Aqua Park, Gondolas or The Co-Op? A Broadwater Day from Ocean Sands

You can build one full Broadwater day from Ocean Sands around three stops: the inflatable aqua park, a co-op seafood lunch and an afternoon gondola cruise, all within a ten minute drive of Main Beach. Here is how to sequence the day, where to park and what to skip if the clock beats you.

 

 

Start on the water while the day is cool. GC Aqua Park sits at Broadwater Parklands on Marine Parade, Southport, about a ten minute drive from Ocean Sands across the bridge. It is the Gold Coast's largest floating inflatable park, a course of slides, climbing walls and obstacles anchored in the calm Broadwater. Sessions run in 50 minute blocks at around nineteen dollars, with a 100 minute option near thirty-five dollars if the kids want longer, and bookings are required because slots fill on warm weekends.

The one thing not to miss is the big slide at the far end, best tackled once you have found your feet on the smaller obstacles. Life jackets are included and compulsory, and aqua socks are mandatory, so buy a pair at the counter for five dollars if you did not bring your own. Ages five and up ride the main park; under-fives have their own Fun City float.

 

 

Straightforward, but paid. Parking at Broadwater Parklands costs $3.60 per hour from 9am to 7pm daily, and the Pier Pavilion car park is the closest to the aqua park. If it is full, there are more bays near the trees and around Anzac Hill, with one wheelchair-accessible space on Marine Parade directly behind the venue. Arrive before mid-morning on a fine day and you will walk straight in.

Come after 10am on a school holiday and you may circle for a while, so factor that into your session booking. Everything else on this day out is a short drive from here, so once you are parked you are well placed for the rest of the Broadwater.

 

 

For a Broadwater seafood lunch, it is hard to beat going to the source. The Gold Coast Fishermen's Co-op at 168 Seaworld Drive is about a seven minute drive from Broadwater Parklands, open from 7am until they sell out, seven days a week. Order a bag of cooked tiger prawns or a few Moreton Bay bugs and eat them on the grass looking back over the water.

The co-op has sold straight off the trawlers since the 1970s, and guests keep mentioning how sweet the prawns taste when they were swimming that morning. It is counter service and casual, so bring a picnic rug and your own drinks. If prawns are not for the kids, the parkland playgrounds and barbecues nearby cover the fussy eaters.

 

 

A slow, private glide to finish the day. Gold Coast Gondolas run authentic gondola cruises for up to five people along the Broadwater and its waterways, departing from the marina at Surfers Paradise, a short drive south of the co-op. You choose a catered cruise with food and drinks or an uncatered one you bring yourself, by day or after dark when the waterfront lights come on.

It suits couples celebrating something and families wanting a calm, unusual hour on the water. The one thing not to miss is the sunset slot, when the light turns gold across the Broadwater. Arrive about fifteen minutes early, and book ahead because each boat goes as a private hire.

 

 

If the day gets away from you, drop the gondola cruise and keep the aqua park and the co-op, then bring the cruise back on your next visit as an evening on its own. The aqua park and lunch together make a comfortable half-day, and the co-op is an easy stop on the way back to Main Beach.

If the water is too cool for the little ones, swap the aqua park for a stroll along the Broadwater Parklands foreshore and go straight to prawns.

 

 

 

Very close. GC Aqua Park at Broadwater Parklands in Southport is about a ten minute drive from our door, the fishermen's co-op on Seaworld Drive is around seven minutes, and the gondola departure point at Surfers Paradise is a similar short hop. You can do all three in one relaxed day.

 

 

Ages five and up can use the main inflatable park, with children under ten needing an adult in the water at a ratio of one adult to two children. Under-fives have their own Fun City attraction. Life jackets are included and compulsory, and aqua socks are mandatory, sold at the counter for five dollars.

 

 

Yes. Gold Coast Gondolas run private cruises for up to five people, so they book by the boat rather than the seat and fill quickly on weekends. Reserve online or by phone in advance, and arrive at the Surfers Paradise departure point about fifteen minutes before your cruise time.

 

 

Paid parking at Broadwater Parklands runs at $3.60 per hour from 9am to 7pm daily. The Pier Pavilion car park is the handiest for the aqua park, with more spaces near the trees and around Anzac Hill. There is one wheelchair-accessible bay on Marine Parade directly behind the venue.

 

A Broadwater day is one of the easiest to plan from Main Beach, because the water, the seafood and the slow cruise all sit within minutes of your apartment. Come back, rinse off in the pool and let someone else worry about dinner. Book your stay in our Main Beach apartments and see what else is close in our guide to Gold Coast attractions from Ocean Sands.

 

Image credit: Shiftchange / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)