Weather and Suitable Activities in Gold Coast during late October

by Angeline Lai
(Malaysia)

Weather and Suitable Activities in Gold Coast during late October

I am planning for a family trip with 8 adults and 1 child. We intend travel to Gold Coast tentatively late October next year and need to know whether the below activities are suitable during that period of time.

1) Whale watching and Island Adventure
2) Gold Coast Hinterland Hot air ballooning
3) Sea World - Dolphin Adventure
4) Theme park
5) 1 day Great Barrier Reef tour - snorkelling
6) Take cruise

How is the weather during mid to end Oct? Rain? What time of clothes that we should ready for?

Your response are very much appreciated. Thank you.

The dates you mentioned (which I have edited out for privacy) overlap with the Gold Coast 600 which is held each year in and around Surfers Paradise and Main Beach on the Gold Coast. This is a motorsport event, which rolls into town causing a bit of commotion for about a week - most disrupted from Monday through to following Monday with the racing held over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The reason I mention this, is that the accommodation in and around Main Beach and northern areas in Surfers gets very busy, has boisterous car racing fans, getting in and out of the area is slowed down because of traffic changes and you will probably be paying higher prices to stay in this area than normal.

Therefore, I would probably recommend, if you choose these dates, that you pick accommodation out of the general area perhaps down at Broadbeach or maybe further north at Labrador. The dates clash early in your holiday (the first 3 days I think), so maybe you could move it slightly or book accommdation out of the area.

In terms of your itinerary, I will talk about it firstly as if you do not have any clashes with the GC600 event and then I will point out a couple of considerations:

Overall, you mentioned you would be staying a week, I assume first day arrival travel, last day departure travel which leaves 6 full days for activities (please correct me if I have this wrong) and you have selected 6 main activities.

All are available at this time of the year. I have written a few notes about each one below:

Whale watching - half day with morning on the whale watch.

Gold Coast Hinterland Hot Air ballooning - usually a very early morning activity, but brilliant way to start the day! I often see the hot air balloons in the early morning, I always smile!

Sea World - Dolphin Adventure - This is a year round activity, but needs to be booked directly with Sea World. I would make sure you have booked it in at least a month before you visit as it is popular.

Theme park - not sure which one you mean, but all are open and available during this month. Options include Dreamworld & Whitewater World; Movie World, Sea World & Wet n Wild.

1 day Great Barrier Reef tour - snorkelling - oh what a memory, coming to Australia and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. It is definitely a highlight! Be prepared for a VERY long day. Because of the distance you will travel, you only go to the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef, but it should be a very memorable experience.

Take cruise - This is probably a half day experience and there are plenty to choose from.

If you do travel during the GC600 race time, then getting to places like Sea World, Whale Watching and Island Cruise, Cruise - depending on location chosen, may be a little harder. All these activities still operate, it can just be a little more time and delay to get to the locations. Just something to be aware of.

Phew, nearly there... last question was about the weather in October. It is usually warm and humid and we do get some rain and a few thunderstorms. Temperatures are usually between mid teens to mid 20's Celsius or Centigrade (around 77°F Fahrenheit).

At this time of the year we are mostly in shorts and t-shirts, always wearing sunscreen and hats and covering up in the hottest part of the day. It gets a little cooler in the evenings and we always carry a rain umbrella and a light jumper or jacket when it gets cooler.

You might need something a little warmer for the balloon flight and the whale watching as those are two places where it can be cooler than on land!

I hope that answered all your questions, please leave a comment below if you have any more or if I need to clarify anything. Sounds like a very fun filled trip, don't forget to pop back here and tell us all about it.

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