Best time to Visit Queensland???

naughts · 11-01-2008, 08:09 PM

I want to take the Family for a holiday to QLD to Visit the theme parks.
To the Queenslanders out there, when is the best time to go - Weather wise and not to busy???
Will NOT be during school holidays.
Also will be looking for a place to stay, close (ish) to Theme parks.

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 08:18 PM

May I suggest possibly staying on the Gold Coast , say Southport and catching the yellow bus to the theme parks?

I only suggest this due the competative packages there are with the gold coast. the theme parks, especially Dreamworld, Wet & wild and Movieworld are sorta in the middle of no where.

Seaworld will be walking distance should you stay in southport though.

Plus with staying at the Gold Coast your on the beach and usually have a great view.

The buses come every 15-20mins. You pay for your fare and all your theme park passes on the bus too.

But Im only saying this as a tourist.

Im sure the local guys have a better option.

As far as times of the year, I reckon April-May or September-October are good times. With great weather and you can avoid school holidays.

Zeuspig · 11-01-2008, 08:32 PM

Whatever you do don't come now, It hasn't stoped raining. But agree with the times stated above, and avoid holidays.

My mate went a month or so ago to movie world on a Saturday and said he didn't have to line up and said had an awesome time.

The Australian Zoo on the sunny coast is pretty sweet too if thats your thing.

naughts · 11-01-2008, 08:39 PM

Most likely September-October .
Got two kids 6 and 10, Wanna give them a bit of a treat.

paule11 · 11-01-2008, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naughts

Most likely September-October .
Got two kids 6 and 10, Wanna give them a bit of a treat.

We have stayed in September and April was pretty good as well stayed at a few places over the years.
The Atrium at the broadwater was the last place we stayed .
When we stayed there it wasnt that long on the buses to get to the themeparks compared to staying at surfers or miami etc traffic is pretty bad.

We brought passess for the bus when we got to the accomodation it was for the dedicated theme park bus cant remember the name of the pass or the company that ran the buses to the theme parks.

The theme park buses come to your accomodation you have to book them and take you back to your accomodation the surfside buses going to the theme parks were pretty full.

Make sure you have good batteries for your cameras and plenty of video tape

Jeeepers · 11-01-2008, 09:24 PM

Early spring if you don't like humidity....And avoid the school holidays....

Falcon_Phill · 11-01-2008, 09:50 PM

I came on Christmas holidays, it rained non stop. Never again.

CADSKY · 11-01-2008, 10:02 PM

sep-oct is the perfect time to come up, its not to hot but still good enough to go swimming and the sun is out!! not like atm, very wet and miserable!

stay in surfers paradise as alot of places will have accomodation avaliable in various price brackets and also im pretty sure that time of year is not peak season so accomodation is cheaper anyways.

staying at surfers paradise you are only 20 mins away from dreamworld, wet & wild and movie world and a stroll away from sea world, how ever if you are planning on going to australia zoo then you should know that it is about 2 - 2.5 hours drive from surfers and is closer to the sunshine coast.

if it works fro you and you are up long enough, why dont you stay half your holiday at surfers and half at sunny coast? there's plenty to do up there too with great beaches and fishing and its not as crouded as gold coast can be, also aust zoo is only 20 - 30 mins drive depending on where you stay. maloolabar, maroochydore and noosa are good places up there to stay.

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 10:03 PM

I beleive the recent rain in Queensland was a freak occurance. As much as it is a disappointment, dont be discouraged about going again. There have been many years that I have gone to Brisbane during the major holiday periods and the weather was perfect. bloody hot, but perfect.

