Surfers Paradise!
Our first leg of our short domestic trip up to Queensland was a stop in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. I had never been to Surfers Paradise before so I was looking forward to it.
We had a very short flight from Sydney to Coolangatta which is the airport you will be flying into when you arrive on The Gold Coast.
The flight was only 1 hour 20 minutes. It was nice to have such a short flight for a change. I really enjoyed it.
We stayed at the Mantra Legends Hotel which was awesome. I will be writing a review off The Mantra Legends Hotel in the future. So watch out for that.
Trouble in Paradise?
One negative thing to point out is that we were told by the concierge at The Mantra Legends Hotel in Surfers Paradise was that it was only a $20 dollar cab ride from Coolangatta Airport. Let me assure you that it is not.
We took a taxi from Coolangatta Airport to Mantra Legends and it was over $55 dollars.
So please keep this in mind if you plan on taking a taxi from the airport to Surfers Paradise.
It does not cost $20 Dollars!
I do not recommend calling up the concierge of the hotel where you will be staying. Do some quick research yourself first. I haven’t looked into it but I am sure you can catch a bus to Surfers Paradise from Coolangatta Airport if you budget minded.
Initial Thoughts
My first impression of Surfers Paradise is that this is a cool little party town. If your in Surfers Paradise to get your Party and Your Drank on then this is definitely the place for you.
There are tons of pubs, clubs, shops, outlets etc. One look and right away you can tell that this place goes crazy during School Holidays.
Night time brings out some local buskers, musicians, acts etc. Which give the strip a nice little buzz.
The Feel
I felt that Surfers Paradise really had a Southern California and a splash of Miami vibe to it. Surfers Paradise really looks like a smaller version of Miami, in my opinion.
This is because of all of the houses with boats docked on the inlets and all the tall buildings everywhere. There are a couple of small bridges crossing the canals into the bigger mainland as well.
That made me think of Miami even more.
Surfers Paradise also has a SoCal feel to it as well. This might be because of the big, wide beach and the foot and bike path that runs parallel to the beach. I think it also has something to do with the trees, building and maybe even some of the architecture as well.
Regardless Surfers Paradise is a beautiful little gem that should be on your Australian Places-to-Go, Trip List.
The Meter Maids
If the beach isn’t enough for you to want to visit Surfers Paradise well, then maybe at least the Meter Maids are. The Meter Maids in Surfers Paradise are worth a trip in itself.
Seriously.
I won’t go into too much detail here but for the guys (and maybe even the gals) the beautiful Meter Maids in Surfers Paradise are a must see Attraction.
Hands down.
I won’t be posting my Meter Maids pics here. Sorry!
Conclusion
I really don’t have anything bad to say about Surfers Paradise. I wasn’t there long enough to do everything but I was there long enough to get a good feel for it.
Surfers Paradise is a big Party place. It’s hard to walk anywhere without getting offered some sort of discount to a club.
The tour operators even try to get into the action by offering discounts and such.
I don’t mind being peddled discounts and flyers on every corner from different tours. What does bother me though is when I am polite and kindly refuse saying No Thank You, etc, and they keep on hassling and running their mouth like they didn’t even hear you.
No thanks.
If I am going to be polite about declining your offer, please respect my wishes and stop rambling about this and that when it is clear that I am not interested.
Don’t sit there and keep offering me things when clearly I am not interested. Please!
If anything it works against the tours and makes me not want to do business with them.
However, in saying that it is to be expected to have flyers and tours everywhere when you visit places that are this heavily tourist driven.
No hard feelings!
Again, check out Surfers Paradise if you get the opportunity. Have a few drinks and have some fun!
Safe Travels!
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