Exploring Gold Coast and Sydney in 10 Days

Gold Coast & Sydney at a Glance

Gold Coast - Definitely one of my favourite Australian cities behind Melbourne, Gold Coast definitely has everything you want in a holiday. The city has many food options, with beach activities, views and theme parks/wildlife sanctuaries to satisfy varying types of travel styles. Road trips to nature parks and wineries are also available!

Sydney - Sydney is more of a commercial centre, with the city skyline punctuated by famous touristy attractions like the Opera House and Darling Harbour. You also cannot go to Sydney and not take a road trip out, with the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley day-trip worthy.

This 10 day itinerary can be done separately or together, in which we were able to balance the city vibes, a chill seaside relaxation as well as visiting the famed Australian wineries in both cities.

Month Visited: August (Late Winter/Early Spring)

Recommended Duration: 10D9N

Getting There: We had an amazing deal to fly to Australia, spending only S$270 one way with luggage on Scoot from Singapore to Gold Coast. Domestically, we spent only S$100 per pax on our Virgin Australia flight between Gold Coast and Sydney, and another S$285 Scoot flight back from Sydney to Singapore. Total cost: ~S$650 for 3 flights with luggage, truly a steal.

However, from Jul 2023 onwards, Scoot will cease direct services to Gold Coast, and the only way to Gold Coast is either via Brisbane on SIA/Qantas and then a short train ride, or AirAsia X via a transit in KL.

There are many domestic flights between GC and Sydney, with Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Rex some options to fly between these cities.

The Sydney-Singapore route is served by many airlines, with full-fledged airlines like SIA, Qantas, British Airways as well as the budget option, Scoot, which we took!

Cost (Out of/$$$$$): $$$. Australia is well-known to be expensive due to their high labour costs, which means that eating out will cost quite a bit, with each meal costing around $17-$25 for a normal brunch meal. If you decide to stay in and cook, that will save you quite a bit! However, the weakening Australian dollar against the SGD means you do get an increased purchasing power as compared to pre-covid times!

Currency used: Australian Dollar (AUD). The currency has been steadily depreciating against the Singapore Dollar, with current rates as of Mar 2023 being around 1SGD:1.10AUD.

Weather: The month of August is great, with decently cold temperatures and it being the lull period means cheaper accommodation and less crowded places. However, strong winds and chilly water temperatures mean that if you are planning to go into the sea at Gold Coast and Sydney, you might then prefer heading to these places during the end of the year during the peak summer periods.

Accommodation:

Gold Coast - We stayed in the Chevron Renaissance Private Apartments, which we booked via Agoda at Gold Coast, and it was super value for money! We only paid around S$950 for 5 of us for a total of 4 nights, and the apartment was in the middle of Surfers Paradise, the centre of Gold Coast. You are able to walk to the main city areas from here as well as the beaches! There is also free parking for one car, which makes it even more value. Link here!

Sydney - We stayed at the Holiday Inn Sydney - Potts Point, which was a bit out of town, but price was reasonable for a hotel at Sydney. However, I do recommend staying at the other Holiday Inn (Darling Harbour) as it is closer to more food options in the vicinity. However, the Potts Point one has several nice cafes nearby. Link here.

For our road trip in Sydney, we stayed at cozy Airbnbs at Katoomba up in the Blue Mountains, as well as one near Hunter Valley, links below if you are interested!

- Blue Mountains - (Katoomba) - Airbnb

- Hunter Valley - Airbnb

Places to visit:

Gold Coast

• Skypoint Climb

• Surfers Paradise Beaches (Broadbeach)

• Miami Marketta

• Lamington National Park

• Wineries (Witches Fall)

• Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

• Tumgun Lookout

• Movie World

• The Spit Beach

Sydney

• Glebe Markets

• Darling Harbour

• The Rocks

• Sydney Opera House

• Haymarket Sydney

• Ferry at Darling Harbour (Circular Quay -> Darling Harbour)

• Birkinhead Point Brand Outlet

Day Trips out of Sydney:

• Three Sisters

• Katoomba Falls

• Hunter Valley - Scarborough Winery , Tulloch Wines

• Bondi Beach

Recommended Restaurants/Cafes:

Gold Coast

• Bam Bam Bakehouse (Brunch and Coffee)

• Commune (Brunch and Coffee)