:

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swan_ford

sep-oct is the perfect time to come up, its not to hot but still good enough to go swimming and the sun is out!! not like atm, very wet and miserable!

stay in surfers paradise as alot of places will have accomodation avaliable in various price brackets and also im pretty sure that time of year is not peak season so accomodation is cheaper anyways.

staying at surfers paradise you are only 20 mins away from dreamworld, wet & wild and movie world and a stroll away from sea world, how ever if you are planning on going to australia zoo then you should know that it is about 2 - 2.5 hours drive from surfers and is closer to the sunshine coast.

if it works fro you and you are up long enough, why dont you stay half your holiday at surfers and half at sunny coast? there's plenty to do up there too with great beaches and fishing and its not as crouded as gold coast can be, also aust zoo is only 20 - 30 mins drive depending on where you stay. maloolabar, maroochydore and noosa are good places up there to stay.

Thats exactly what Im doing in 2 weeks. lol
Staying at the royal pines in ashmore 3 days, then staying at the mint in coolum another 3. Will be visiting my nana in bli bli while Im up there. Cant wait.

GCFordChic · 11-01-2008, 10:13 PM

Early spring is a good time. Not too humid. It isn't the heat that gets you its the humidity. At the moment 80% or higher is not unusual. mmm sticky.

:

Everything but Seaworld are outside the tourist areas just off the M1.

I would recommend you stay in Main Beach. Close enough to nice beaches, a relatively short walk to Surfers (but not as tacky). Southport is not a holiday spot really, it is a business/residential area, there are a few High Rises you could stay in but I wouldn't recommend it, you may as well be closer to the beach.

From Main Beach you can catch Surfside buses and there is a dedicated theme park service so you dont have to go through all the side streets. I think if you pre purchase tickets you get to ride free, maybe, don't quote me on that. I know you can buy them from the bus driver, but find out the cost and have that exact money ready, they don't have a reputation for being very cheery buggers! lol

If you were to drive from Main Beach to Movieworld it would take around 20minutes (add 5min for Dreamworld). Driving from Main Beach is pretty good, as long as it isn't peak hour (workers leaving Southport/Bundall/Surfers). A few minutes to shopping in southport, less to surfers (but you can walk there if you are keen), Pacific Fair only 10 minutes down the GC Highway.

Hope whenever you come you guys have fun. Even winter isn't a bad time.

CADSKY · 11-01-2008, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

Even winter isn't a bad time.

yes thats when i would come, if i didnt live here lol

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 10:21 PM

Yeah come to think of it, Main Beach is way better than Southport. Stupid me, what was I thinking......deeerrrr.

I've stayed at Ocean Sands on Tedder Ave before. Really nice place and facilites. And you could walk easily to Seaworld.

yes yes, the 'surfside' buses, forgot what they were called. doh! and I agree with GCfordchic those bus drivers dont know how to smile.

TheSneakiness · 11-01-2008, 10:21 PM

Definately not during school holidays, it seems like every man and his dog is here. Not saying that as a bad thing, but the Theme Parks will be hectic.

I'd recommend staying Southport somewhere (as suggested previous) cause it's not too far to the parks. As also suggested there are specialist buses that head out to the parks, so if you're not keen on hiring a car or driving, do that too.

FYI when you are looking at coming up, school holidays actually are on. It's from September 20 to October 5. October is usually a busy month for the Gold Coast too.

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 10:23 PM

Oh yes, and you'll have to be aware of the NSW holidays too as they sometimes arent the same as QLD.

you will find the NSW kids have holidays over the border and tend to hang at the theme parks

rodderz · 11-01-2008, 10:26 PM

I'm thinking of going to QLD next week to get out of this Victorian heat lol

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 10:29 PM

refer below for 2008 school holiday dates

http://www.australiatravelsearch.com.au/trc/hols.html

GCFordChic · 11-01-2008, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodderz

I'm thinking of going to QLD next week to get out of this Victorian heat lol

You can collect some water to take home too! Apparently Queensland's idea of drought is different to the rest of the country. During our drought here on the coast it has rained A LOT!

gtfpv · 11-01-2008, 10:41 PM

oiuhhh i'm going there tomorrow . with the family . got the el futura ( LPG) ready . the GT is staying in the garage as it does . because it doesnt like stone chips, windscreen chips, steep driveways , or kids in carparks . so it's the trusty cheap el . less likely to get speeding tickets in it too. and no worries.
we' staying in coffs for a night then sunshine coast ( grand pacific) at caloundra then 5 nights at the CHEVRON on the gold coast . gunna be hot .

