Experience the Gold Coast from a unique perspective! This video captures our relaxing and scenic trip riding the Hoppo Ferry with my toddler. It was our first time, and the journey from Surfers Paradise (Appell Park stop) to HOTA (Home of the Arts) was truly delightful.
The ferry ride is comfortable and enjoyable—we particularly loved the cool breeze on the water and the engaging, interesting commentary provided by the ferry captain on both the outbound and inbound legs. It's a fantastic, low-stress activity for sharing with a little one!
We stopped at HOTA for a fun playground session and a picnic lunch before boarding the ferry again for the beautiful return journey.
This is highly recommended for tourists visiting Surfers Paradise looking for a beautiful and easy way to navigate the Gold Coast waterways.
Key Route Information: The Hoppo Ferry stops at Appell Park (Surfers Paradise), HOTA, Marina Mirage, and Broadwater Parklands.
Ideal for Families: A safe and scenic option for toddler activities and general sightseeing.
Enjoy the views and let us know your favourite Gold Coast travel tips in the comments!
#HoppoFerry #GoldCoast #SurfersParadise #HOTA #GoldCoastTourism #RidingTheHoppoFerry #FamilyTravel #ToddlerActivities #GoldCoastDayTrip #ThingsToDoInSurfersParadise
The ferry ride is comfortable and enjoyable—we particularly loved the cool breeze on the water and the engaging, interesting commentary provided by the ferry captain on both the outbound and inbound legs. It's a fantastic, low-stress activity for sharing with a little one!
We stopped at HOTA for a fun playground session and a picnic lunch before boarding the ferry again for the beautiful return journey.
This is highly recommended for tourists visiting Surfers Paradise looking for a beautiful and easy way to navigate the Gold Coast waterways.
Key Route Information: The Hoppo Ferry stops at Appell Park (Surfers Paradise), HOTA, Marina Mirage, and Broadwater Parklands.
Ideal for Families: A safe and scenic option for toddler activities and general sightseeing.
Enjoy the views and let us know your favourite Gold Coast travel tips in the comments!
#HoppoFerry #GoldCoast #SurfersParadise #HOTA #GoldCoastTourism #RidingTheHoppoFerry #FamilyTravel #ToddlerActivities #GoldCoastDayTrip #ThingsToDoInSurfersParadise
Category
🏖
TravelTranscript
00:00Oh, this is exciting.
00:15I've got sandwiches. We're going to take sandwiches.
00:19And we've got a little snack pack with yummy nibbles, Nutri-Grain,
00:24little pieces of unsweetened carob.
00:27You look so good, especially when he put his shoes on himself, didn't you?
00:31Because you're excited.
00:33We're going to go and ride a boat today.
00:35Yeah, that's going to be exciting, isn't it?
00:37We're not going to get ice cream.
00:39We're not going to get ice cream today.
00:42Yeah, I know, but we're going to do something even more exciting.
00:45You know, I think you've only been on a boat once before that I can think of.
00:53He's been on the aqueduct here, but he's never been on the hopo ferry.
00:57And that's all we're going to do today.
00:59It's been awesome. Yeah.
01:01Bye bye, bye bye.
01:03We're just a bit gentle with Mipa.
01:05Bye bye.
01:07Yeah.
01:08Mipa's a good boy.
01:10I think he's going to be waiting for us when we get back.
01:13Do you want to press brown for us?
01:17Top job.
01:19Oh wow.
01:20It's actually windy out here today.
01:22So this might be interesting being on a boat in windy weather.
01:29Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:31We're going to go basins.
01:33Yeah, go basins.
01:39So we've parked just across from the main sort of ticket booth.
01:43We can get tickets for the ferry.
01:45This is the Surfers Paradise Appel Park stop.
01:49So it stops at five main areas.
01:51So we're going to get on here at Surfers Paradise.
01:53We're going to take a look at the ferry.
01:54We can get on here in the park.
01:55We can get off from anywhere else.
01:59Throughout the day, if you flock to the Times Loo.
02:05So the boardwalk park plans is a lovely place for you to live.
02:09So you've got the hot wheels and everything there.
02:11So, yeah, just make it.
02:13The most of your tickets are at this very end.
