Archívy Australia - 2troubletravelers https://2troubletravelers.com/en/category/australia-en/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:33:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://2troubletravelers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Archívy Australia - 2troubletravelers https://2troubletravelers.com/en/category/australia-en/ 32 32 New Year in Sydney: a 20-hour wait in the park and the experience of a lifetime. https://2troubletravelers.com/en/new-year-in-sydney-a-20-hour-wait-in-the-park-and-the-experience-of-a-lifetime/ https://2troubletravelers.com/en/new-year-in-sydney-a-20-hour-wait-in-the-park-and-the-experience-of-a-lifetime/#respond Mon, 25 Nov 2024 06:18:41 +0000 https://2troubletravelers.com/?p=3334 Príspevok New Year in Sydney: a 20-hour wait in the park and the experience of a lifetime. je zobrazený ako prvý na 2troubletravelers.

]]>

Australia is one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. The iconic fireworks display from the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House is watched by thousands of people around the world every year on television. Can you imagine experiencing it for yourself? We did it in 2023 and it was an experience we will never forget. However, many people only see a beautiful fireworks display and an epic view of the entire city. In this article, however, we’ll take a look at practical information on how to enjoy the fireworks in Sydney and what to prepare for.

We arrived in Sydney just before the Christmas holidays. We already knew then that we could not miss the arrival of the New Year. However, at that time we had no idea what all this would entail. It was very clear that we would not be the only ones who wanted to enjoy the experience to the fullest, but we would never have dreamed that it would be preceded by a morning wake-up call at 2:30 and a literal fight for seats. But let’s start at the beggining.

Accommodation in Sydney

If you want to spend New Year’s Eve in Sydney, we recommend you start planning as early as possible. Although the offer of accommodation in Sydney is wide, the demand is extremely high at this time of the year, so be prepared not only for booked airbnbs and hotels, but also for exorbitantly high prices. We had the advantage of staying with family over the Christmas holidays (about 1 hour by train from Sydney center), so we didn’t have to worry about accommodation costs. As a rule, however, such matters need to be dealt with several months in advance. All accommodation options can be found here.

Where to watch the fireworks in Sydney

The second, very important step is to decide from where you want to watch the fireworks. The main light show and fireworks display takes place from the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House around which there are some great spots. Some are paid, some are free. So it’s up to you which alternative you choose.

You can choose from the following options:

  • The most luxurious alternative is to book an accommodation with a beautiful view of the bridge or the Opera House. You will pay a lot more for such accommodation, but it is guaranteed to be a great experience without unnecessarily long waits or fighting for places in crowds of people.
  • Another alternative is to book a New Year’s Eve dinner reservation at one of the restaurants that has closed company during this day. You can find such offers directly on the restaurant websites, but many intermediaries also offer this. For example, you can find it here: https://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/events/
  • A boat cruise can also be a great option. You can find a lot of such tours just for New Year’s Eve. The price can vary depending on the length of the tour, the size of the group and whether dinner is included.
  • Throughout the city of Sydney during this New Year’s Eve event are made so-called zones from which the arrival of the New Year can be observed. Some places you have to buy tickets in advance, others are completely free. There is, of course, a catch. First come, first served. And by that, we mean REALLY EARLY! It’s this free option that we’re going to talk a bit more about today. A map of all paid and unpaid places can be found here: https://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/vantage-points/

The most popular free places to watch fireworks from are:

