The Best Day Trips From Brisbane

With the heart of the Gold Coast just an hour south of Brisbane (in good traffic, at least), the glitter strip makes for a great change of scenery for city slickers seeking a beachside alternative to buzzy Brisbane. Connected to Brisbane’s train network, the Gold Coast Light Rail terminates at Broadbeach, where you’ll find plenty of restaurants and bars along with the ritzy Pacific Fair shopping centre and a dazzling strip of beach. About 15 minutes’ drive south, you’ll hit hip Burleigh Heads, home to some of the Gold Coast’s best restaurants and bars including the seaside Burleigh Pavilion.

A rural city just 45 minutes southwest of Brisbane, Ipswich offers a taste of country QLD without having to venture far from the capital. Historic homes meet culinary cool in this heritage region, where you can float high above the rolling hills in a hot air balloon and sip Devonshire tea in a 130-year-old country mansion. It’s easy to spend a day working your way around CBD attractions including the Ipswich Antique Centre, Ipswich Art Gallery and the Workshops Rail Museum, but for a special treat, reserve a table for a long lunch at Homage Restaurant in nearby Grandchester.

Forming a natural playground loaded with walking tracks and epic lookouts, the 11 rugged volcanic peaks of the Glass House Mountains lie just an hour north of Brisbane. The area’s traditional Aboriginal owners, the Gubbi Gubbi people, consider this area culturally significant, which has resulted in Glass House Mountains being listed as a landscape of national importance by the QLD and national heritage registers. The mountains are also home to six small towns that are connected via rail and country roads.

When you’re in the mood for a beach day without the razzle dazzle of the Gold Coast, head north instead. Just over an hour from Brisbane, you’ll hit the beaches of Caloundra at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast. It’ll take you nearly another hour to get up to Noosa at the northern end of the coast, but even finer beaches await if you don’t mind a longer drive. If you’re heading up the coast on a Sunday, don’t miss the Caloundra Street Fair on Bulcock St from 8am-1pm; its food trucks make a great lunch option.