Is it not advisable to stay by the beach, i.e. Surfers Paradise during winter (end July) and stay in town instead to avoid the super chilly wind? Or it makes no difference at all? Any recommended budget (but good) hotel in town?

We have only 2 of us. Is it cheaper to rent a car to explore GC or it's better to stick with ground tour? Is 3 days sufficient in GC? Technically 2 days only as 1 day will be spent in theme parks. Otherwise we may have to allocate 1 more day in GC. We don't intend to go to Brisbane though.

Is there any special event/place that's worth a visit and is only open on a specific day? Example, Chatuchak in BKK is only open on weekends.

This post has been edited by Argiope: Nov 1 2010, 01:04 AM

Just to repost what i posted in the Melbourne thread:

You guys might want to make use of the discount coupons here. Managed to verify with 1 of them, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary at Gold Coast, it's genuine and can be used for tickets purchase at their counter.

I believe it refers to the code on the printout. For my Currumbin voucher, the code is 225657-BB131 but it's a different code for my friend when she generated the same voucher.

I suppose the ruling is applicable to Australia and not only GC. Anyway back to your questions:
1. Yes, not more than 250 sticks. It was ok for me to bring in 1 carton of duty free ciggies from KL, i.e. 200 sticks.
2. No.

I don't think the voltage transformer is required. I tried the below to charge my phone and camera and to operate my hair dryer:
1. Connect directly to power socket on the wall via converter.
2. My friend brought the Malaysian type of power extension over there then used the converter to plug it into the power socket on the wall, then we all happily charge all our stuff from the extension.

IIRC, they snap your pics and print on the card one ler.

She said unused, so probably the pic is not even printed yet.

By the way, wanna do a budget Aussie trip, remember to check out YourCoast and Shop A Docket. I got my Dream World tickets at 40% off just by printing out some stuff from the sites. I had extra and distributed them all at the ticket counter, the staff must have hated me.

Eh new requirements? I printed those in July and i wasn't asked to fill in any postcode. I used them during my visit to Ripley's Believe It Or Not and it worked fine. The staff also didn't ask for postcode.

Now that you brought this up, i remember the fine prints on my Dream World Shop A Docket vouchers also mentioned that it's only meant for QSW residents. We have a friend staying there so we just gave her postcode to the staff and they took it as good without verifying any ID.

Edit: Ah cheh i managed to get YourCoast vouchers by entering any Aussie postcode ler. Just get one from Google.

This post has been edited by Argiope: Sep 26 2011, 03:15 AM

Just print it out and try. You never know..
Anyway, i mentioned this earlier. I'm not a resident but i managed to get the discounts by using my friend's postcode while purchasing the tickets so you may wanna try using your hotel postcode too.

I'm stepping my feet to Brissie again. You guys have any good recommendation on hotels or service apartments that provide free wifi?

Good apartment choice right in the middle of Brisbane CBD: Macarthur Chambers Apartment. Queen St mall is just right across the street. Its kitchen is fully equipped with microwave, oven, dishwasher, big fridge and there's a laundry room with washing machine and dryer. Guess these are standard if you are staying in an apartment. But they do not provide housekeeping service though unless you are staying for more than a week.

Walking up the street (slight uphill) you will reach the Brisbane Central station and the opposite direction leads you to King George Square station which is just outside the city hall. The Brisbane river is nearby. You can have a glass or 2 at The Groove Train and sit outdoor to enjoy the weather. They have a lot of main course varieties, which are all good (and big) except for the sweet nasi goreng.

If you have a day to spare (and nothing much to do) in Brisbane, take the CityCat and tour along the Brisbane river.