  • Mrs Macquarie’s Chair Botanic Garden or Royal Botanical Garden Sydney Fleet Steps (right side) – we’ll talk more about the whole experience in the next part of the article
  • Bennelong Lawn Botanical Garden or Tarpeian Lawn (left side closer to the Opera House) – capacity approx. 3500 people, gates open at 9:30am.
  • East Circular Quay – located right next to the Opera House, capacity is about 9500 people, gates open at 7am and there is also a cultural programme at this venue. Capacity usually fills up around 2 in the afternoon, so you need to arrive really early in the morning.
  • Barangaroo Reserve – capacity 9000 people, gates open at 12 noon. It is located on the other side of the bridge opposite the Sydney Opera House.
  • Blues Point – capacity 8000 people, gates open at 9am. This is one of the most popular places, so you need to arrive early in the morning if you want to get in at all. At this point, you’ll have the Harbour Bridge directly in front of you and the Sydney Opera House in the background.
  • Bradleys Head: Mast Precinct – capacity approx 1600 people, gates open at 3pm, advance booking required – currently sold out
  • Hickson Rd Reserve (directly under the Harbour Bridge) – people capacity approx 3000 people, gates open at 9am
  • Dawes Point (Tar-Ra) Park (directly under the Harbour Bridge) – capacity up to 36,000 people, gates open at 9am
One of the places under the Harbour Bridge where you can watch fireworks.

Popular paid venues include Lunapark, for example. The capacity there is about 6500 people and the gates open at 7pm. Tickets are currently on sale in the third wave for AUD 299 per person. Another popular paid venue is Goat Island, but it only holds 780 people and is currently sold out for the 2024 event.

New Year’s Eve in Sydney Botanic Gardens

Among all the unpaid zones, we decided to come to the Botanical Garden (from the right side). This was mainly because there were several zones where no advance reservation was required and there was no entry fee. You can choose between Mrs Macquarie’s Chair or Royal Botanical Garden Sydney Fleet Steps. Both places have a lot of greenery and are located right opposite the iconic Harbour Bridge and have a beautiful view of the Opera House and the whole city. Capacity at Fleet Steps is 3,000 people and at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair up to 10,000 people. There’s another venue right next door, but it’s paid – it’s called the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: Foundation & Friends NYE Picnic, but only Foundations & Friends members can buy a ticket. The advantage of such paid places is that the area doesn’t open until the afternoon around 5 o’clock, so there’s no need to push through the crowd. Usually, you also have a precisely reserved place from which you can comfortably watch the arrival of the New Year.

But what if you come to the Botanical Gardens for one of the unpaid places? Let’s talk more about it.

On December 30, 2023, we made a trip to Sydney and went to the botanical gardens to literally explore the terrain. Barriers, public toilets, stalls were already prepared everywhere. There were also a lot of people in the area with similar intentions to ours, trying to find out as much information as possible. We knew we would have to arrive pretty early to get to the site and have a good spot, but we didn’t expect it to be after dark! One of the organizers told us that at that time (December 30, 2pm) there were already people who started camping to be among the first in line. She advised us that if we wanted to have a good seat and be sure to get in at all, we needed to arrive very early in the morning – around 4-5 am. We thought she was joking, but we quickly realized she was serious. So we started to decide whether it was worth the 20-hour wait. However, since we knew that this opportunity might not come again, we decided to go for it!

The next day we had an early morning wake-up call at 2:30. As mentioned we were staying about 1 hour from Sydney so we had to leave really early. The benefit of this event is that public transport within Sydney is free. We got there around 5am and guess what. There were already over 1,000 people in line. People camped there, had seating set up, music playing, and were determined to wait 20 hours to see the magical arrival of the new year in this beautiful place. Lines were made on the grassy surface into which people systematically lined up. We knew this was going to be a tough day. Luckily we managed to fall asleep for an hour and a half, but when we woke up we couldn’t believe our eyes! Thousands of other people were behind us! At this point, we were really glad that we arrived as early as possible, because it was clear to us that some people who were already at the back of the queue at that time (around 8am) might not get in at all.

Officially the venue was supposed to open at 11:00 but everything went a bit faster. According to the latest information on the website, it should be moved to 10:00 this year. Around 10:30 we finally made it to the gate and check in. There are strict rules that must be followed, namely:

– You cannot bring any alcohol of your own onto the premises.
– It is forbidden to bring any glass bottles onto the premises.
– You are allowed to bring your own food, soft drinks and water,
– However, plastic bottles should be closed or they will be thrown away at the entrance.
– It is forbidden to bring dogs.
– Once you leave the premises, you can’t get back.
– It is forbidden to fly a drone.

