TRAVEL
The region is served by the Brisbane International and Domestic Airports and the Gold Coast International (Coolangatta) airport, providing access for international services from USA, Europe, Japan, Asia and New Zealand. There are also frequent domestic services from Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart and services from West Australia and the Northern Territory.
The following are the most commonly used options for airport transfers. Your accommodation provider will gladly arrange airport transfer bookings for you. Just advise the reservations desk of your choice of transfer when booking your accommodation.
AIRTRAINCONNECT
AirtrainConnect ( visit website for timetables and prices) is a door-to-door rail and road service that transfers visitors to and from the Brisbane airports (domestic and international) and their Gold Coast accommodation. The road portion of the transfer uses sedan limousines.Rail platforms are located at the front of the airport terminals and the service runs every 15 minutes from Brisbane and every 30 minutes from the Gold Coast. The service connects to stations at:
- Helensvalue: For Labrador, Biggera Waters, Runaway Bay and northern Gold Coast
- Nerang: For Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and central Gold Coast
- Robina: For Broadbeach and all areas south to Coolangatta
Tickets can be booked in advance and can also be purchased at the station.
MOTOR COACH SHUTTLE SERVICES
Several bus companies operate door-to-door transfers between the Brisbane and Coolangatta airports and your accommodation. Travel will usually be in mini coach vehicles with a trailer for luggage. Airport pick-ups and drop-off are in the designated coach zones.Travel times to Brisbane Airport are approximately:
- 1hour 15min from northern Gold Coast (Labrador, Runaway Bay area)
- 2 hours from central Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach area)
- 2½ to 3 hours from southern Gold Coast (Coolangatta, Tweed Heads)
Tickets need to be booked in advance and a minimum of 48 hours notice is recommended. Suggested motor coach transfer companies are:
- Coachtrans [ visit website for timetables and prices ]
- Con-x-ion [ visit website for timetables and prices ]
LIMOUSINE SERVICES
For that special occasion there is always the option of a chauffeur driven limousine. There are choices ranging from a Rolls Royce, stretch limo and corporate sedan. Limousines need to be booked well in advance and are available from both the Brisbane and Coolangatta airports.Suggested limousine companies are:
- Sovereign Limousines [ visit website for timetables and prices ]
- Quicksilver Limousines [ visit website for timetables and prices ]
TRAVELLING AROUND THE GOLD COAST
Surfside Buslines provides Gold Coast's public bus service as well as the Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle to help you get around the Gold Coast.
For hire cars, Hertz, Avis and Europcar have outlets at the Brisbane and Gold Coast Airports.Europcar and Hertz also have outlets at Surfers Paradise (conference venue suburb ) on the Gold Coast.
© 2010 The University of Queensland