Why the Gold Coast?
If Australia has an equivalent of Florida, then it’s the Gold Coast. For Australians, this is a high-rise, fun-filled holiday strip, bathed in consistent sunshine and rammed with theme parks and watersports. Very popular with visitors from the UAE, it’s a brash, uncomplicated place – particularly in the main hub, Surfers Paradise, where mass-market clichés are turned up to the max. But this coastal strip doesn’t stick to one personality. It’s a hotchpotch of seaside towns banded together as one sprawling city – it’s a case of picking the one that best suits. Burleigh Heads is less showy and comfortable in its quietness. Coolangatta, meanwhile, oozes a surf-bum vibe – powered by the legendary Superbank break that crashes just off the shore.
A comfortable bed
Of the numerous apartment options, Soul (www.peppers.com.au/soul-surfers-paradise; 0061 7 5665 4426) in Surfers Paradise is the classiest. Huge balconies with ocean views combine with pristine white-leather furniture and a facility overload. The rooftop parklands and pool on the third level are remarkable. One-bedroom apartments cost from 349 Australian dollars (Dh1,113) per night.
The QT (www.qtgoldcoast.com.au; 0061 7 5584 1200) is more fun and design-focused, with plenty of colour and splashes of retro beach chic. Rooms cost from $219 (Dh699).
Komune (www.komuneresorts.com/goldcoast; 0061 7 5536 6764) in Coolangatta has a friendly, hostel-style vibe, with surfer leanings, but the rooms and apartments are private and well-equipped. Expect an overdose of painted palm trees and flamingos on the walls. Doubles cost from $120 (Dh382).
Find your feet
The one consistent thing across the Gold Coast is long, envy-inducing beaches. The beach at Surfers Paradise is the best for a toes-in-the-sand walk. Expect kitesurfers, posing muscle men, stalls and kids’ entertainment along the neighbouring Esplanade.
The Gold Coast's real charm is on the other side of the spit, where the Nerang River hosts multi-million-dollar homes and boat-cruise operators. Between December and April, hop on whichever is departing next. But between May and November, Whales in Paradise (www.whalesinparadise.com.au; 0061 7 5538 2111) throws in humpback whale-watching for $95 (Dh302).
Daredevils may wish to clamber over the top of the Q1 Tower – the $69 (Dh219) Skypoint climb (www.skypoint.com.au; 0061 7 5582 2700) takes you 270 metres up on the rooftop.
Meet the locals
If it gets too intense on the coastal strip, a 40-minute drive inland will take you to Tamborine Mountain. Cutesy gallery-and-cafe-packed villages line up inside the northern rim of an extinct volcanic caldera; the eucalyptus forests of southern Australia butt heads with the lush green rainforests of the country's north. The Rainforest Skywalk (www.rainforestskywalk.com.au; 0061 7 5545 2222) is an excellent introduction to a landscape that man has mostly managed to wipe out, along vertiginous walkways below the canopy roof.
Book a table
Seaduction (www.seaduction.com.au; 0061 7 5635 5728), inside the Soul complex, leads the way for inventive modern Australian dishes in a region that for a long time lagged behind big-city restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne. Local providers are used where possible; options include the $40 (Dh127) pan-roasted duck breast with fruited sweet-potato purée, lime confit and coffee foam.
For seafood, the Fish House (www.thefishhouse.com.au; 0061 7 5535 7725) at Burleigh Heads sources impeccably; the chef's banquet selection shows off generous proportions of the day's best catch, for $75 (Dh238).
Shopper’s paradise
Gold Coast shopping is mall-orientated. Marina Mirage (www.marinamirage.com.au) at Main Beach is upmarket, with international designer labels and well-respected Aussie names, such as Carla Zampatti.
The Harbour Town shopping centre (www.harbourtowngoldcoast.com.au) is the largest outlet mall in Australia, with bargain deals from mostly mid-range, high-street-style shops.
What to avoid
The Gold Coast spills over in school holidays, especially in November, which brings partying teenagers for three messy weeks. Accommodation prices shoot up and theme-park queues become hideous. At other times, however, the best park is Dreamworld (www.dreamworld.com.au; 0061 7 5588 1111), home to numerous gut-churning rollercoasters. A day pass costs $60 (Dh190).
Don’t miss
Hot Air (www.hotair.com.au; 0061 1300 766 887) offers the chance to see the hilly interior beyond the sandy strip from a hot-air balloon. Horse paddocks, eucalyptus groves and kangaroos can be spied below. The trip, including hotel pickups and breakfast after the flight, costs from $250 (Dh793).
Getting there
Emirates (www.emirates.com; 600 555555) flies direct from Dubai to Brisbane, from Dh7,765 return. The Gold Coast is about an hour south of Brisbane Airport. Door-to-door transfers cost $55 (Dh175) via Airtrain (www.airtrain.com.au; 0061 7 3216 3308).