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 10:46 PM

the chevron is NICE. You'll love it. 3 pools. including lagoon.

:

**GasoLane** · 11-01-2008, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

Apparently Queensland's idea of drought is different to the rest of the country.

QLD's idea on a LOT of things is different to the rest of OZ...

GCFordChic · 11-01-2008, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GasOLane

QLD's idea on a LOT of things is different to the rest of OZ...

I am yet to see weed killer footprints become fashionable on the lawns up here though. :P

Who knows perhaps after February hey?!?

:

**GasoLane** · 11-01-2008, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

I am yet to see weed killer footprints become fashionable on the lawns up here though. :P

Who knows perhaps after February hey?!?

:

Touche'

fmc351 · 11-01-2008, 11:01 PM

Check with RACV or various state versions, when my olds came up last year they got some deal on tickets to theme parks. MW and DW arent cheap to start with so well worth checking for a package deal rather than just paying at the bus or gate. I think from memory the average family entry fee to MW is around $200. I havent paid for entry since the 'local' discount was dropped.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

You can collect some water to take home too! Apparently Queensland's idea of drought is different to the rest of the country. During our drought here on the coast it has rained A LOT!

Over the last yr its not falling in the catchment areas though (last couple weeks may be different though). Thats why its a drought, its not filling dams or falling where they need it, on the land.

InTrail · 11-01-2008, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naughts

I want to take the Family for a holiday to QLD to Visit the theme parks.
To the Queenslanders out there, when is the best time to go - Weather wise and not to busy???
Will NOT be during school holidays.
Also will be looking for a place to stay, close (ish) to Theme parks.

I take it you're referring to South East Queensland then.

Further north, we don't have theme parks just the natural stuff

:
Beautiful reef, fabulous rainforests, and pristine beaches (you just can't swim in them

: )

Best time is from late March to early November. Over summer it's great if you like torrential rain (over 100mm in a day is common) and humidity that makes you sweat standing still.

Just checked the current conditions, and it's 98% humidity and we've had 18mm of rain in the last hour.
Our dam is 100% capacity and 616mm over the spillway --- come and help yourselves.

gtfpv · 11-01-2008, 11:18 PM

i was hoping the rain had settled in queensland . do you think driving there will be a problem from sydney ? what area will the rain start at?

**ebxr8240** · 11-01-2008, 11:25 PM

If you live in colder states WHY would you go there when its nice and warm where you are?? Imo go in winter or early spring??? Again depends were you live ???

GCFordChic · 11-01-2008, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fmc351

Over the last yr its not falling in the catchment areas though (last couple weeks may be different though). Thats why its a drought, its not filling dams or falling where they need it, on the land.

It is funny that during a drought my house has a moat.

Water management is another story...

:

There is no arguing there has been and will continue to be lots of falling water (I won't call it rain, you don't get that in a drought). If you are coming to the coast now, bring your wet weather gear as well as your togs. It is a viscous cycle, very hot and humid day, afternoon/night rain, very hot and humid day, afternoon/night rain....

blueoval · 11-01-2008, 11:39 PM

dam, I hope the water subsides before I get there. :P:P

fmc351 · 12-01-2008, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

It is funny that during a drought my house has a moat.

Water management is another story...

:

There is no arguing there has been and will continue to be lots of falling water (I won't call it rain, you don't get that in a drought). If you are coming to the coast now, bring your wet weather gear as well as your togs. It is a viscous cycle, very hot and humid day, afternoon/night rain, very hot and humid day, afternoon/night rain....

Yeah but you live in a state, not just a street or region. One drama often with drought is they are followed by floods, and then dry again. The rain needs to fall in amounts that are reasonable and frequent enough to feed the land. All that rain simply washes away the parched soil, rather than nourish it for crops etc.

Im on the Sunshine Coast, theres plenty of rain, the state still has a drought, at least has been.