• Elk Espresso (Brunch and Coffee)

• Mike's Kitchen (BBQ)

• Moana Restaurant and Bar (Seafood)

• Lot 1 Cafe (Coffee)

• Cavills Steakhouse and Rooftop Bar (Steak)

Sydney

• Bornga Sydney (Korean)

• The Baker's Oven Cafe (Steak Pie)

• Ramen Zundo (Japanese)

• Muum Maam Barangaroo (Thai) (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

• Bondi Road Seafoods (Fried Seafood)

• Bake Bar (Coffee and Brunch)

• The Meat & Wine Co (Steak)

Getting Around:

Gold Coast - We rented a car from RentalCars, and the cheapest option was with Alpha Car Rental, with the SUV costing us around $470.54 with full protection (0 excess) for 5 full days, making it to be only <$100 per day. Only drawback is that Alpha Car Rental is located about a 10 minute shuttle bus ride (free) to their rental location, which means you have to cater another 30 minutes minimum than if you rent at companies directly at the airport.

Alternatively, there are also public bus options that go from the airport to town, which are 700 or 777, and you have to change over to the tram to go directly into Surfers Paradise. However, I do recommend renting a car as most of the places to go is outside of the main city, and having a car gives you the flexibility to move around! Furthermore, while there are public transport options that can bring you to the different beaches as well as the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, the bus frequencies are not consistent, and it might eat into your holiday time.

Sydney - We also rented via RentalCars with Alpha Car Rental, for a SUV costing about S$370 for 3 days with full protection. If you are planning to just stay in Sydney, I recommend not driving as the roads are quite congested in the city, and parking is quite expensive in town. However, if you are planning to head to Blue Mountains and/or Hunter Valley, then you can rent a car for the first few days then return it before your stay at Sydney like what we did.

From the airport, you can take a 15-20 minute Uber/Didi/Taxi ride to your location, which will set you back about 25-30 AUD. Within the city itself, you can take the well-connected metro and buses which can bring you to your necessary touristy locations like the Opera House and Darling Harbour. You even can take the public ferries which shuttle you between popular places like Darling Harbour and Opera House for a reasonable fare (~3AUD iirc).

Some key tips:

1. Data

We managed to get the Australian SIM Card at Changi Recommends, but it is currently not on sale. You can get SIM cards at Klook here as well! S$27.90 for 40GB of data valid for 28 days! Value for money.

Alternatively, if you can wait till you reach Australia, there are many cheap options at their supermarkets, selling you 20GB for only 10 AUD using Optus etc, and you can keep using it for future renewals as you revisit Australia. 2. Apps to Use

• Private Hire: Uber/Didi

• To navigate: Google Maps

• Food Delivery: Uber Eats

• Visa Application: Australia ETA

3 . Tax-Free Refunds

For tax refunds for your purchases, you need to spend at least AUD300 from one specific brand before you can claim the tax refunds, and you have to show the items after clearing immigration, so do pack them inside your hand carry bags. Read more here!

4. Travel Card

A great thing about public transport in Australia is that you can use your contactless credit/debit cards, i.e Mastercard and Visa to tap in and out of public transport. This means you can take advantage of your AUD inside your multi-currency cards to travel easily. No need for an extra card in your wallet!

5. Visa/Entry Requirements

For Singaporeans to enter into Australia, you will need to apply for the Australia ETA. This can be done by downloading the Australian ETA Application on the App Store, where you then have to follow the instructions to fill in the necessary information. It is quite fuss-free but you will need your passport details at hand. Each ETA costs around AUD$20, valid for multiple entries within a year from the date of application (i.e Approved on 10 June 2022, valid for multiple entries until 09 June 2023).

<Note, the only cost is AUD$20, do not get scammed by websites saying they can help you apply because you can do it directly>

General Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival into Gold Coast

After a terrible overnight flight from Singapore (Baby crying the entire flight, with an entire family puking constantly on the row behind mine), I could not wait to get out of the plane. Thankfully, arrival procedures were quite smooth and we got out of the arrival gate promptly.

After picking up our car from Alpha Car Rental which was a 10min free shuttle bus ride away, we headed straight to our first brunch place, Bam Bam Bakehouse. Living up to it's hype, the croissants were perfectly baked, and the coffee a godsend. Their Acai bowl was also pretty good, with the fresh fruits adding a very nice colour to our meal.