Once you pass the main checkpoint, you also get garbage bags and then the real battle for places begins! You even need to prepare yourself for having to run. Once you have settled into one of these zones, it is not possible to change your position, so we recommend that you decide in advance which direction you want to go. So we chose Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and we have no regrets. We managed to grab an amazing front row seat right behind the railing that gave us a great view. We got there around 11:00 and then the next stage started – waiting for the fireworks.

After a long wait we got the best spot with the best view.

Here is some practical advice:

– We recommend packing plenty of food. There are food stalls on site, but they are not the cheapest and there can be long queues.
– We recommend you bring a blanket or chair that you feel comfortable on during the day.
– We recommend bringing some board games or a speaker with music, as there is no cultural programme in the area and so you should make the wait as pleasant as possible.
– There are stations on the premises where you can draw drinking water free of charge and without limitation.
– There are also portable toilets, which were maintained and clean throughout the day and evening.
– There are also stalls selling alcohol – but you can only choose between wine or beer. For a can of beer you pay €7 and a bottle of wine €37. There is also a deposit for the wine bottle, which will be refunded when you bring it back.

The weather during our day was really perfect as it was under a cloud and it didn’t rain. We made the day more enjoyable by playing some games, talking to people sitting around and listening to music. Our partner was of course some alcohol. Surprisingly, it all went by pretty quickly, but as it started to get dark, the atmosphere got thicker and thicker and more and more people were behind us and more and more boats were starting to dock on the water. At 21:00 there is a children’s fireworks display. We were already screaming with happiness at this fireworks display, as it was more beautiful than any other fireworks display we’ve seen so far.

After 23:00 it started to be a fight for places again. People who were among the last to arrive on the grounds and failed to grab seats with views were trying to get ahead of us. In this case, you really need to be uncompromising. Since we joined up with another group next to us, which was about 15 of us, we managed to save our spots. 23:50 We were all eagerly waiting for the midnight countdown. The fireworks lasted about 15 minutes and we were incredibly emotional. Tears of happiness, gratitude, enthusiasm. We really enjoyed it to the fullest. Even though it was a long day of waiting and we were really tired, it was definitely worth it. If you’re in Sydney during this period, we definitely recommend this experience!

You might also be interested in:

Príspevok New Year in Sydney: a 20-hour wait in the park and the experience of a lifetime. je zobrazený ako prvý na 2troubletravelers.

]]> https://2troubletravelers.com/en/new-year-in-sydney-a-20-hour-wait-in-the-park-and-the-experience-of-a-lifetime/feed/ 0 Complete guide to Esperance, Western Australia: What to see, where to stay and what to look out for! https://2troubletravelers.com/en/complete-guide-to-esperance-western-australia-what-to-see-where-to-stay-and-what-to-look-out-for/ https://2troubletravelers.com/en/complete-guide-to-esperance-western-australia-what-to-see-where-to-stay-and-what-to-look-out-for/#respond Tue, 15 Oct 2024 17:01:08 +0000 https://2troubletravelers.com/complete-guide-to-esperance-western-australia-what-to-see-where-to-stay-and-what-to-look-out-for/ Príspevok Complete guide to Esperance, Western Australia: What to see, where to stay and what to look out for! je zobrazený ako prvý na 2troubletravelers.

]]>

The beautiful coastal town of Esperance is located in the southern part of Western Australia, 720 kilometres from Perth. If you decide to visit this city from Perth, you need to prepare for a very long journey, which can take up to 8-9 hours. However, the destination will definitely be worth it.

Esperance is our favourite town in all of Australia. The small town is surrounded by beautiful beaches with turquoise waters, national parks and great places for hiking. Among other things, it is also a paradise for surfers, so the atmosphere on the beaches here is really excellent.

Camping in Esperance

There are no unpaid campsites in Esperance, but there are more than enough paid campsites. Some of these complexes offer many common areas, playgrounds and different types of accommodation. Others offer simpler accommodation options, sites for caravans (with or without electricity), communal showers and a kitchen.

