14th December, 2012

Guide to Spending the School Holidays on the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, especially during school holidays. If you are planning on spending your school holidays on the Gold Coast, the following guide will help make sure you do it right.

Book early

The Gold Coast is an incredibly beautiful part of the world, and in the summer it is at its busiest and best. If you want to spend the school holidays on the Gold Coast, to avoid missing out on anything, book every detail you can as soon as you have dates. Everything from tours to Surfers Paradise resorts get booked up extremely quickly in the summer, so if there are a few elements of your trip that you have your heart set on, book them early.

Hit up the theme parks

If you are planning on coming to the Gold Coast for the school holidays, whether you are coming with your family or your mates, plan to hit up some of the fantastic theme parks while you are here, because they are easily among the biggest highlights of the area. For those who are going to be on the Gold Coast for long enough to check out a few of the theme parks, look into getting a pass, because it may save you a lot of money.

Watch your food budget

The Gold Coast is home to some of Australia’s best restaurants, and whether you are looking for somewhere romantic or family friendly, you are in for some real culinary treats. However, while there are some great value-for-money options available, eating out on the Gold Coast can start to get expensive if you do it too regularly, so be sure to keep a close eye on those food expenses.

To keep your food costs under control, it is smart to stay in serviced apartments or Gold Coast accommodation with shared kitchen facilities — especially if you are here with the entire family. You can save some money and avoid the crowds by making some of your meals at home.

Watch that sun

Summer weather on the Gold Coast is on average pretty spectacular, and you’ll find that just about every day turns into a beach day. However, if you are going to spend your school holidays on the Gold Coast beaches, make sure you are smart with your sun protection. A lot of people underestimate the effect that the glare off the water and sand can have, so make sure you don’t find out the hard way with a nasty burn. It may well ruin the rest of your trip.

Bring your own entertainment

If you are heading to the Gold Coast for the school holidays, you are in for a fantastic time, but whether you stay in hostels or resorts, you should make sure you and everyone in your group is packing their own entertainment. While there is a huge amount to do on the Gold Coast, there is always at least some downtime where people will need to be able to amuse themselves, so whether you bring a favourite book or your tablet PC, don’t come unprepared and then complain of being bored.