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Gold Coast And Schoolies Weeks

by Abby
(Malaysia)

Hi Annie,
I have arranged for a familiy holiday (4 adults n 2 kids)to GC from 25 November to 30 November, following the fact that we can avoid the crowd from the states' school holidays.

It was only recently we discovered that the week is actually the start of schoolies week. We read up about this and we are now concerned of the safety.

Horror stories from numerous websites are not helping at all. Since we have invested quite a sum for this trip, what would advise us do while we are there?

Of course, we are not planning for any late night out and our main trips would cover mostly theme parks, wildlfife sanctuary and a bit of shopping at Harbour Town.


Many people find themselves in your position Abby, and I have made suggestions for them before, so there are definitely things you can do to avoid the rowdy party goers.

The reality of Schoolies is that it is mostly confined to Surfers Paradise. They have a special zone on Surfers Paradise beach where there is entertainment for them during this week (which is the Queensland Official Schoolies Week) and they keep to that mostly. During the day you may find some out and about at the theme parks, but those that are out are unlikely to be causing trouble. It is the ones that stay in and drink alcohol and they tend to stay in and around their accommodation and are most rowdy in the evenings.

You will actually be arriving for the second week of schoolies - which is a little different. The second and third weeks are when the general school leavers from around the rest of Australia come to Surfers Paradise. There is no structured entertainment for them, although the local businesses tend to have special deals on to entice them into their pubs and clubs. These school leavers are generally over 18s and therefore they can legally drink alcohol. It is usually the mixture of young people and drinking that causes the rowdiness.

So my suggestions to you are pretty much, do as you planned. You are probably right to avoid Surfers Paradise at night, but there are plenty of other areas of the Gold Coast where you can get out and enjoy a nice dinner or even entertainment where you are unlikely to see the boisterous youngsters partying.

I would check out Main Beach especially places like Marina Mirage for a nice place to eat out with the kids and another place to do some shopping! Or Broadbeach has many lovely restaurants and places to eat too. Or take in a show such as Australian Outback Spectacular which can include dinner if you want to eat there.

You don't mention where you are staying, if you are staying in Surfers Paradise, you can check with the accommodatation to see if they have schoolies staying - some won't accept schoolies. And if they do, if they have any policies to make sure that the other guests are kept in different areas - sometimes they restrict the schoolies to certain parts of the hotels, apartments or resorts. It's worth asking, and letting them know you want to be in a quiet area with your children.

You might find some other suggestions in my answers to other people's questions as well.

Selection of suggestions to keep out of the way of schoolies!

Suggestions for a family holidaying in heart of Surfers during schoolies


I hope that helped! Please leave comments or feedback below and don't forget to like, tweet or share this to spread the word. Thanks.

If you want to contact me personally, use my contact form.

Cheers

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