Even though life in Australia is very much geared towards caravans, there are some restrictions that need to be adhered to. The main rule is that camping or sleeping in public car parks in town or around beaches is not allowed. These places are subject to inspections by local rangers, and you can be fined up to several hundred dollars for violating this prohibition.

The most famous campsites include Lucky Bay Campground, Cape Le Ground Camp Ground and RAC Esperance Holiday Park.

More about camping in Esperance, but also other parts of Western Australia such as in Margaret River, Albany, or Perth in our E-book.

The most beautiful beaches around Esperance

A popular route around Esperance is the Great Ocean Drive, which runs along the coast. In total, it is a 40-kilometre scenic circuit that will show you beautiful beaches, viewpoints and beautiful nature. The Great Ocean Drive includes famous places such as Pink Lake, which is not as pink as you would expect, Observation Point and the wind farm. The full route of Great Ocean Drive can be found on the map below. So let’s take a closer look at our favourite beaches that are also part of this iconic route.

Great Ocean Drive

Twilight Beach

Twiligh Beach is also located on Great Ocean Drive and is one of our most popular beaches in the entire region. It is a beach with beautiful white sand, turquoise water and a huge rock in the middle, which makes it unique and different from all the other beaches in Esperance. A wooden pier leads to the beach, offering spectacular views. The water is very calm at this point, making it ideal for swimming or paddleboarding. For the more adventurous, there is the possibility of jumping from the rocks directly into the water.

You can jump from the rock that is located on the beach

There are public toilets and showers on the beach. Again, however, you cannot camp or sleep in a car or caravan in this car park. During one visit to the beach, we even had rangers come to check on us around 4:00 p.m. and they wrote down our license plate number and asked us where we were planning to spend the night. Luckily, we booked a campsite for the night. In this case, if you were found at night in one of the car parks in or around the city, you would probably face a hefty fine.

Blue Haven Beach

Blue Haven Beach is a 10-minute drive from Esperance. Again, this is a beautiful beach with turquoise water, which also offers ideal conditions for snorkelling. Another advantage of the beach is its location, as it is situated between the rocks and therefore the conditions are ideal for a day at the beach even on a windy day. There are no public facilities, cafés or restaurants in the area.

Blue Haven Beach

West Beach

The nearest beach to the town is only 5 minutes away by car. It’s called West Beach. There are public toilets and showers on this beach, and there is also excellent internet coverage and signal. We used to come here when we wanted to enjoy the great atmosphere, nice views, but we needed to work, so the internet was just a bonus.

West Beach

Salmon Beach

Salmon Beach, like the previous beaches, is part of Great Ocean Drive. This is a slightly less popular beach, so you can expect fewer people on it. The water at this beach is a bit more choppy and there may be stronger currents. This environment may be suitable for advanced surfers.

Salmon Beach

Cape Le Grand National Park

Cape Le Grand National Park is located 60 kilometres from Esperance. It is especially known for its beautiful white sand beaches, interesting rock formations, but also beautiful hiking trails. You will also encounter a large number of kangaroos and various species of birds. You have to pay an entrance fee to get into the national park. In addition to the day pass, you can also buy a holiday pass for different lengths of stay. The prices are as follows:
1 day entry = 17 AUD
5 day entry = 30 AUD
14 days entry = 50 AUD
28 days entry = 70 AUD

You can see kangaroos mainly during the sunrise or sunset.

Camping in Cape Le Grand National Park

There are two paid campsites in the national park – Lucky Bay Campground and Cape Le Grand Campground. These are two of the most popular campsites not only around Esperance, but throughout Western Australia. The thing about these campsites is that you have to book months in advance. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any free space a month before our adventure and so we had to visit the national park on the turn around and always travel back to Esperance. You can book your place at this link.

Beaches in Cape Le Grand National Park

Although all the beaches in Western Australia are beautiful, we think the ones in Cape Le Grand National Park are the most beautiful. Just imagine. Beautiful clear water in contrast with the white sand, kangaroos on the beach, dolphins in the water and a great atmosphere all around. That’s what beaches like Lucky Bay, Wharton Beach, and Hellfire Bay are all about, and they’re in our top 3.

Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay is the most famous beach in the entire national park. It is a tourist attraction especially because you can see kangaroos right on this beach. It’s a truly unique experience that you just don’t get to experience anywhere else. If you want to meet them, we recommend to arrive in the early morning hours. Kangaroos are very friendly, but it is not recommended to pet or feed them.

Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay also has the advantage of having hard sand, which allows you to access the beach even if you don’t have a 4×4 vehicle. This is the only beach in the entire Esperance area that we were able to go to with our caravan and it was really worth it. Officially, only 4×4 vehicles are allowed here, but you really have nothing to worry about. You can set up your seating on the beach and spend the whole day there. Again, you cannot stay overnight on the beach.

The advantage of this beach was the hard sand, so you could get here by car even without a 4X4

Hellfire Bay

Hellfire Bay is famous not only for its beautiful beach, but also for the granite headlands that can be found all around. The water here is calm, making it the perfect place to relax, swim or snorkel. If you walk the whole beach you will get to an even smaller bay , Little Hellfire Bay. There are also other beautiful beaches nearby, such as Thistle Cove and Rossiter Bay.

Hellfire Bay

Wharton Beach

And as is our custom, the best at the end. The award for the most beautiful beach in Esperance and Cape Le Grand National Park goes to Wharton Beach. This beach is located a bit further away, about 60 km from Esperance, so you won’t meet as many people there as at the famous Lucky Bay, for example. There is also no campsite nearby, so you need to plan your visit really well to make sure you make it back in time. It is not recommended to walk in the national park after sunset, as there is a huge increase in kangaroo movement, so walking in the dark can be very dangerous.

Wharton Beach

If we said it was a beautiful beach with white sand and turquoise water, we’d probably be repeating ourselves, but it’s true. The water here was even clearer than on previous beaches. Even though after visiting the Maldives in October 2023 we thought we would never see more beautiful beaches, the opposite was true. We have never seen such beautiful, clear water as at Wharton Beach.

Caravan on the beach

During your visit to this beach, you’ll probably meet many locals who come there for days on end. They set up their gazebos and barbecues and just relax, play sports and enjoy the day. The sand on this beach is loose, so we recommend only entering with a 4×4 vehicle to avoid getting stuck and not being able to get away. Of course, you cannot sleep on the beach. There is a lot of surfing on this beach, which adds to the atmosphere. If you are lucky, you can also see dolphins swimming very close to the shore. However, there is no signal on the beach, so you need to prepare for that. Above the beach there is a viewpoint from which you can watch a nice sunset.

Wharton Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever visited.

During our stay in Australia we visited several cities and although Sydney, Gold Coast or Perth also charmed us, it is Esperance that is the clear winner for us. We can’t wait to go back again!

Going on a caravan adventure across Western Australia? Don’t miss our E-book at a special price! You’ll find everything about Esperance, Margaret River, Albany, Perth and Rottnest Island.

Western_australia_travel_guide

You can buy the e-book at a special price here.

* All links in this article including accommodation through booking are affiliate. All in one place. It won’t cost you any extra money or effort, it will make your planning easier and save you time. We would be delighted if you booked your dream holiday through them 🙂

Príspevok Complete guide to Esperance, Western Australia: What to see, where to stay and what to look out for! je zobrazený ako prvý na 2troubletravelers.

]]> https://2troubletravelers.com/en/complete-guide-to-esperance-western-australia-what-to-see-where-to-stay-and-what-to-look-out-for/feed/ 0 A place in Australia where everyone is happy and smiling – Welcome to the Gold Coast! https://2troubletravelers.com/en/a-place-in-australia-where-everyone-is-happy-and-smiling-welcome-to-the-gold-coast/ https://2troubletravelers.com/en/a-place-in-australia-where-everyone-is-happy-and-smiling-welcome-to-the-gold-coast/#respond Sun, 04 Feb 2024 10:21:13 +0000 https://2troubletravelers.com/?p=2075 Príspevok A place in Australia where everyone is happy and smiling – Welcome to the Gold Coast! je zobrazený ako prvý na 2troubletravelers.

