9 hours in Brisbane
 

We will be disembarking off a cruise ship in Brisbane at around 8:00 in the morning. Our flight out of Brisbane only leaves at 19:00 that night. Any ideas on what we can do in Brisbane for this time period? We are not really museum kind of people. Prefer people watching. Is taking a train to the Gold Coast(?) a bit of a stretch?

Sorry forgot to mention that this is in March.

Hi TalulaSA,

Forget about the Gold Coast. Brisbane has lots to offer for a day.

You might find something on this site:
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/visitors/.../neboglorious/

Otherwise, just take a cab into the city & have a wander around. The area along the river is lovely, with some good restaurants.

With an early start like yours, you could just pop into an Information kiosk & see what's on offer for a 1/2 day tour that might appeal.

March is a lovely time to be there and it's a reallly pretty small city.

The Botanical gardens are a nice respite and right in the city; the old Treasury has been turned into a Casino (interesting architecture).

I'm sure others will have some more detailed ideas - but this might give you a start.

Enjoy your day :)

Thanks for the advise Bokhara. Never realised there was so much to do there. Wish we could stay longer.

Brisbane Airport does have a very helpful Information desk. I know because I really put them to work trying to find a last-minute campervan for us.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary isn't too far, and is supposed to be great. http://www.koala.net/index.htm

We found it helpful to take the city bus on the entire loop to "see what we could see" and then get off where we liked. The views from Mount Cootha are beautiful... we were there at night but I imagine it would be beautiful during the day as well. The City Cat (water taxi) was fun... the Paddington area had some cute shops and restaurants, there was a historic cathedral which was being renovated a few yesrs ago that I bet is finished now... I think it was St. John's... gorgeous. The outdoor mall is a good place for people watching and it's near the Casino... some nice historical buildings there. Have fun!

Don't forget SouthBank (www.visitsouthbank.com/ )in Brisbane. A nice way to take in the city skyline, eat, stroll through the parklands, swim at the beach area, watch the river or visit the new Gallery Of Modern Art (not at all boring). From here you could catch a city cat which cruises up and down the river ( www.ourbrisbane.com/transport/ferries/ ). What day of the week is it? as there are markets here on Friday nights.