Yay, I’m (very) slowly working through my backlog of entries!
Here’s the expenses breakdown of my Gold Coast 4-day weekend trip last March. I flew via Jetstar, and lucky for me, their Gold Coast segment flies from Tullamarine and not from Avalon airport (which is about one and a half hour from Melbourne).
I stayed the the overpopulated-by-tourists Surfer’s Paradise. Why? Because there are times when I *do* want to be mainstream.
When I was researching for this trip, I was really frustrated that there’s hardly anything online or in travelbooks about the Gold Coast. Usually it’d just be a mention of the beach, the theme parks and the hinterlands. One day in Gold Coast and I see why that is.
Don’t get me wrong; there’s lots of things to do in Gold Coast. There’s the gorgeous stretch of white sand beach where you can sunbathe, play frisbee, swim, surf. There’s more than 4 theme parks that’s only one bus ride away. There’s plenty of shops where you can blow your money, whether you like shopping at tacky souvenir shops or blow serious cash at Gucci. And there’s also a casino, where you can blow off even more cash. While some activities doesn’t require money (i.e. lazing at the beach, people watching, etc.), there’s only so much lazing about and people watching you can do.
Will I go back to the Gold Coast? If I’m with friends and have more moolah (or if my credit card isn’t maxed out), I would. But otherwise, I’d give it a pass.
Anyway, here’s my Gold Coast budget:
| Gold Coast, Australia | Au$ 1 = Php 40 | ||
| March 9-12, 2007 | |||
| Actual | Actual | ||
| Air Tranfers | In Australia Dollar | In Peso | |
| Jetstar | $ 342.00 | Php 13,680.00 | |
| Transportation | |||
| 3-day bus ticket | $ 26.00 | Php 1,040.00 | 1 |
| Bus to Coolangatta airport | $ 3.90 | Php 156.00 | |
| Melbourne Skybus to city | $ 15.00 | Php 600.00 | 2 |
| City saver Metcard | $ 2.30 | Php 92.00 | |
| Accomodation | |||
| Islander Backpacker Resort | $ 70.22 | Php 2,808.80 | |
| $24/night, 4-bed mixed dorm | |||
| 3 nights + credit card surcharge | |||
| Food | |||
| Includes food court meals, junk food | $ 84.20 | Php 3,368.00 | 3 |
| Fast food, supermarket purchases | |||
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Souvenirs/shopping | $ 76.45 | Php 3,058.00 | |
| Internet | $ 5.00 | Php 200.00 | |
| Admission tickets | $ 77.50 | Php 3,100.00 | 4 |
| Total | $ 702.57 | Php 28,102.80 | |
| 1 The Surfside buslines have this 3-day ticket which allows for unlimited travel through most of the zones (I think) for three days. There wasn’t a train system similar to that of Sydney’s or Melbourne’s, so public transport is mostly by bus. The system is pretty extensive and the brochures at the airport gives you a map of their route and stops. While Surfer’s Paradise doesn’t have that much charm or character, riding through the Gold Coast is quite nice. I don’t advise getting this 3-day pass if you only plan on lazing at the beach for three days. However, if you’re thinking of going to the theme parks, casino and shopping places, then by all means, get this ticket. | |||
| 2 Since I came home on a Monday, nobody was available to pick me up at the airport. Good thing there’s the Skybus, the Melbourne airport shuttle that goes to Spencer Street station. I’ve been wanting to try this out, so I finally got my wish. Unfortunately, I flew in from tropical Gold Coast to Melbourne on a cold spell. Good thing I was wearing my jacket and runners. | |||
| 3 Breakfast came from either Burger King or from the nearest convenient store in the form of a not-so-fresh croissant and a bottle of ice coffee. Frankly, the convenient store breakfast was better. Props goes to the yummy ramen I had at this Japanese ramen shop where I seemed to be the only one who didn’t speak to the Japanese-speaking waitress. The best meal though, is my $2.31 picnic lunch of ½ roast barbeque chicken and 1.5 litre bottle of water, courtesy of Coles supermarket. | |||
| 4 Ripley’s believe it or not museum and Seaworld. Ripley’s was okay…kids will surely enjoy the weird stuff. Good thing they’re only charging $13.50 for it. Seaworld was awesome. I was planning on going to the other parks as well, but I was strapped for cash. Besides, how fun is it riding a roller coaster alone? | |||
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This post was last modified on Wednesday, 30 January 2013 18:29
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