Archive for July, 2008

Gold Coast Holidays on a Shoe String

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

So you’ve got a cheap flight, and sorted out your accommodation at a discount, what do you do once you are here, to ensure you don’t blow 12 months spending money. 

Naturally, you should start with the Gold Coast beaches.  In fact, you can spend your whole holiday on our beach, and not spend a cent more than you would back at home.  And for such a holiday you’d probably return home fit, happy, tanned and relaxed.  If you don’t mind spending just a few dollars, at a reasonable rate you can hire a surfboard off us that suits your ability, and turn your holiday into a surf trip. 

Research the suburb you are in before you go.  The Gold Coast calendar is packed with free entertainment, from music festivals, to local markets, sporting events and fine food carnivals.  Most of these events show off the talent of the local producers and artists, so they are definately worth checking out.

If you have access to a car, try the hinterland.  The tamborine and lamington mountains are close and packed with wineries, retreats and natural wonders.  They are definately worth a day trip.

I hope that gives you some ideas.  You can definately do the Gold Coast this year, even if money is a bit tighter

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Affordable Gold Coast Holidays – Accommodation

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Another costly holiday expense is accommodation.  And as luxurious accommodation on the Gold Coast is becoming more the norm than the exception, finding cheap accomodation options is getting more difficult.  That being said, you still have many alternatives you can look at which can dramatically reduce your cost of holiday accommodation.  Here are some ideas for you

  • Loyalty Programs – Many hotel chains and booking services have loyalty programs where patronage will be rewarded by discounts on future accommodation.  HotelClub.com has one which we are particularly impressed with.  You can use the rewards earned in this program with any of the hotels they take bookings for.  Now is a good time to use those points to help fund a cheap holiday.  Or if you are not a member, join up today so your holidays today contribute to future holidays.
  • Hotel Comparison Services - Use a comparison services to get the best holiday deal, by comparing the rates and current discounts from all the hotels in the area.  With our partners Howzat, we have put such a search engin on our Hotel Reservations page.  Now is the best time to use such services, as the hotels are desperately trying to win your business, and out pricing the competition is one of their ways they are doing this.
  • Accommodation Alternatives – You don’t have to stay in a hotel.  On the Gold Coast we have Inns, Backpackers Hostels, Caravan Parks and camping grounds.  There are many cheaper alternatives to 5 star hotels. 

So the point is, you do not have to make your next Gold Coast holiday, all or nothing.  You can tone down some parts of it to ensure you still have your annual break.  And there are so many alternatives to “5 star” on the Gold Coast, that accommodation is a great place where you can cut expense without cutting the quality of your stay.

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Flying to the Gold Coast – How to do it cheap!

Friday, July 4th, 2008

Flights are often one of the most expensive elements of your holiday.  So when money gets tighter, flights are always a good place to start when cutting costs.  Here are some quick fire ways you can reduce your airline costs, while still enjoying holidays when you need them

  • Use an Airline Reservation Comparison Service.  We have set up one on our site for your convenience: You can Find The Cheapest Airfare with little or no hassle by getting such comparison services to do the work for you
  • Use loyalty programs to maximum advantage.  There are so many frequent flyer and credit card reward programs out there, that you can use previous holidays and even your day by day living habits, to completely fund your flights.  All you will have to pay is the tax component of your flights, saving you 80 – 90% of the expense
  • Use only discount airlines.  Sign up to their email newsletters and keep an eye out for their special deals.  They have them all the time, I get emails every week.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they seem to be in the middle of a discount war.  You can use this to your advantage by just keeping an eye on the special deals they offer.

When planning your holiday, its important to think ahead.  Most people pay 40% more than they have to because in not planning ahead, they fail to take advantage of the every day deals that are available.  So start thinking and looking for airline deals, at least 9 months in advance, using the 3 tips I have given you above.

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Cheap Gold Coast Holidays

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

Well, the surf is definately down this week.  Its less than a foot.  The good thing about this though is that its given me an extra hour a day to think about the information I am going to add to the site this month.  Given rising interest rates, petrol prices, rents etc, I have the perfect topic.

What I thought I’d do this month is put together some information about making a Gold Coast holiday CHEAP.  How do you get here and have a ball on a budget.  I’ll look at accommodation, flights, surfboard rentals (of coarse) and other attractions.  So stay tuned.

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