Climate
The Gold Coast has a mild, sub-tropical climate, with consistent temperatures year-round, with an average high of 29 degrees C in January and 21 degrees in July. The winter months tend to have little rainfall, while the summer has frequent storms originating from the west.
Hinterland
The Gold Coast Hinterland is the largely rural area away from the coast. It begins west of the Pacific Motorway, and consists of mountain ranges covered with rainforest, much of which is national parks.
Districts or suburbs (north to south)
Paradise Point, Hollywell, Runaway Bay and Labrador - northern suburbs, largely residential.
Southport - The commercial centre with shops, hospitals, business, industry and government offices.
Main Beach - An upmarket suburb with high-rises and resorts.
Surfers Paradise - The most commercialised tourist suburb, with the highest concentration of accommodation and attractions.
Broadbeach - The second busiest tourist suburb and quieter than Surfers Paradise. It has a casino, 2 shopping complexes and many restaurants and highrises.
Mermaid Beach and Miami - Largely low-rise residential suburbs with motels and restaurants along the highway.
Burleigh Heads - Numerous highrise apartment buildings and a small commercial area. The beaches are popular with surfers and families.
Palm Beach - Largely residential area.
Currumbin, Tugun and Bilinga - Largely residential area dotted with apartments, popular with families and locals. Convenient to the airport and motorway.
Kirra, Coolangatta and Tweed Heads - The southern end has several high-rise apartments with a small, but popular, shopping and entertainment area.
Geography
The Gold Coast is a large urban area with a population of 550,000 administered by the Gold Coast City Council headquartered at Evandale in Surfers Paradise and the Tweed Shire in NSW. It is a key part of Greater Brisbane, a conurbation of over 3 million people. The Gold Coast shares its infrastructure, facilities, services and labour market with Brisbane to the north. Workers commonly commute between the two by rail and road.
Unfortunately, many tourists believe the highrise buildings and crowds of Surfers Paradise make it an overdeveloped 'tourist trap'. Most of these buildings are however local residential. The city also has many services and industries not directly related to tourism.
The Gold Coast, that visitors are more familiar with, stretches along the coastal suburbs from Paradise Point to Tweed Heads about 35km. Surfers Paradise, towards the northern end, is the hub of the leisure activity.