Cheap flights direct to the Gold Coast leave from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Gold Coast Airport is about 20km south of Broadbeach, which is at the centre of the Gold Coast strip. The 702 bus to Southport is a cheap way to get into Broadbeach. It runs every half hour between the first and last flights of the day. There is also the Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle which will take travellers from the airport straight to their hotel for less than the cost of a taxi. Visitors from Brisbane can travel to the Gold Coast by train which stops at Robina, where a bus connection delivers them to Broadbeach.
Broadbeach, and the Gold Coast, is serviced by the Surfside bus network, which uses the Queensland Government’s Go Card system. A Go Card is cheap – about 30% less than a paper ticket - and allows visitors to use public transport throughout the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, making it ideal for travellers who plan to see more of South-East Queensland than just the Gold Coast. Away from the beach the Gold Coast has many canals, which can be navigated by ferry or water taxi.
Broadbeach is home to the 24-hour Jupiters Casino, which not only attracts the high rollers, but also hosts many Vegas-style shows. The suburb also provides a family-friendly atmosphere as musicians and entertainers rove the streets, artists and dancers perform in the mall, and a year-long calendar is consistently filled with free festivals, community events and performances. The Gold Coast is famous for its long stretches of golden beaches and Broadbeach is home to one of the finest. Other well-known beaches, such as Surfers Paradise and Main Beach are only a leisurely, sandy, stroll away. For those who want more excitement, the Gold Coast is Australia’s theme park capital. Sea World is at Southport, on the Gold Coast strip and can be accessed by public transport. The other theme parks – Dreamworld, Whitewater World, Movie World and Wet ‘n’ Wild – are about a 20minute trip out of town, but are well serviced by shuttle buses from the various hotels and tourist information centres on the coast
Visitors will be spoilt for choice on the Gold Coast. Broadbeach itself has a village feel, which differs from the glitz of Surfers Paradise, only minutes away to the north. For a cheap meal, with a view, go to the Kurrawa Surf Club which overlooks the Pacific Ocean. To combine entertainment with dining, check out the Firefly Grill which serves up huge skewers of grilled favourites, such as seafood, calamari, chicken, lamb, beef and pork carved at a diners’ table. The 1two3 Dining and Lounge Bar offers customers three different portion sizes dependant on their appetite and budget. Those searching for cheap shopping should check out the Broadbeach Art and Craft Markets on the first and third Sunday of each month. Daily bargains can be found at the hundreds of tourist shops in the area, especially if the desire is for a cheap and cheerful t-shirt. The casino offers nightly entertainment in Broadbeach, while the Platinum Nightclub, in the mall, is the self-declared ‘’party central in Broadbeach’’. The hub of the Gold Coast nightlife is in Orchid Avenue, Surfers Paradise which has a long list of nightclubs and adult entertainment venues, such as Avenue, The Drink, Ruby Tramp, MyBar, Crazy Horse Cabaret & Bar, Shooters, Cocktails and Dreams, Hollywood Showgirls, Players Showgirls, Sin City, twenty1 bar and The Bedroom.