The Gold Coast is a huge conurbation to the south of Brisbane in the southern corner of Queensland with some high quality beaches and Surfers Paradise as its epicentre. A popular tourist destination for over 100 years, the Gold Coast continues to attract large amounts of visitors - both domestic and from around the world - who come for the sun, beaches and bustling atmosphere.

Surfers Paradise is the main centre of the Gold Coast with its great hotels, shopping and nightlife, and large scope of family attractions. Of the 20 or so surfing beaches along the Gold Coast, Palm Beach, Coolangatta, and Broadbeach are among the best featuring good beach breaks and lots of water sports.

Apart from the obvious allure of the beach, the Gold Coast also offers some of Australia’s most impressive bushland and there are several beautiful national parks here. Parks of another kind, namely children’s theme parks, are also in evidence and the superb sub-tropical climate of the region ensures they are open year-round

The best shopping and nightlife options are in Surfers Paradise, where glitzy malls, trendy boutiques and natty markets, together with terraced cafés and quaint coffee shops, all add to the appeal. Surfers Paradise features a huge wealth of bars and nightclubs, while Coolangatta and Broadbeach also rate highly for entertainment.

There is also plenty of historical and cultural worth to go with the fun on the Gold Coast, with a surprising number of high quality museums and galleries as well as plenty of focus on Aboriginal arts.

Accommodation wise, the Gold Coast has everything from luxury resorts to mid-range hotels. Although prices are quite high compared with other Australian coastal locations, there are always good deals to be had when booking online.

Getting to the Gold Coast is straightforward. It has its own airport and is only an hour away by road or rail from Brisbane. As the capital of Queensland, Brisbane receives direct flights from dozens of countries throughout the world.

The Gold Coast was settled by Aboriginal tribes many thousands of years ago, as with much of Australia. These tribes inhabited the area between the Numinbah Valley in the north, along the Coomera River, and to the Tweed River in the south. The Aborigines used the Gold Coast region for around 10,000 years for its great fishing, abundance of fruit and other foods, and for the special hardwood found here which they used to make boomerangs.

White men didn’t arrive until 1770, when Captain Cook and his crew visited Point Danger. The area was later settled by European timber merchants in the mid-1800s, owing mainly to the abundance of cedar wood in the forests. The region began to develop after groups of workers established cotton and sugar plantations.

The first town to be founded was Nerang with its school, postal services and hotel. The establishment of Nerang set off a chain of development, and before the century was out the Gold Coast had become a holiday destination. Transport to the region started with Cobb & Co. who provided coach services from Brisbane, and the development of a rail link in 1889 between Beenleigh and the Gold Coast further opened up the region.

The Gold Coast continued to grow along with the rest of Australia. James Cavill built the Surfers Paradise Hotel in the town of Elston in the early 1920s. He originally bought the land in Elston for £40.00. Due to the hotel’s success, the whole town was renamed after it in 1933 and Surfers Paradise was officially born.

After WWII a post-war boom saw much development in Surfers Paradise and its surroundings, and it was at this time that the term ‘Gold Coast’ was coined. A journalist referred to the area as the ‘Gold Coast’ in the 1950s when discussing the rising property values of the region. Subsequently, beachfront property was snapped up as developers began to see the coin involved with the burgeoning tourist industry.

Today, virtually all of the beachfront on the Gold Coast has been built on and developers have now turned their attention more on the surrounding farms and wetlands. The Gold Coast has become one of Australia’s favourite seaside destinations owing to its fine beaches, excellent infrastructure, quality hotels, good shopping and huge range of attractions.

The Gold Coast region has a superb sub-tropical climate with somewhere in the region of 250 to 300 days of sunshine per year. You will be met with good weather whatever time of year you visit. Some visitors prefer to plan a trip here in the winter to avoid the summer crowds and prices.

The wettest weather on the Gold Coast is experienced in the summertime and cooler weather in the winter. It is also slightly cooler in the hinterland than on the coast and you may want to bring a jacket and trousers if visiting the hinterland in the winter. Average summer days are around 25°C to 30°C and temperatures drop to 15°C to 20°C in the winter.