Getting to the Gold Coast

Here’s our guide on how to get to the Gold Coast of Queensland Australia. You can easily fly, drive, catch a bus, or take a train to the Gold Coast, here’s a guide to those options:

Drive

Here are the kilometers and travel time estimates between the major cities with a link to route maps.

Gold Coast toKmsDriving TimeRoute Map
Melbourne184021 hoursmap
Sydney85010 hoursmap
Brisbane801 hour 20 minutesmap
Canberra125115 hrsmap
Adelaide210024 hoursmap
Darwin350041 hoursmap
Perth460048 hoursmap

 

Fly

You can fly into Gold Coast Airport from most major Australian airports and some International airports. Airlines servicing Gold Coast Airport include Air Asia, Jetstar, Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue, AirNorth, and Air New Zealand. The Gold Coast airport is located at the northern end of Coolangatta (a suburb of the Gold Coast).

Another option is to fly to Brisbane Airport (bne.com.au) which is serviced by all major Australian domestic airlines and most major international airlines. The airport is located approx 80 mins by car and 90 mins by train. For airport transfers see Gold Coast/Brisbane airport transfers » and for train see Airtrain.

 

Train

The only train that runs direct to the Gold Coast is from Brisbane. For example, if you are coming from Melbourne you can get on a train to Sydney, then on another train from Sydney to Casino, then a bus from Casino to Surfers Paradise – Gold Coast. Or, catch a train from Sydney to Roma St Station in Brisbane and then catch a train from there to the Gold Coast. See CountryLink which has a journey planner.

If your coming from northern Queensland (ie. Noosa, Cairns, Rockhampton etc.) catch the Tilt Train (Queensland Rail) to Roma St Station in Brisbane, and then a train from there to the Gold Coast (Translink). If you are going to be using public transport in South East Queensland then get an SEEQ card, it’s prepaid and makes traveling a breeze.

There are five stations (all on the same line) being Coomera, Helensvale, Nerang, Robina, and Varsity Lakes Station. Nerang Station is the closest to Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach. More info on Gold Coast public transport.

 

Bus

There are many long-distance bus services that come to the Gold Coast from Cairns, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane including MurraysPremier, and Greyhound.

 

 

More – Also see