When you’re planning a family or group vacation to Queensland, you may find it useful to consider Gold Coast holiday homes. Short term or holiday rentals offer a great alternative to traditional hotel style accommodation. When you’re travelling with a larger group, this option can be a perfect way to for everyone to have that bit more space than a regular hotel room provides.

Gold Coast holiday homes can be particularly good if you’re travelling with friends, in extended family groups or with older children.

About Gold Coast Holiday Homes

Gold Coast Holiday homes can come in all shapes and sizes. In order to find something that suits you, consider how many beds are available, the number of rooms the property has and what number of rooms you’ll require to accommodate the number of people who will be there for the duration of the holiday. Things to consider include whether or not some of those coming will mind sharing a room or wish to be on their own.

If you’re travelling with extended family, then a group of younger kids will probably relish the chance to share a room with their cousins, but couples probably want their own space while on holiday. Facilities such as modern kitchens, the number of bathrooms and multiple living areas are other things to consider when booking a holiday home. You may also want to enquire about whether the house has a pool, whether it is secured with an approved safety fence, and if there is any grassed play area if you have young children with you.

Booking Your Holiday Home

There are several options for booking your holiday home, and booking online has some real benefits. Being able to see photographs of each room in the house, maps of its location, and details of proximity to attractions etc can save a whole lot of questions and answers over the phone. Of course, if you have an special requirements, having the option to pick up the phone to ask is ideal.

Where To Stay on the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast has some incredible beaches; some are surfing beaches and some are more family orientated. The following are popular beaches that you might want to consider when picking your perfect holiday location:

Surfers Paradise

Coolongatta

Mermaid Beach

Broadbeach

Tweed Heads

Rainbow Bay

Gold Coast holiday homes are a versatile option and can be a great way to enjoy a holiday with family and friends. One added bonus is that when you do travel with a larger number of people, Gold Coast holiday homes can work out to be very cost effective.

The Gold Coast is hands-down the best location for business conventions and conferences in Australia. It has the largest selection of beaches, sub-tropical rainforest, theme parks, nightlife, shopping, attractions and Gold Coast accommodation deals for travelers attending a conference, expo, workshop or seminar.

Choosing Gold Coast For Your Conference

Accommodation: With thousands of rooms and attractive Gold Coast accommodation deals, groups and delegates can expect quality stays at great prices. Hotels line the beaches with 3 to 6 star ratings while an even greater number of self-contained apartments can be found all over the city.

Convention facilities: The Gold Coast is the favorite venue of business events and has an unrivalled track record for hosting successful conventions. Its convention centers and venues play host to thousands of meetings and conventions annually.

High attendance rates: The popularity and lure of the Gold Coast help generate strong attendance during business conferences.

Value: While the Gold Coast is Australia’s sixth largest city, its accommodation, transport, meals and activities are cost effective, particularly for groups. 

Tourist attractions: The city’s attractions include a sweeping coastline with beaches spanning a total area of 70 kilometers, a large rainforest, a dozen theme parks, hundred of restaurants and cafes and world class shopping centers. Businessmen can turn the weekend into a family affair by bringing their loved ones with them. Children can spend the day at Seaworld or the Warner Brothers Movie World while wives will surely love the shopping centers and famous boutiques. At night, visitors can unwind in the any of the bars and night spots close to the beach. A night market by the beach is also open on the weekends.

Weather: The Gold Coast is blessed with sunny weather most days of the year with an average temperature of 23 degrees Celsius (73F).

Transport: Accomodation on the Gold Coast and most convention sites are in close proximity, often walking distances, eliminating the need for ground transportation although there are buses, taxis, shuttles and a railway system for going around.

Choosing the right place to stay during a convention is important. Aside from resort hotels, modern and fully-equipped self contained apartments are available in 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms that can accommodate up to 8 persons. Most apartments come with queen-sized beds, private baths, separate kitchen facilities, air conditioning, TV, DVD, hair dryer, Internet access and spacious rooms overlooking great views of the ocean or hinterland. With Gold Coast accommodation deals, delegates in groups or with their families can definitely mix business with pleasure.