]]>

The Gold Coast is located in the state of Queensland and is Australia’s sixth largest city. Among other things, the locals also call this city as the capital of vacationers, as thousands of Australians from cities such as Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne come here every year for a holiday in addition to tourists.

We fell in love with this coastal town at first sight. What we liked the most was the great and positive atmosphere. People are happy with a smile on their faces. They have been actively playing sports since morning and enjoying a great coffee and breakfast. Almost every second person has a four-legged pet as a partner and everything somehow works here without any stress. Amazing! So let’s talk a little bit more about that.

Getting around the Gold Coast

Public transport on the Gold Coast works very well indeed. Even though there is no subway, the bus and tram services are working perfect. However, to travel easily and relatively cheaply by public transport, you need a GO CARD, which you can buy directly at the airport at the WH Smith shop opposite the baggage claim. Without this card, the bus driver won’t let you on the bus – in other words, you can’t pay with your card or buy a single ticket directly from the driver.

The shop where you can buy Go Card.
This is what go cards look like.

When it comes to the GO CARD, you have two choices – you can either buy a one-day card with a 10 AUD credit, or you can buy a long-term card for 30 AUD, but you have a 20 AUD credit on it and you pay 10 AUD as a deposit in case you lose the card.

If you are travelling to the Gold Coast for multiple days, we definitely recommend the second option. You can easily top up your credit at almost any tram or bus stop, and if you have any remaining balance, you can simply cash it in at the same outlet at the airport, along with the deposit you paid at the start.

However, if you don’t want to take public transport, you also have the choice of LIME e-bikes. Just download the app and wualaa. You can discover the charm of this beautiful coastal town.

Another option is to rent a car or scooter. However, you should take into account that many accommodations do not have a parking space available, so parking alone may end up costing you more than the car rental fee. We didn’t end up renting a car or motorbike, but according to our research, you can rent one from €30 per day.

Where to stay on the Gold Coast

The most famous part of the whole Gold Coast is Surfers Paradise. It is the city centre where most of the restaurants and bars, the best nightlife and the most famous Surfers Paradise beach can be found.

However, if you want to avoid the tourist crowds but don’t want to live too far from the city, we recommend Broadbeach area. The centre can be reached within 10 minutes by tram. It’s a much quieter area, but it also offers many great restaurants and cafes, shopping malls and a beautiful beach where people workout from five in the morning.

We also find the Burleigh area to be a very attractive and popular part of the Gold Coast. You’ll find plenty of fancy shops and cafes with amazing breakfast and brunch options.

The most beautiful beaches on the Gold Coast

Surfers Paradise

All along the Gold Coast you’ll find a beautiful coastline that offers visitors great conditions for watching the sunrise, relaxing on the beach, walking or surfing. As we have already mentioned, the most famous and most populated beach is Surfers Paradise, which can be found right in the city centre.

Surfers Paradise.

Broadbeach

Our favourite beach was also Broadbeach, which was only 5 minutes from our accommodation. When you come to this beach, you will enjoy a beautiful view of the skyscrapers and also ideal conditions for a relaxing day at the beach, which is not too crowded. We also experienced a beautiful sunrise and were amazed at how active the locals are.

We arrived at the beach at 4:55 and even though we expected to be there alone we were shocked. People ran, swam, surfed, practiced kayaking, walked their four-legged pets, or even enjoyed a cup of coffee. Yes you hear right, at five o’clock in the morning almost all the cafes were open. Everything works the other way around on the Gold Coast 😀 The cafes open at 5am and close at 2pm. Interesting, isn’t it?

Palm Beach

Another beach that caught our hearts was Palm Beach. From the city you can reach it by direct bus number 700 or 777, which also goes to the airport. Get off at the 19th Avenue stop.

Palm Beach is almost completely empty during the day and it really has its own charm. In the distance you can see the entire Gold Coast skyline. You will meet most people here after 4 pm, when it stops being so hot. The beach also offers ideal surfing conditions.

