For those arriving in Brisbane International or Domestic, if you are looking to use the public transport (i.e. your time is not extremely important) to go to the Gold Coast,
and you're a bit of a cheapskate
......
...here's a sneaky tip. You don't
have to use the rather expensive Airtrain to ride from the airport to the Gold Coast. If you take the regular commuter bus from Skygate (the shopping and direct factory outlet complex near Brisbane airport), followed by train from Toombul station (basically a non-airport train station), you can save between $10-$20.
How to do this:
- Buy your go card at the airport.
- When you arrive at either BNE airport, take the free transfer shuttle to Skygate (http://www.bne.com.au/to-from-brisba...t-transfer-bus). No go card required.
- When you arrive at Skygate, go to the bus stop Ninth Ave at Skygate, stop 1, Eagle Farm.
- Use the journey planner at translink.com.au to help you go the rest of the way. You will need to make a ~200m transfer between the 590 bus stop at Toombul to Toombul train station (cross the road).
With a
go card, the total for this journey, one-way, will be $12.07, or $9.65 in off-peak. This is absolutely the cheapest way for a tourist to get from BNE airport to the Gold Coast using public transport, however,
make sure you check the shuttle timetable and Translink journey planner for your transport timings before you consider this option. Also, this is
not by any means the
quickest way to get to the Gold Coast.
You can also use this technique in reverse to go to BNE airport. The technique is also useful for getting to BNE city centre if you're spending some time there.