02:15Yeah, just make it.
02:17It's going to be a good place for you to ride.
02:19It's going to be a good place for you to ride.
02:21So, yeah, just make the most of your tickets.
02:23Well, that was awesome.
02:24So we bought a two-hour pass for the ferry
02:28because we're going to go across to the Hoda Arts Centre.
02:31But as part of that ticket, we got a free upgrade.
02:34So now we've got an all-day pass anyway for this ticket.
02:38And best of all...
02:40Best of all, I get lots of exercise no matter what we do.
02:47Best of all, children under four travel for free.
02:52Darling, that's a ride.
02:53I'm going to get off that now.
02:54There we go.
02:55Now we can run around the park while we're waiting.
02:57So we've got a little bit of a wait for the next ferry.
02:59They go every hour.
03:00And we've got a map, which is really good,
03:03with a timetable and the five stops that it goes around.
03:07So it goes to Circus Paradise.
03:09It goes to Hoda Arts Centre.
03:11Then it goes to Marina Mirage.
03:13It goes to the Broadwater Parklands,
03:15which is a great place for little ones.
03:18And then the SeaWorld Cruises Terminal as well.
03:21And then back to Circus Paradise.
03:23And it's probably one of the best ways to see the Gold Coast
03:27if you've just come up and you just want sort of an overview
03:30of what's around in the main part of the Gold Coast.
03:33And the Hoppo Ferry is probably the Gold Coast's premier
03:37hop-on, hop-off waterways service.
03:40So, very excited to be going on the Hoppo today
03:43with my little sailing buddy.
03:46Yeah, I think you're going to really enjoy it.
03:47Your first time on the Hoppo.
03:52Oi!
03:52Look, that's the river cruiser's boat.
04:10So that's not the Hoppo Ferry,
04:12but the Hoppo Ferry is very much similar to that shade.
04:14But look down there.
04:15There goes a big boat.
04:16That's not our boat,
04:18but that's the river cruiser's boat.
04:20Here is our ferry.
04:26How exciting.
04:39That's the one we're going to be on.
04:41And that one's going to go around there.
04:43I think that one's going to go to SeaWorld.
04:46And we're going to have to come on that one.
04:47It's so exciting.
04:49I'm so lucky to be able to spend my days
04:51with my awesome buddy
04:52because we get to do all this sort of stuff,
04:54all this sort of exciting stuff.
04:56It's like we're on holidays every day
04:58when we get to do stuff like this.
05:05Okay, you should stay, Daddy.
05:07Yeah, we're going to hop on the boat.
05:09We're going to hop on the boat.
05:11We're going to hop on the boat.
05:12We're going to hop on the boat.
05:13We're going to hop on the boat.
05:14We're going to hop on the boat.
05:15We've been on aqueduct.
05:16We've done that.
05:17Thank you very much.
05:18This gives us a nice venture.
05:20You can sit on the venture
05:22and we can look out the window a little bit.
05:24Oh, isn't this fun?
05:26Look at this.
05:30So we've got a plotter.
05:35Yep.
05:36Marina Mirage.
05:37Yes.
05:38Broadwater Parklands on Southport.
05:39And then Sea World.
05:40And then we come back.
05:41So it's a two-hour venture.
05:42It must be an awesome job for you, though,
05:43because you would meet people from all over the world, in fact.
05:45I do.
05:46Yeah, they come from the Gold Coast.
05:47It is.
05:48It's like the Paris of the world
05:49and we've got it down there, Tom Tate.
05:51Yeah.
05:52It's like the Paris of the world
05:53and we've got it down there, Tom Tate.
05:55Yeah.
05:56It's like the Paris of the world
05:57and we've got it down there, Tom Tate.
05:59Yeah.
06:00Well, I think Miami is a great room,
06:02but most people here look like Miami and America.
06:04Yeah, actually.
06:05Yeah.
06:06I must get going.
06:09Yeah, all right.
06:11We're very lucky.
06:12We're very lucky to live here, really.
06:14And you sort of take things for granted, I think,
06:18when you live here.
06:19But one of the awesome things
06:21about spending my days with this little one
06:23is that it does get us out to do things like this
06:27that maybe as a local you start to lapse in.
