I heard recently one of my fellow photo traveler, Mei Teng saying that she is travelling to Australia this week and asked about what she should do there. I suddenly felt so excited. Not because I’m going there as well. It’s because it reminds me of my previous travel to Gold Coast Australia. That trip had given me great memories which is still fresh in my mind even after all these years… (or maybe it was my honeymoon trip with my wife? Perhaps)

For me, our trip to Gold Coast Australia was one of those vacation travel that I would consider as a perfect travel! Though there were both high’s and low’s emotionally, and good and bad incidences happened during the trip, all these experiences had further enriched my memories of the vacation as well as the travel destination.

Most importantly, we couldn’t have these experiences if we were travelling there by full-packaged tour. That’s why I always emphasise about self-travelling. By self-travelling only I could experience those fun things and in-depth exploration of that travel destination. By self-travel only that I could here list out the Top 5 Things To Do when you are in Gold Coast, Australia for vacation travel, and here there are:

1. Rent a car. First thing you should do before doing anything else in Gold Coast is to rent a car! Australia is a big country. All its travel sites are scattered with a distance. To travel around Gold Coast most economically, you need to rent a car. It is even cheaper if you travel there in a group of 4; One fun thing of driving a car is that we could drop-by wherever we like when we see something interesting. We did drop-by just to pop into a bakery for some cheese cakes! (Can you do that if you were to travel with a package?) One of my friends even drove over 1000KM to the southern city of Sydney! Isn’t it fun to drive?
2. Shoot photos. You know this is always my first and foremost thing to do whenever I travel. Other than those “standard” scenic view to capture, travelers should also shoot something ‘local’, be it people or even cars. All these are great subject for travel photography. I would try some blind shots as well (off course not under the escalator! ). Remember: Many of the places you are visiting today, if not all, will not be visited again tomorrow, or could be only once in a lifetime. So, shoot more photos now rather to regret when you have left the travel destination!
3. Eat whatever local eats. One of the top 5 things to do on all travel, trying out local foods in Australia is definitely fun. Go to the backlane and follow what the local people are eating, and drinking. Fudge is one of the local famous candy that should be tried. I love the macademia nuts also. You can find full varieties of fudge and macademia nuts in Gold Coast. For group travellers, visiting the local supermarket to buy cheap vegetables to cook in the aprtment is also a fun thing to do. I bought some wine instead for our after dinner! Otherwise, visiting local vineyards and try various brands of winds sounds promising especially for travelers from the tropical countries like Malaysia. Either good or bad to your appetite is not important. At least we could try whatever we like which is not possible if you were following tour guides in packaged travel!
4. Explore the weekly market. Exceptionally fun and interesting, visit one of their weekly day market which open only twice a week from morning until afternoon. You could find many types of local foods and products over there, with a bargain! If you are hunting for souvenirs, go nowhere else. There are craftmen and artisit selling handicrafts, painting and arts as well. For food hunter, try out their ginger beer before you get exhausted. So, plan your schedule wise to allocate at least 1 whole morning on either Wednesday or Saturday, to visit the local day market;
5. For fun only, visit their casino at Gold Coast. Specifically for Malaysian and Singaporean, visiting Gold Coast largest casino, the Conrad Jupiter, which shall open up your eyes. You will soon realise how entertaining should a casino be, apart from what we see in the “Las Vegas” drama series. To try out your luck overseas, you may bet on the table for as low as AUD1.00 ! Free flow of F&B sure will be a good idea for me, the budget traveler!

Anyway, whatever things you do on your travel, no matter whether it turns out great or worst, it will be part of your travel experience and it will stay fresh forever in your memories. By the time your children grown up, they will certainly love to listen to all your stories, one day. As Travel Feeder’s Motto: Maximize Our Travel Enjoyment, Minimize Our Budget and Enrich Our Limited Holidays. These top 5 things to do in Gold Coast is only part of my travel experience.

What about your top 5 things to do there? – Travel Feeder.