Southeast Queensland
AUSTRALIA
I grew up here. Brisbane was my backyard, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were my weekends, and the islands off the coast were where I learned what freedom felt like.
WHY SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND
I spent the first twenty years of my life in Brisbane, and no matter how far I travel, this part of the world still feels like the place that shaped me.
Brisbane in the eighties and nineties was a big country town pretending to be a city. I rode my bike for hours through the neighborhood without a care in the world. Summers were spent almost entirely in the backyard pool. Life moved at a pace that felt entirely natural until you left and realized not everywhere works that way.
I go back often to visit family, and what strikes me every time is how much has changed while somehow staying the same. Brisbane is now a genuinely cosmopolitan city. The food scene is world class, the cultural infrastructure is extraordinary, and the energy of a place preparing to host the 2032 Olympic Games is palpable. But the warmth, the ease, the Queensland way of not taking things too seriously, that is exactly as I left it.
Some of my best childhood memories were on my grandfather’s boat. Fraser Island, Stradbroke Island, Byron Bay across the border. Getting stuck on sandbars and having to jump out and push. Catching big fish with my dad’s help. Swimming in water so clear and so quiet it felt like the middle of the world belonged to us. Those experiences shaped how I think about travel. The idea that the best moments are often the unplanned ones, and that the point is not the destination but what happens on the way.
This is the Queensland I want to show you.
HIGHLIGHTS
Four regions that together tell the full story of Southeast Queensland, from the city to the coast to the islands.
Brisbane
Brisbane is no longer the city people fly through on the way to the Gold Coast. It has become a destination in its own right, and one of the most exciting cities in Australia right now.
The South Bank cultural precinct holds the Queensland Art Gallery, GOMA, one of the finest modern art museums in the Asia Pacific, and the Performing Arts Centre, all within walking distance of each other.
Howard Smith Wharves, tucked beneath the Story Bridge directly on the river, has transformed a row of heritage wharves into one of the best eating and drinking precincts in the country. The view of the bridge from the water’s edge at night is one of those Brisbane moments that stays with you.
The boutique restaurant precinct of James Street in Fortitude Valley rounds out a food culture that is genuinely world class.
Brisbane is also the logical starting point for everything else in this region, with the Gold Coast an hour south and the Sunshine Coast an hour north.
Gold Coast and Hinterland
The Gold Coast gets a bad reputation it only partially deserves. Yes, Surfers Paradise is loud and commercial.
But the Gold Coast is also twenty-five kilometers of unbroken beach, world class surf breaks at Burleigh Heads and Kirra, a thriving food scene in Broadbeach, and a hinterland of subtropical rainforest and waterfalls thirty minutes inland that most visitors never see.
Tamborine Mountain and the Lamington National Park offer ancient rainforest, glowworm caves and walking tracks that feel genuinely remote for somewhere so close to a major city.
I grew up spending weekends here and there is more to it than the skyline suggests. For families, the theme parks, including Warner Bros. Movie World, and Dreamworld remain among the best in the Asia Pacific.
Sunshine Coast and Noosa
An hour north of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast is what the Gold Coast might have been if it had chosen a different path.
Lower, quieter, greener, and anchored by Noosa, which is one of the most genuinely beautiful coastal towns in Australia. Hastings Street runs one block from the beach and is lined with restaurants, boutiques and cafes that would feel at home in any world city.
Noosa National Park begins at the end of the main beach and offers walking tracks above the ocean with koalas in the trees and dolphins in the water below.
The Noosa River and its hinterland lakes add a different dimension entirely. I spent countless weekends here as a kid and the appeal has only grown with age. The newly relaunched Elysium Noosa Resort on Hastings Street, with its ocean and river views, swim-up bar and restaurants from acclaimed Sydney chefs, is now the place to base yourself.
Moreton Bay and the Islands
This is the Queensland most visitors miss completely and the part I hold most personally. Moreton Bay, the sheltered body of water east of Brisbane, is dotted with islands that offer an entirely different experience to the coast.
North Stradbroke Island, known as Straddie to Queenslanders, has friends who live there in houses overlooking the ocean, and I have spent time there that felt nothing like a tourist experience. It is all wild beaches, fresh seafood, whale watching from the headlands between June and November, and the particular quiet of a place that has not tried to become anything other than what it is.