06:31But now we just can get out and experience different things
06:35and enjoy what our beautiful neighbourhood has to offer.
06:39We're on the move now.
06:40Oh, this is so exciting.
06:41So if you're a tourist here on the Gold Coast, what you exactly could do is you could get a day pass for the ferry and do all the stops for the day.
06:54You might get off somewhere for lunch and just do the whole rounds and that will give you a really lovely day or a really nice taste.
07:12I'm looking forward, everyone, on this beautiful Goldie day.
07:16A little bit warm, but it's just going to be a stunning day.
07:21We saw lots of dolphins today.
07:23So if we see some more dolphins, I'll call up and we can spend some time observing them if you'd like to.
07:29All right, ahead of us here is Hodder, which stands for Home of the Arts,
07:32which is exactly what it is here on the Goldie.
07:34It's Home of our Arts.
07:35Colourful boarding ahead of us there is an art gallery with a lovely rooftop restaurant and the exhibitionist bar.
07:43And it's unfortunately not open past four today, but it does open late Monday through to Saturday.
07:49But it's a great place to go and have lunch and watch the world go past.
07:54It's just really lovely, isn't it, on this ferry?
07:57It's just beautiful.
07:59The breeze and the music and the support after tonight.
08:03I know.
08:05And imagine if I saw dolphins earlier.
08:07That would be so exciting being on the street without seeing dolphins.
08:11We have sometimes seen dolphins with our balcony as well.
08:14But yeah, there are dolphins in the balcony.
08:16You'll see a bridge ahead of us that joins Hodder on our left with Chevron Island on our right.
08:22It's called the Green Ridge, despite being coloured blue, because it's environmentally friendly.
08:27It's walking and cycle only.
08:29And it's also made out of heaps of recycled materials, such as aluminium.
08:34It's coloured blue to reflect the colours of their sky and our ocean.
08:38So by getting off here at Hodder, you can go across the bridge over Chevron Island.
08:43It also has some pubs, routines and other restaurants.
08:46This is so cool.
08:47We'll be in our five or ten minutes walk.
08:49So we'll be stopping at Hodder in about three minutes before going on the marine island.
08:53It's beautiful, isn't it?
08:56Beautiful breeze.
08:58It's cooler on the water than it is on the mainland.
09:02Because it's a hot day today.
09:04But yeah, it's just gorgeous on the road.
09:08Isn't this fun?
09:09Look, you can see the little white screen.
09:11It's crazy.
09:12It's crazy.
09:13It's crazy.
09:14It's crazy.
09:15It's crazy.
09:16It's crazy.
09:17It's crazy.
09:18It's crazy.
09:31It's crazy.
09:32I'm like, man.
09:33All right, guys, will you start to get off?
09:34We're going to get off at Hodder.
09:35We're going to get off at Hoda, because there's beautiful lawn area, sort of parkland area here, at the home of the arts, so we're going to get off and look, the captain's going to put the ramp back down, and we're going to get off at the mountain, and we're going to run around, and then we're going to get back on the ferry, now this is where we're going, so it's our hop off, hop on, hop on, hop off service.
10:05Oh, wasn't that fun, hey, that was so fun, so this is absolutely beautiful, this is the ground,
10:35of the Hoda, the home of the arts, and it's actually quite an easy walk from, in Surfers Paradise, if you've come through Chevron Island, and like you said, that green bridge, which is blue, but it is environmentally friendly bridge,
10:48that's made crossing over from Chevron to the Hoda, a lot easier, and there's a swimming area here, and a lot of locals use this track for exercise, jogging, cycling, and dog walkers come over here as well,
11:05and there's shady areas, mums with toddlers, and babies come over here, it's a really beautiful local space, for tourists as well, to definitely enjoy.
11:19Can we find the gate?
11:21Yeah, you know what, we're going to find the gate, darling, we'll go around, here it is.
11:27Yeah, here's the gate.
11:29I've got the rest of my life to go to art shows, and all that sort of stuff, but this is the time to go to playgrounds, even though we're at the art centre.
11:47All right, our turn.
11:51Okay, all right, darling, let's keep going, we're left the playground, and we're having a little bit of an explore here.