The Gold Coast, travel dream destination for international and local visitors alike, boasts having the best of two worlds, offering tourists a cosmopolitan lifestyle amidst beautiful beaches and naturally preserved wildlife. It is undoubtedly the most popular holiday spot in Australia – most of the area’s revenue is derived from tourism and its hospitality industry is unrivalled in Australia.

Reasons why tourists choose Gold Coast travel

Best beaches in the world: The Gold Coast has a sweeping coastline consisting of 70 kilometers of stunning beaches, blessed with powdery white sand, said to be the best in the world. Among its numerous beaches, the popular ones include Surfers Paradise, Main Beach, Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach and Duranbah Beach. Tourists and locals enjoy hanging out by the beach, walking, building sand castles, soaking up the scenery or enjoying meals al fresco.

Animal displays: While the Gold Coast is Australia’s foremost theme park destination, foreign visitors come here to view the amazing animal displays such as the dolphin show, penguin and polar bear displays at Seaworld. There are opportunities to watch the whales in the ocean or go deep sea fishing.

Natural wildlife: Not too far away from the city is the hinterland where one can find a number of national parks with large rainforests. Other natural attractions include the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary; a National Trust favourite that covers 27 hectares of landscaped grounds where visitors get the chance to feed wild lorikeets and kangaroos, cuddle a Koala and watch traditional Aboriginal dancing.

Dinner cruises: Tourists also love the experience of dining on board luxury air conditioned cruising vessels as they sail along local waterways and islands. Other options include traditional sailing and night party cruises which incorporate night club fun on board cruising vessels.

Outdoor dining: The Gold Coast has over 500 restaurants and cafes around the coastline, most of which are fronting the beach. This provides the perfect setting for al fresco dining while savoring unique Australian food or dishes from various international cuisines.

When traveling to the Gold Coast, choosing accommodation on the Gold Coast that best suits your lifestyle and travel plans is essential. The majority of Gold Coast travel accommodation for tourists tend to be in self-contained apartments for their comfort, safety, world class facilities and value for money. These accommodation types are generally found along the beach or in close proximity, allowing guests to explore tourist attractions on foot.

A family vacation is a major expense that most households plan ahead to get the best Gold Coast holiday packages.

While the typical Gold Coast accommodation is a hotel or resort, families of four or more members may as well consider other options such as apartments that offer reasonable rates for two-bedroom apartments or bigger rooms.

Longer stays

Most Gold Coast holiday packages offer a free extra night for a minimum stay of two or more nights. These offers are best suited for families who intend to explore most of the theme parks, the hinterlands and numerous beaches on the Gold Coast.

Child rates

Some Gold Coast accommodation choices allow young children to stay for free. Inquiries upon booking and reservation are necessary to determine the age limits and other rooming conditions for the free accommodations.

Special tours

Most resorts have special arrangements with tour operators and offer special rates for common tourist attractions such as theme parks, the hinterland, beaches and the wine cellars. Resort guests can avail themselves of discounted rates for groups or special passes which provide access to multiple theme parks. These optional tours can be arranged upon booking or arriving at the hotel.

Where to go

Beaches: The Gold Coast’s main attraction is its sweeping coastline consisting of numerous beaches leading to sparkling blue waters. With warm weather 300 days a year, locals and tourists spend time on the beachside just sitting back and soaking in the atmosphere. Families can spread out a picnic or dine al fresco at any of the cafes and restaurants in the area. Famous beaches include the Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Burleigh Heads and Palm Beach.

Theme parks: Both children and adults will surely enjoy the thrilling rides, spectacular shows and amazing animal displays at the Gold Coast theme parks which include Seaworld, Warner Bros Movie World, and the Wet ‘N’ Wild Water World 

Children will love Warner Brother’s movie-based rides and shows such as the Looney Tunes Village and the Police Academy Stunt Show. A day is not enough to try all the rides and watch all the shows of the Gold Coast theme parks.

The best way to experience all the rides, watch all the shows and animal displays is through VIP pass that allows its holder multiple entries to most of the popular theme parks. Special passes such as the VIP pass may be obtained through Gold Coast holiday packages or from authorized tour operators.