We have 3 days. Which is best and what are the major activities and attractions?

Forget Brisbane,one of Australia's most forgetable places.

That's a little unkind, Graeme. I live on the Gold Coast and still occasionally make the pilgrimage to Brisbane. However, Captain, the Gold Coast will have more to offer in your 3 day stay. The most obvious are the natural features - miles of beautiful surf beaches punctuated by gorgeous headlands and creeks providing still water swimming if the surf is not your thing. Hinterland mountain villages for a cool break and a developing group of wineries. Several theme parks of the Disneyland, Sea World and Universal Studios varieties. Restaurant precincts at several locations along the length of the coast. For a cheap alternative the best Gold Coast real estate is occupied by a series of Surf Life Savings Clubs located on the beach every few miles or so, all with the best
views, cold beer or whatever takes your fancy and cheap meals. There's a casino centrally located and any amount of accomodation at wide range of price and standard. You can take a day trip to Byron Bay - about an hours drive to the south- but do try to at least pass through Brisbane. Despite Graeme's protestations it is worth a look. If you happen to be here at a time when there is some major event on e.g. one of Brisbane's football teams (there are team's in three major codes), make the journey north for that.

Definitely the Gold Coast - it has gorgeous beaches, loads of accommodation options, beautiful hinterland for walking and exploring, theme parks like Sea World, plus heaps more. The Gold Coast is very popular, while Brisbane is not usually a place people pick for a holiday.
Kay

Whoa, there! This is sounding a little too much like an assumption that captainmoroni automatically wants the features that the Gold Coast has to offer. I think you have portrayed them as far, far more attractive than they actually are. Of course, captainmoroni, if your idea of a holiday is ultra-commercial glitz -- motels, each indistinguishable from the one next door, all along the highway -- ultra-modern hotels all vying to be the highest and the most outrageously lavish, and also indistinguishable not only from each other but from all the ones you will find in Las Vegas and California, etc etc; theme parks where you can spend a fortune in a day to experience what amounts to a series of mini-versions of Disney World (Warner Bros Movie World is a particularly miserable example of the genre); and, wherever you look, shops, shops and more shops, all aimed at separating the tourist from his money by providing every kind of junk food and useless souvenir -- then, in that case, the Gold Coast is the place for you. There are. however. some Australians -- well, one, anyway -- who hate it so much that they plan trips north from Sydney that manage to avoid it at all costs. Brisbane, on the other hand -- while it isn't one of the world's great cities -- is REAL; you get the impression there that the people have a life that isn't isn't totally geared to the needs of the tourist. So, captainmoroni, before you decide, please get back onto this forum and tell us a little bit about your likes and dislikes, your interests, your expectations of your holiday in Australia. Where is the best place you ever went to in your life? If you answer "Orlando, Florida" then forget everything that I have written above and head straight for the Gold Coast. Just don't think for a moment that you're seeing Australia.