Melbourne to Gold Coast flights: What’s the cost and duration?
Melbourne to Gold Coast flights are operated by Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Regional Express. One way tickets cost from $65, with a flight duration of two hours.
Despite the Gold Coast being just to the south of Brisbane, it has its own separate airport. The South East Queensland holiday strip is popular enough in its own right to get several flights a day from other cities in Australia – including Melbourne.
For a great range of Melbourne tours and experiences, explore here. To track down the best value Melbourne accommodation, come this way.
Best day trips from the Gold Coast – 7 ways to improve your stay
The Gold Coast is a destination in its own right, but there are several excellent day trips you can do while using it as a base.
- Deluxe Tamborine Mountain winery tour – with gourmet lunch.
- Full day Springbrook National Park tour – with waterfalls and bush tucker tasting.
- Snorkelling with turtles at Cook Island.
- Evening glowworm-viewing experience – with guided stargazing.
- Lady Elliot Island day trip – with glass bottom boat & guided Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tour.
- Hopping between microbreweries – with lunch included.
- Northern Rivers fruit & distillery tour – with Tropical Fruit World and Husk Distillers.
Airlines selling Melbourne to Gold Coast flights
Melbourne to Gold Coast flights are available with all of Australia’s major airlines. You can take flights from Melbourne to the Gold Coast with Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia or Regional Express. This level of competition, of course, helps keep fares down.
Because the Melbourne to Gold Coast flights aren’t on a monopoly route like Perth to Exmouth or Adelaide to Ceduna, fares are generally quite low.
👇 7 great day trips while you’re in Melbourne 👇
- Great Ocean Road tour – with koalas 🐨.
- Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary and Phillip Island tour – with penguins 🐧.
- Yarra Valley wine tour – with gin, cider and cheese 🍷.
- Grampians National Park tour – with bushwalks and LOADS of kangaroos 🦘.
- Mornington Peninsula tour – with hot springs bathing 🛀.
- Wilsons Promontory tour – with all manner of native wildlife 🦘🐨.
- Dandenong Ranges steam train ride – plus wildlife at Healesville Sanctuary and chocolate-tasting in the Yarra Valley.
Why not BROWSE THE BEST DEALS – with instant confirmation and hassle-free, mobile-friendly tickets?
Given the longer distance, Melbourne to Gold Coast flights aren’t quite as cheap as Sydney to Gold Coast flights. But searching with Webjet a couple of months in advance still brings up some delightfully cheap fares.
On this particular search, the cheapest deals are with Regional Express and Virgin Australia. Both airlines are selling one way Melbourne to Gold Coast flight tickets for $65. That’s including checked-in luggage, too. It’s hard to call that anything but an absolute steal.
Melbourne to Gold Coast flight times
The duration of the flights from Melbourne to the Gold Coast varies ever so slightly by airline. It’s either two hours or two hours and five minutes, depending on which airline you fly with.
Once at the Gold Coast, there’s nothing compelling you to stick to the coastal strip. The Gold Coast hinterland arguably offers more than the beaches. Try visiting the Witches Falls winery on Tamborine Mountain or Purling Brook Falls in the Springbrook National Park for something completely different.
The Gold Coast Airport straddles the Queensland/ New South Wales border. That means it’s also useful for destinations in northern New South Wales such as Cabarita Beach and Byron Bay.
14 fantastic experiences that make the most of your free time in Melbourne
- Get the very best views – on a hot air balloon flight over the city.
- See the changing colours of the river – on a sunset kayaking tour – with dinner. (Highly recommended ✅)
- Feast and see the sights at the same time – on a four course dinner cruise along the Yarra River.
- A genuinely excellent street art tour, led by prominent street artists. (Highly recommended ✅)
- The also superb Aboriginal heritage, plants and bush food tour in the Botanic Gardens. (💲 Great value 💲)
- Best of Melbourne bike tour – you can see more on two wheels than walking.
- Hidden laneways bar crawl OR foodie discovery tour OR chocolate and dessert tour.
- Combo ticket for Australian Sports Museum and MCG tour.
- Hassle-dodging advance tickets for the Melbourne Skydeck, Melbourne Zoo, the Ice Bar (with cocktails) and Sea Life Aquarium.