(First Meal at Bam Bam Bakehouse)

After checking in at around 1pm, we were pleasantly surprised at our apartment, with its high floor meaning we had a breathtaking view of the entire Gold Coast area! One of my highly recommended apartments for sure.

(Some beautiful views from our apartment)

We decided to take a rest after our overnight flight, and we only left after sunset to the Miami Marketta, which was a famous collection of street food in Gold Coast! Interestingly, it is only open on Wed, Fri and Sat nights, so plan accordingly if you are planning to visit! It is a collection of various food options, ranging from tacos to Asian food and snacks. The prices, while cheaper than restaurants, are still pretty high, ranging from $8 to $12 for a taco for example. However, very decent vibes, and definitely a must go when in GC! There is no guaranteed parking areas, and we ended up parking for free around a 5minute walk away in a residential enclave.

(Our damage at Miami Marketta)

Day 2: Day Trip to Lamington National Park

Our first full day in Gold Coast brought us to the Lamington National Park which was around an hour drive from Surfers Paradise. However, before the trek, we stopped by another famous brunch place, Commune, which served pretty solid coffee and tea options as well as brunch!

(Breakfast at Commune)

After around an hour, we arrived at the entrance of Lamington National Park, with the parking just below the main entrance of the park. It is a considerably easy trek, with well maintained paths. We walked to the 'peak' which was called Tullawallal before turning back, taking us around 2 hours. As we planned to include a winery tour in our day today, we were only able to complete a short trek, but you can definitely spend a full day here exploring the Lamington area!

(Pics at the Lamington National Park)

We then headed to the Witches Fall Winery, which was around a 45 minutes drive from the park. I highly recommend this Winery as they had an amazing selection of wines, and you are able to add a cheeseboard to pair with the wines! Arriving in the late afternoon meant we were able to also enjoy a really nice sunset over the vineyards!

(Wine, Cheese and Sunsets at Witches Falls Winery)

We then drove back towards Surfers Paradise, and decided to stop by Cavills Steakhouse for a steak dinner! It was pretty average, although the portion was quite big. Nothing major to shout about.

(Steak at Cavills Steakhouse)

Day 3: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary / Tumgun Lookout

What is a trip to Australia without seeing the animals native to the country, and nowhere is better in Gold Coast than at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. We started off the day at a great brunch location called Elk Espresso on the way to the Sanctuary, and it served great and unique brunch options, catering to both sweet or savoury tastes! Their coffee was also to die for!

(Breakfast at Elk Espresso)

After a 15 minute drive to the Sanctuary, we parked at the free parking area opposite the place, and it was already quite crowded. We booked our tickets via Klook here, and we were able to just exchange the e-tickets and go through the gantries quickly! It was also cheaper to book it online, so i recommend you do it before going!

There were so many cute animals, and you can see that they are well taken care of! The koalas are really cute, and there was a huge kangaroo area where these animals could just roam around and chill. They probably have been fed very well, since they were not very responsive to our carrot feeding!

There were also multiple free animal shows that were scheduled around the sanctuary, and we decided on the bird show, with elegant eagles and cute owls entertaining us. If you get tired walking around, there is also a free train that runs through the entire sanctuary, which allows you to also see the animals close up, as you can see from the picture below!

I would definitely recommend you to drop by here if you are in the Gold Coast area as it is also a good place to learn more about these animals :)

Following a 5-6 hour walk in the sanctuary, we decided to catch the famous Gold Coast sunset at one of the popular lookout points, the Tumgun Lookout! I'm not a major sunset person, but this was definitely one of the highlights of the trip as the sunset behind the high-rise Gold Coast landscape was simply magnificent.

(The Gold Coast Sunset!!)

After that, we headed to Mike's Kitchen, a Barbeque grill restaurant recommended by one of the locals, but as it was fully booked, we decided to takeaway back to our accommodation and enjoy the meat feast in our comfy apartment.

(Tastes much better than it looks HAHA)

Day 4: Movie World

There are three major theme parks in Gold Coast, Movie World, Sea World and Dreamworld, but we decided to go to Movie World as it was the one with more thrilling rides, with its Warner Bros theme. It was only a 30 minute drive from the centre of Surfers Paradise, and parking was free and aplenty. There were a lot of super fun rides, and even though it was not as big as I thought, the roller coasters were definitely exciting and worth the wait!