11:59The grounds here really are fantastic, this is a beautiful swimming hole, and it's safe, there's no bull sharks in here, and it's salt water, and it's sandy,
12:08and look, even the toilet blocks here are arty, because we are at the art centre after all.
12:13And at the moment, the art centre has got an exhibition of Kendo, so he's an Australian artist.
12:23Do you want mummy to carry you, or do you want a snack?
12:26Yeah.
12:26All right, let's get a snack.
12:27This is actually a lovely spot to have a snack.
12:29Can I open it?
12:30Yeah, you can open it, yeah, you can choose.
12:33Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:35Oh, yummy, what would you like?
12:38Cheese?
12:38Let's find a sit-down.
12:40Yeah, let's find a sit-down.
12:43So there's beautiful benches here, we've found a beautiful bench here in the shade, and it's just beautiful.
12:50Do you want a little bit of sandwich too?
12:52Yeah.
12:52All right, let's open the sandwich.
12:55Oops.
13:03I wrap these well, because they have quite a hard time in our bag, as the bag is bouncing along my back.
13:13So, if we wrap them nicely.
13:16Here you go, darling.
13:18Here's a little bit of sandwich too.
13:20We are going to go back by the boat.
13:21We are going to go back by the boat.
13:24So, that's very exciting.
13:25So, the ferry's going to come and pick us up from here, and we're going to get on, on and go back by boat.
13:34So, the boat's very exciting, isn't it?
13:41So, we're waiting for the ferry now to take us back, and we're having a little bit of a discussion about our treat container.
13:49As to how much we can have.
13:54Just one more, darling.
13:55One more for now.
13:59Yeah, just one more.
14:01I mean, having said that, they're treats, but yeah.
14:05Oh, thank you, darling.
14:06I'm going to have to take my liners out, though.
14:08I'm taking my liners out.
14:09Oh, thank you.
14:10This is, um, Simon Cole's dark chocolate.
14:13No sugar.
14:14Like, it's so delicious.
14:15Oh, no.
14:19Because otherwise, the chocolate's going to melt all in my hands.
14:22I'm going to pop that back for later.
14:24So, we're going to have some more later.
14:27So, now, we are going to go back on the boat, and we're going to go back to the Circus Paradise Depot.
14:37Look, darling.
14:39Look, the ferry's coming.
14:40You can hear the speaker.
14:43We can hear that cat flint working.
14:49Look, look, we're in the boat on the boat.
14:51Circus Paradise.
14:53It was originally known as the small town of Elston.
14:59Now, that, of course, was until 1933.
15:04That's when all the locals of Elston gathered down at their local club
15:08to decide on a new name for their town.
15:12And at the end of the night, they did probably one of the most Australian things you'll hear today.
15:19That's because after a bit of a liquid discussion, I suppose you could call it,
15:26they decided to name their town after their pub.
15:31That's right, Circus Paradise is named after the old Circus Paradise Hotel.
15:43Well, that was so fun.
15:44Like, just to go across to the home of the arts on this ferry, and just hop over there, hop back,
15:51and it is such a good way to see so much of the Gold Coast.
15:57And I think next ferry ride we do, we'll go to the Broadwater Park Lands.
16:02What do you think about that?
16:03Because we can go there, and we can say, very similar to the home,
16:07actually, we've got a playground there, and we've got a swimming pool.
16:09There we go, Circus Paradise.
16:14Woo-hoo!
16:18Thank you so very much.
16:20That's all right.
16:21It's awesome.
16:23It is.
16:24Well, that was fun, though, wasn't it?
16:29Hey, was that fun?
16:31That was fun.
16:32We're going to go on the boat again.
16:35Yeah.
16:35Well, we better go back to that boat, then.
16:37That was fun.
16:39All right.
16:40Come on.
16:41Do you want to walk for Mommy?
16:43No!
16:46You don't want to walk for Mommy.
16:48You don't want to walk for Mommy.
16:52We'll go on the boat.
16:53You're going to go on the boat again.
16:56You guys are fun.
16:58That was really fun.
17:01Yeah, we're going to go on the boat again.
17:05We're going to go on the boat again.
Be the first to comment