When we plan this trip, and since we are going to bring our 2-year old Emmanuel, we were thinking how we would possibly survive an entire week without our helpers. We had to take care of not one, but two in a foreign country. We had to wash and dry our clothes. We had to cook and clean. With that in mind, unlike our previous ones where we switched accommodation almost every other day, we planned for a slow one, in fact, our itinerary had only one attraction per day.
Trip Summary
This is our second family trip to Australia, the first being Perth two years back with just Olivia. We wanted somewhere different but not too cityish like Sydney. We did thought of Melbourne, but the period we went was probably too cold for the younger one. So we thought why not somewhere cool and sunny - Brisbane and Gold Coast! Like with any other, we knew we are to rent a car for convenience. There's transport around the city, Uber too, but with two children and luggage (filled with children necessities), we dropped the risks and went for a rental car to save troubles.
Tips: Minimizing drama is absolute key when you’ve got little ones!
Again, since it's a family trip, almost all the attractions are planned with them in mind. #parentslife
The Best 8D7N Brisbane + Gold Coast Itinerary
Day 1: Singapore > Brisbane
We skipped the red-eye flight and opted for a 7am flight instead. To be honest, it was still a challenge especially with the younger one, who wanted to be carried on the plane and refusing to sit down properly even with the endless movies. Thank God he knocked out for a few hours. We touched down near to 4.30pm, took an Uber to our Airbnb at Kangaroo Point (located within the city area).
After some unpacking and resting, we headed out for mummy's birthday dinner at La Vue Waterfront - great river views, which I can only imagine it would be way more beautiful during the day. The portions are huge, we had to takeaway almost 50% of our mains (or maybe we over-ordered), but the one thing is that the service is impeccable.
We were a bit woozy from the wine, but managed to settle the children back at the Airbnb, and I headed out for some groceries. After all, we Asians need our rice fix.
Day 2: Brisbane
We had plans to head to Roma Street Parkland and their botanical gardens, but it was drizzling (which I later found out it rarely rain in the winters) so we skipped that and went to the museums instead. It was nice and quiet, we talked to some locals and explored the various attractions such as GOMA, Whale Mall and Queensland Museum (all within walking distance).
The best part is that most of them are free of charge! We especially love the dinosaur exhibitions with real fossils! Little Emmanuel was all pumped up for this!
Since the weather is on a full mood-swing, we had to skip Street Beach (a manmade beach right smack in the middle of the city!) as well, and headed to Queen Street Mall area for our lunch and shopping. Just take note that Uber is extremely to get in the peak hours, and they can't stop at the main roads. By 5pm, we were dead tired, back at the Airbnb, cooking dinner.
Day 3: Brisbane
AND IT WAS STILL RAINING. We collected our rental car, but had to cancel our Australia Zoo plan as we were not going to risk driving north an hour. Thank God we did not prebooked our tickets. Instead, I googled “best Asian food in Brisbane” and hit the jackpot at Lim Kee Chinese Restaurant.
And dang, the meal at Lim Kee Chinese Restaurant was the best meal for this trip. All the dishes hit the right note. If you're there, please do yourself a favour and get the Seafood Hor Fun and Sweet and Sour Pork Rice.
We did more grocery shopping, and since we are in matching outfits.
With no sign of the rain stopping, we took the kids to an indoor playground before dinner with my cousin. At least the kids got to burn some energy.
Day 4: Brisbane > Tambourine
AND IT WAS STILL RAINING. At this point, we were slightly affected, thinking if the whole trip would be like this. Nevertheless we headed to Manly Boathouse - an upscale place well-known for its picturesque sea views.
The ambience was absolutely lovely, we were the only Asians there, but to be honest the food was not worth the hefty price tag (one main is approx $50ish). But if you're a fan of insta-worthy places, don't miss this.
After brunch, we headed to Tambourine, sincerely praying that the drizzling would stop. But it did not. We had intentions to do some picnic there, but obviously we cancelled that too. We checked into Clandulla Farmstay and met with the friendly host, who showed us to the places and animals.
Day 5: Tambourine
Please Lord. AND IT WAS STILL RAINING. We braved the slight drizzle and participated in the farm activities. What do you expect of a farmstay? Loads of poop. But the children did had fun with the animal feeding, brushing the horse, and even walking the pony outside their stables.
With signs of the drizzle slowing down, we headed to Tambourine Mountains for a quick lunch before enjoying a stroll. We stumbled upon the cutest German clockwork shop – the kind of place where you feel like you’ve just stepped into a fairytale. Of course we need to get some souvenirs there!
Tambourine Mountains is famous for its breathtaking sunsets, and we weren’t about to miss out. We drove over to Hang Gliders Lookout with high hopes of catching that golden hour magic. But thanks to the clouds (but finally no drizzle, yay), the sunset was pretty much blocked. For some point, it'd looked like a scene from Silent Hill, with the fog surrounding us.
Tip: Once the sun sets, the skies get dark very fast! We were rushing to get off the mountain roads before the darkness takes over as there are no or minimal street lights. Safety first!
Day 6: Tambourine > Gold Coast
AND FINALLY. Our prayers have been answered after five days. The sun shone so brightly and the clouds hanged on the blue skies like a painting. We waved good-byes to the animals and the host.
This is the day that we all looked forward to - Sea World! With high hopes, we started our short road trip to Gold Coast (1-hour). Before the trip we were deciding between Movie World, Dream World and Sea World, as we were only going to choose one because of time and energy issue. After tons of research, we decided on Sea World, as it has a great mix of entertainment, shows, aquarium and (non-scary) rides.
And we absolutely enjoyed ourselves.
The rides were pretty mild (we only got onto two or three of them), and spent the rest of the afternoon rushing for various shows and photography sessions with the cartoon characters.
We stayed at an apartment near Kirra Beach, and it was beyond beautiful. Literally stone's throw away from the beach area, it has a huge open balcony in front of the living space and kitchen area. We were even joking to get a holiday house here.
Day 7: Gold Coast
If you didn't visit the beaches, are you really at Gold Coast? We did a lot of research and found Palm Beach, which is perfect for families with young children. Trust me, Surfer Paradise is the most famous but it's not exactly kids-friendly. Palm Beach is beautiful, less known to tourists, less crowded, and full of children and (kids) parties.
The children enjoyed the playground, while we dug our toes in the cool sand. For some reason, the playground vibes hit different from the ones in Singapore. For lunch, head to Dune Cafe where they served really awesome fish and chips as well as rice bowls. We hit the waters and had loads of fun. By late afternoon, the children are already zoned out.
We had booked Rick Shores for dinner - probably one of the nicer and upscale restaurants in Gold Coast, but had to cancel the plans due to some unforeseen circumstances. Nevertheless, we headed to its surroundings for desserts, and were glad we didn't head there. The whole place was like a club with loud music at night, with girls in skimpy dresses and people making out on the streets. Not very kid-friendly after all. We grabbed yoghurt and headed back shortly to our peaceful abode.
Day 8: Gold Coast > Singapore
The last day at Gold Coast was pretty short, but we managed to squeeze another beach time (now at Kirra Beach) into our morning routine. After our last homemade breakfast in Gold Coast, the sun was blazing, but we are not definitely complaining.
With a few hours left, we said our goodbyes to the beautiful Airbnb and made a pit stop at Harbourtown Premium Outlets for some last-minute shopping. With our bags packed, shopping done, and off we went to the airport for our flight back to Singapore.
Till next time, Gold Coast!