Moreton Island, just offshore, has the most extraordinary snorkeling on a wreck just meters from the beach. And Fraser Island, now known by its traditional name K’gari, is the largest sand island in the world and one of the genuine natural wonders of Australia. My grandfather navigated those waters by instinct. I can help you navigate them in considerably more comfort.
WHEN TO GO
Southeast Queensland is a year-round destination, with mild winters that most Americans find genuinely surprising.
Winter runs June through August. Temperatures in Brisbane sit in the low to mid-seventies during the day and rarely drop below sixty at night. The Gold and Sunshine Coasts are similar. This is the dry season, which means clear skies, low humidity and the best whale watching of the year as humpbacks move through Moreton Bay on their annual migration. It is also peak season for the islands, particularly K’gari, and the best time to visit if you want to avoid the heat.
Spring, September through November, is when Queensland starts to warm. The jacarandas bloom across Brisbane in September and October. Beach conditions are excellent and the crowds are lighter than summer.
Summer runs December through February. Hot and humid, with afternoon thunderstorms that are dramatic and brief and leave the air smelling of rain on hot earth. The beaches are at their busiest. Christmas in Queensland, with long evenings and warm water, is a particular kind of Australian magic if you are prepared for the heat.
Cyclone season runs December through April in the far north, but Southeast Queensland is generally unaffected.
A TASTE OF THE ADVENTURE
Ten days across the city, the coast and the islands, at a pace that actually lets you feel the place.
Two nights in Brisbane based at The Calile, with a day exploring South Bank, GOMA and the river, and an evening in the restaurants of James Street.
Drive south for two nights on the Gold Coast, a day at Burleigh Heads beach and an afternoon in the hinterland rainforest.
North to Noosa for three nights at Elysium, days at the national park and the river, a long lunch on Hastings Street.
A day trip to Straddie for the beaches and the headland whale watching if the timing is right. Return to Brisbane for a final night and a farewell dinner somewhere along the river.
That is one version. I have run variations of this trip for every kind of traveler and it works every time.
WHERE TO STAY
The properties worth knowing across the region.
The Calile Hotel, Brisbane is the standout property in the city and one of the best hotels in Australia. It ranked in the World’s 50 Best Hotels list in both 2023 and 2024 and was awarded a Michelin Key in 2025. The pool terrace is the social heart of the property, the Hellenika restaurant is exceptional, and the design manages to feel both distinctly Brisbane and genuinely world class. This is where I put clients who want the best Brisbane experience.
InterContinental Brisbane occupies the landmark Harry Seidler designed building in the CBD and opened in mid-2025 as the brand’s first Brisbane property. A major renovation of its 319 rooms begins in 2026, making now an ideal time to stay before it closes for the upgrade.
W Brisbane sits above the river in the CBD with views that are difficult to argue with and the energy of a W property done well in a city that suits the brand’s confidence.
Elysium Noosa Resort, newly relaunched on Hastings Street in 2025, is the finest property in Noosa. Ocean and river views, a swim-up bar, excellent restaurants and a location directly on the strip that makes everything in Noosa walkable.
The Langham Gold Coast brings the brand’s signature white-glove service to Surfers Paradise and is the most genuinely luxurious option on the Gold Coast for clients who want the beach without compromising on standard.
GOOD TO KNOW
The things worth knowing before you plan.
American passport holders need an Electronic Travel Authority to enter Australia, which I handle as part of the planning process.
Qantas and Delta fly nonstop from Los Angeles, with Delta operating seasonally. United flies nonstop from San Francisco year-round.
Queensland runs on Australian Eastern Time, fifteen hours ahead of Los Angeles in summer.
Driving is on the left. The roads between Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are excellent and the distances are manageable. I plan most itineraries around a hire car for this region, with drivers in the cities where parking is an unnecessary complication.
The Queensland sun is serious. Higher UV index than most Americans are accustomed to, year-round. Sun protection is not optional.
Tipping is not expected. A gesture for genuinely exceptional service is appreciated and never required.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
I grew up here.
Let me show you what that means for your trip.
Southeast Queensland is more than most visitors expect. Let’s make sure you see all of it.