. They gave me a 3-week old Mitsubishi Outlander 4WD with about 2900km on the odometer. I got mine at a promo price. With reduced liability insurance + 1 additional driver + 1 GPS, i paid about AUD$420 for 5 days.

 

only thing is you pick up the car at a location about 5 mins drive away from Brisbane International Airport. Not to worry, there are toll free phones available for you to dial a number, and they will pick you up in a minibus to their location.

 

similarly, after you return the car, they will drive you back to the airport.

 

IMO, Dreamworld is the place to be. Movieworld was kind of boring. I did not go to Seaworld and Wet & Wild as it was winter and i don't want to be wet and cold.. ;)

 

enjoy your holiday!

[S2077s]

Been to Goldcoast countless times...bagpacked and stayed at backpackers, rented car and stayed beach front, high floor paranomic views....ventured most places i could afford since about 15-18 years back in my school days till the last round about 2 years ago.

 

I would say for the main tour route, you may consider taking their local tourist bus. Takes about 30-45mins to get to either of the 3 worlds. All are in the same direction. Driving there would be maybe 20-25 mins. Busese are relatively easy to take and timing is pretty scheduled. Of course, renting a car would be even more convenient if your hotel provided free parking facilities.

 

Supposing you intend to visit all 3 worlds which will take 3 whole days, i suggest you use public tranport. Then when you are venturing off the city limits and further down to check out coolangatta, den a car is a must for a big family.

 

If you haven't booked your hotel and you really want a truly beach front, good location (near surfers paradise - 5 mins walk) and pretty decent prices, i suggest Allawah Serviced Appts. Its the first beach front access hotel when you walk southwards down from surfers' paradise. I stayed there 3 times before, each appt might be furnished slightly differently due to different owners (this is serviced appt, not hotel), so you shd check out each unit before committing. Try to get a beach facing unit and high floors as well. It will make your Gold Coast trip totally memorable. I always tot staying without a view in Goldcoast totally spoilts the entire experience. And oh.....in summer downunder, there are gonna be plenty crowded with the local schoolies (high school kids) so you MUST book early to avoid dissappointment.

 

Wah....makes me feel like going again.

[Cklasse]

Go for horse riding in the mountains. It's a nice horse ride in the forest inland, passing streams and have morning break by the stream. They will brew tea and heat up garlic bread for you, camping style.

 

 

[Fazer8511]

Thanks everyone for the help, seems like Gold Coast is quite a popular holiday destination

amongst the forum members. I will be flying into Gold Coast airport at Coolangatta as we will be

taking domestic flight from Sydney via Jetstar.

 

By the way, bro Cklasse mentioned horseriding in the mountains, is that at Mount Tambourine?

Any idea as to the charges and how long does it take to reach the mountains from the GC??

[Peng]

It is very easy to navigate in GoldCoast, although we took public transport.

We were there GoldCoast (GC) 8D7N early September.

Highly recommend for families with kids.

 

We conquered the following themeparks :

- MovieWorld (5/5)

- SeaWorld (4/5)

- DreamWorld (3.5/5)

- ParadiseCountry (4/5)

 

(entertainment/valueAdd ratings are in bracket)

 

GC is a lifestyle entertainment by itself, and even adults were amazed at the variety.

Buzzing nightlife, buskers line Cavill ave, heart of Surfers Paradise.

 

 

On our last day and night, we stayed over at Brisbane.

Beautiful Gardens, and Victorian buildings.

 

For more stories and pictures, visit our blog -->

Day 1--> Itinenary and GlowWorm

Day 2--> Shopping Carrara and Harbour Town

Day 3am --> Paradise Country

Day 3pm --> Q1 Qdeck 77th

Day 4 --> Movie World

Day 5 --> Sea World

[Davidcks]

Hi, just a note that AUD is on par with USD now.... so many going US for the coming holidays...... plus go US got more things to buy.... atleast according to my wife.

[Neilkevin]

We are also visiting Sydney and Queensland this Christmas for family vacation. Looking forward for the same. Is the car hire procedure similar in Aus as in US and what about driving license? Any advice appreciated.

[Jman888]

We are also visiting Sydney and Queensland this Christmas for family vacation. Looking forward for the same. Is the car hire procedure similar in Aus as in US and what about driving license? Any advice appreciated.

 

 

better to book it online (pay online) and collect/return car at airport, both Brisbane and Sydney, save time especially when you are rushing to airport.

[Mcf777]

hello bro,

thanks for your details itinerary. due to my lazyness, i had copy more or less the same schedules when you posted at HWZ.

Gold coast....here i come

[Torquey]

renting a car to explore gold coast even to brisbane is a good idea.

 

but just to move ard theme parks then you can consider theme park packages since transport from your hotel is included and sg tour operators may hav bundle promos.

 

some tour operators throw in free theme park tickets, even if u are travelling free & easy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yoongf]

We are also visiting Sydney and Queensland this Christmas for family vacation. Looking forward for the same. Is the car hire procedure similar in Aus as in US and what about driving license? Any advice appreciated.

 

Car rental procedure is similar to US.

Driving Licence can use Sg one.

Their traffic scheme similar to Sg, so very comfortable for Sg ppl to drive there.