(Movie World Vibes!)

We then decided to stop by the Spit, which was another sunset location on the northern side of Surfers Paradise on the way back from the theme park. This place was less crowded, and we got to witness another amazing sunset from the beautiful city of Gold Coast.

(Sunsets..)

After that, we had one of our best dinners on the trip, at the Moana Restaurant. Their seafood offerings were divine, and their Clam Chowder, Mussels, Scallops, Seafood Risotto and Pasta were to die for!! Washed it down with a bottle recommended by our lovely waiter, perfect for our last night here at Gold Coast!

(Seafood at Moana Restaurant)

Day 5: Gold Coast -> Sydney (Blue Mountains)

Our last day in Gold Coast started at Lot 1 Cafe, where we grabbed a quick brunch before checking out of our lovely apartment and headed to the airport, but not before a quick stopover at the beach again. I will definitely be back in the summer!

(Lot 1 and the beach)

Just a heads up, if you rented a car from a company like ours that is located apart from the Airport, do give yourself more time to return the car and get to the airport as we rushed quite a bit. The queues to check in were insane, and the queues for security clearance were worse. We ended up being one of the last few to board our flight, despite it being a domestic flight where immigration was not required. Giving yourself around 2.5 hours should be a safe bet!

I was really excited to be able to walk to our plane via the tarmac and appreciate the beauty of the Virgin Australia plane that will bring us to Sydney today! As I sat on the left side of the plane, I was able to also see the beautiful landscape of Sydney as we descended into the business capital of the Down Under.

(Our B737 and an overwing view of Sydney!)

After doing the necessary car rental procedures, we made our way to our first accommodation in New South Wales in the Blue Mountains. It took us about 2 hours to drive up, and we reached at nightfall, unfortunately missing the time to see the sunset. After a rather unspectacular Thai food dinner (tastes nothing like Thai food I know), we ended up making indo-mee for supper before crashing.

(Uninspiring Thai dinner..)

(Our comfy accommodation for the night, with our 'tastes better than it looks noodles')

Day 6: Blue Mountains -> Hunter Valley

Our Blue Mountain journey started with the famous Three Sisters lookout point, with well-paved walkways and paths to the have different viewpoints of the famous rocks. However, I do think the entire landscape was nicer than the rock itself.

(Us at the Three Sisters Lookout Point)

We then took a quick drive to the Katoomba Falls, which was another collection of cliffs with waterfalls, and we did a mini trek throughout the area, and also came across a cableway that allows you to see the views of the Blue mountain without any blocked views. However, as we were tight on time, we decided to skip it.

(Some of the views around Katoomba Falls)

After a quick stopover at a delicious local BBQ place on the way to Hunter Valley, called Blackbear BBQ, we pressed northwards of city towards the vineyards of Hunter Valley. We were excited to try out the famous wineries that Hunter Valley is known for, and our first stop after arriving was the Scarborough Winery. It was definitely one of the best wineries I've been at, with a collection of wine tasting paired with cheese and crackers, perfect after a long drive from the Blue Mountains. Needless to say, i bought some bottles home!

(Blackbear BBQ Bundle)

(Perfect bottle of Chardonnay..)

We ended off our night having dinner at a homely Italian joint at Cessnock near our Airbnb, before settling in for the night.

Day 7: Hunter Valley -> Sydney

Since we were in wine county, we decided to visit another winery, the Tulloch Winery before heading back to Sydney. Never too early for wine right? After a brief stopover at the Simply D-Vine Cafe for breakfast, we arrived at the Tulloch winery. Instead of cheese, we were given a set of locally-made chocolates, which paired amazingly with their wine options. Seems like I'll spend a longer time here in the wine county in the future!

(Breakfast at Simply D-Vine Cafe)

(Tulloc Winery)

We then had to leave the beauty of the countryside behind us as we headed back to the bustling city of Sydney. Given that Sydney was pretty notorious for traffic, we decided to return our car and rely on public transportation as well as private hire apps such as Uber and Didi. We spent the remainder of the evening exploring the main city area, and having our first taste of Korean food in a long while at the very popular Bornga chain. Bring on our city adventure!