Palm Beach Gold Coast.

Currumbin Beach

Definitely our favourite beach is Currumbin Beach. This beach is very close to the airport, so if you want to travel to it from the city centre, it will take you about an hour.

We recommend that you first take the tram to Broadbeach South and then change to the 700 bus line which will take you to the Tomewin St at Honeyworld stop. From there, it’s about a 10-15 minute walk and you’re there. It’s definitely the best place for beginner surfers, as the ocean is not so rough. And last but not least, you will see the most beautiful sunset from here.

A view of the city from Currumbin beach.

The Spit Beach

A beach we’ve heard a lot about, but due to bad weather we didn’t get a chance to visit, is The Spit Beach. There is a beautiful pier where you can also watch the sunsets. It’s a bit outside the town and there is no bus going directly to this beach. You can only get there by car, motorbike or bicycle. It will take you about 25 minutes by bicycle from the city centre. One day we will definitely have to go back there just to visit this place!

Skypoint Gold Coast

One of the most famous attractions is a visit to the Skypoint observation tower, located at a height of 230 metres and offering a 360-degree view of the entire city. We visited it during sunset and the view was definitely worth it!

One of the most beautiful sunsets we have seen on the Gold Coast.

Skypoint is open every day from 7:30 to 21:00. There are several types of tickets to choose from. Either you can buy a standard ticket for 19€ per person. Another option is to purchase the so-called climbing ticket for 56€. With this ticket, the guides will take you to the very top of the tower.

If you want to enjoy a great breakfast with a view of the city, you can also buy a buffet breakfast for 27€, which also includes a ticket for the sightseeing tour. Tickets for breakfast can only be purchased on site. You can also buy other tickets online at this link. We recommend coming for the sunset, where you can also enjoy the views of the Gold Coast at night after dark, which are spectacular.

A view of the Gold Coast at night.

There is also a bar and restaurant at the top. Even though one would expect the prices in a restaurant in such a place to be exorbitantly high, this was not the case. You will pay about 10€ for a pizza and 7€ for a glass of wine or beer. These are even lower prices than in the average restaurant with no view. Drinking water is free at the viewpoint. It should also be remembered that if you visit the restaurant on the view during the holiday, 20% will be added to the price. It’s like that in almost all gastropubs on the Gold Coast.

For this dinner we paid a little over 30€.

Gastronomy and cafes on the Broadbeach Gold Coast

As Australia is quite an expensive country, we often tried to look for cheaper alternatives of eating out. Since we had an equipped kitchen at the apartment, we usually ate breakfast and lunch at home.

What we enjoyed to the fullest, however, were the great cafes. As we used to live near Broadbeach, it’s the cafes in the area that we’re most familiar with.

Our favourite was the NO NAME LANE cafe, which was only 1 minute from our apartment. The long queues at 5 o’clock in the morning will convince you that they have really great coffee.

Another great place for breakfast, brunch and coffee is the ELK Espresso Bar. Located just off Broadbeach in the Oasis shopping centre.

Another tried and tested café that offers great coffee is Oasis Co Coffee, located just a short walk from the aforementioned ELK Espresso Bar. It’s a tiny café that serves mostly coffee to go and is also open from the early hours of the morning.

No Name Lane Cafe.

One of the most famous Australian dishes is fish & chips. We tried this dish at the Urban Fish Market restaurant and it was really great. We paid less than 10€ per person for the meal.

Our single favourite meal was sushi from Woolworth’s, which we would take to go and eat in the park or on the beach. The sushi is very tasty, fresh and you pay a really ridiculous amount for it.

Gold Coast has definitely grown close to our hearts and we will always love to go back! We believe that it will evoke the same feelings in you. Enjoy!

Príspevok A place in Australia where everyone is happy and smiling – Welcome to the Gold Coast! je zobrazený ako prvý na 2troubletravelers.

]]> https://2troubletravelers.com/en/a-place-in-australia-where-everyone-is-happy-and-smiling-welcome-to-the-gold-coast/feed/ 0