Travel Blog

Trade the beach towel for the rainforest canopy and head inland for one of the Sunshine Coast’s best family escapes. While the coast gets plenty of attention, the real magic starts when you steer your rental car up into the Hinterland.

The Southern Gold Coast is where the coastline slows down, the surf culture gets more local, and having a car turns a good beach day into a proper road trip.

The best “Markets & Markets” day trip from Noosa pairs the Noosa Farmers Market on Sunday morning with the Original Eumundi Markets later in the day, creating a food-and-craft loop that shows off both the coast and the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

The Mt Coot-tha and West Brisbane scenic loop is one of the easiest short scenic drives from Brisbane, pairing city views, botanic gardens, family stops and rainforest walks with a breakfast or sunset meal at The Summit.

A Gold Coast weekend works best as a 2-day trip built around one coastal day and one hinterland day, with bonus Friday afternoon and evening options if you’re heading out after work.

The Sunshine Coast hinterland is where the region gets really interesting, with Glass House Mountains lookouts, rainforest walks, platypus-spotting creeks, easy family reserves and a few local surprises near the Big Pineapple, Buderim and Maleny.

The Brisbane to Gold Coast scenic route via Tamborine Mountain and the Scenic Rim adds just 90 minutes to the 80km motorway drive, delivering rainforest skywalks, waterfalls, pie stops at Yatala and hinterland lookouts that beat the M1 traffic crawl

The Sunshine Coast offers budget beach hops from Mooloolaba's free beachfront playgrounds and Caloundra's coastal walk to Bribie Island's island escape and Coolum Beach's hidden coves, all accessible with cheap car hire on the Sunshine Coast from RaD

Brisbane is the perfect base for family day trips by car, with easy drives to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, Redcliffe on Moreton Bay, island adventures on Moreton, Bribie and North Stradbroke, plus rainforest escapes in the Scenic Rim.

A Gold Coast road trip by car hits beaches like Burleigh Heads and Currumbin, hinterland gems in Springbrook National Park and Tamborine Mountain, and scenic drives along Marine Parade and Currumbin Valley.