(Walking the streets of Sydney)

(Dinner at Bornga!)

Day 8: Glebe Markets / The Rocks / Sydney Opera House

A busy day awaits us, as we plan to explore the main sights of Sydney. Our first stop was the Glebe Markets, which was essentially an Aussie 'pasar malam' with expensive things. Of course we had to buy the locally made Acai bowls, and while I'm not a major fan, the fruits used were definitely fresh.

(ps. As of March, Glebe Markets is closed on Google Maps, do let me know if it is permanent or not)

(Glebe Market)

After that, we headed towards Darling Harbour where we enjoyed a nice walk around the harbour, with the multitude of yachts and boats littered throughout the harbour. The weather was super amazing, and it made for a nice walk all the way to The Rocks, a neighbourhood of historic laneways. We made a stop at Baker's Oven to grab a Steak pie and it was so good!

(Darling Harbour, The Rocks, and a Steak Pie at Baker's Oven)

Finally, we set our eyes on Sydney's prized asset, the Sydney Opera House! Not going to lie, it looked better from far and in photos. It was really more of a 'Okay... Lets go' kinda vibe, but I do agree it looks better at night, as you will see later! The Harbour bridge also looked nicer from far.

(Snippets of Sydney's famous landmarks)

After snapping our touristy shots, we headed back towards Darling Harbour where we grabbed our ramen fix at Ramen Zundo. We split up to do some shopping, and eventually met back at the Sydney Opera House to see the area light up. Definitely a better view at night.

(Opera house and Harbour Bridge at night)

One trick to see the beauty of the Opera House is to take the public ferry towards Darling Harbour from Circular Quay, as it allows you to come up close and personal with the Harbour Bridge and unfettered views of the Opera House, as seen in the photo below! It was only around 3 AUD per pax.

Another advice if you are there on Saturday evenings is to reach Darling Harbour before 2100 hours, as they have a firework display every Saturday night, and is a great way to end off your ferry journey from the Opera House.

(Fireworks at Darling Harbour)

We had to right the wrong of the terrible Thai food we had on the Blue Mountains, and boy did Muum Maam Barangaroo do just that! It was just an amazing authentic tasting of Thai food made elegant and true to its roots. I highly recommend this for sure!

Day 9: Birkinhead Outlet Area / Bondi Beach

What is an Australia trip without some outlet shopping? We decided to visit one of Sydney's famous outlet mall shopping which was located in the Birkinhead area, with brands like Nike, Adidas, Calvin Klein and many others to help fulfil your shopping desires.

After about 5 hours, we then headed to the famous Bondi Beach to see the sunset. We firstly stopped by the Bondi Road Seafoods for a fresh take on fried seafood, and it was super value for money! Do recommend you dropping by to have seafood before heading to Bondi Beach!

We started off our Bondi Beach walk by walking from the Bondi Clifftops, and slowly down towards the main Bondi Beach. It was definitely a nice calming walk, although i did lose my Raybans as I accidentally dropped it into the sea..

Again, not sure why but Australia's sunsets are really super pretty, and we saw the sun slowly set behind the buildings. Definitely a perfect way to say goodbye to the sun of our last day here.

We had to definitely reward ourselves with a perfect steak at The Meat & Wine Co back at Darling Harbour, and it was definitely worth every penny! The meat was really juicy, and I recommend getting the Wagyu option!

Day 10: Sydney -> Singapore

As our flight was in the early afternoon, we did not have much time to do much in Sydney, except to drop by a cafe, Bake Bar, nearby our hotel before heading to the airport. Thankfully, we had a great check in supervisor who gave us front row seats, which made the journey back from Sydney much more bearable.

Conclusion

Although it is unfortunate that there will not be direct flights to Gold Coast from July 2023 onwards, the direct train link between Brisbane and Gold Coast means it is still accessible. We loved Gold Coast as it was a really chill city, yet having enough activities to spend 4-5 days easily there, so I do recommend you adding it in!

However, Sydney is less fun since it is more of a business city rather than a place for travels, and it is more crowded than Gold Coast. However, if you are able to leave the city, there are good nature options and wineries to give your Sydney experience a different twist.

Hope you enjoyed my take on the cities of Gold Coast and Sydney, and catch you again in my next post! Happy travels!

-Daryl