astera

On Monday I will be driving into Brisbane to meet my parent for lunch who will be there for the day as part of their cruise.

We have lunch planned at Jellyfish and after that I will be driving back so I'd like to make my exit from Brisbane (at around 1:30-2pm) as easy as possible.

Is there a good place to park from where I could get to the 'Riverside' river terminal (by seacat) or 'Eagle Stret Pier' terminal (ferry/seacat + river crossing option to other side)? Somewhere that would make my entrance and exit back to the Gold Coast as easy as possible?

cappuccino

There is a public car park under the Eagle Street Pier (entrance is on Eagle Street). Alternatively, you could try to find a road parking space on Holman Street/Main Street and take the ferry (red ferry is free) one stop across to Eagle Street Pier.

astera

Many thanks, will go with the latter and see how it goes. Hopefully some regular street parking will be available.

Thornton Street and Holman Street terminals are virtually identical options for hopping across, right? Or is one of them better due to parking or ferry times?

cappuccino

I would head towards the Holman Street area (near the Jazz Club) as more roads with street parking. The free ferry times from there to Eagle St are 15/45 past each hour, or 02/32 from Thornton Street (check the TransLink website).

The Bloke

Please read this notice from Brisbane City Council regarding Holman St Ferry Terminal.

http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traff...ferry-terminal ....and this info on Brisbane Central Traffic Area street 2 hour parking restrictions during weekdays and Saturdays. Street parking - Visit Brisbane.
Parking in those areas, especially late in the morning to early afternoon, can sometimes be at a premium. It might be easier to meet your parents at the Hamilton ferry terminal, and take the City-Cat to Riverside from there. as you will both be closer to the Cruise terminal and the Gateway Motorway to the Gold Coast.....far simpler than trying to drive into the CBD area that you may not be familiar with.....btw getting out from Holman Street to exit Brisbane is not easy for people not familiar with the way the roads are set out in that area...trust me...been there and had to drive around in circles due to the layout.

astera

Thanks everyone. In the end I decided to give the Holman St ferry a go as the citycat from Riverside would take something like 45 mins., in which case I would have been tempted to skip driving and take the train instead.

You are certainly right about the roads there being tricky to navigate for a first-timer. Luckily I had a Tom-Tom device left in my possession though even that did not prevent me from missing the little exit road on the left just before the bridge... so I ended up on the bridge and driving into the core of Brisbane anyway. Arhhh...

Ended up driving into a car park on Eagle Street that was free for up to 30 mins and cost something like $60 for 3 hrs, so drove straight out of there and decided to do a full loop and try to get to Holman again. A few left turns (and 20 minutes) later I had another attempt at landing in the Holman Street area and this time I turned left just before the bridge and everything went smoothly from there onwards. Lots of parking, and fairly cheap at $6.40 for a total (and max allowed) of 4 hrs. The ferry was a breeze too.

But as you mentioned getting out of there is an utter maze if you do not have any satnav. For a moment the directions my device was showing were so illogical I thought of just ignoring it and "doing what felt right," but luckily I stuck to the on-screen instructions and they did take me out of there. Doing it on one's own would not be possible IMO for a first timer.

fish.01

Parking near the West End ferry might be an option as well.

fish.01

Also, possible to park in Milton near Gregory Park and walk or catch train 1 stop from Milton station to town.

Another option is around Charlotte St in Paddington (assuming no match on at Suncorp) and catch maroon city glider a few stops into town (or walk).

On weekends king george square & wickham terrace carparks are $5 per day.

blackcab

Hamilton 4007, park in Riverview Terrace 4007 opposite Dan Murphy's bottle shop, loads of free parking. Then a lovely ride by CityCat into the City, catch the Cat at Brett's Wharf. $4 bucks what a bargain, last Cat home leaves he city at 11pm.

astera

Thanks guys, I checked out all the options but doesn't Kangaroo Point still stand out as more convenient for someone coming up from the Gold Coast?

Once you know the route it seems like a breeze to just pull into there and then take the boat across the river which only takes 5 mins (and leaves every 10 mins).

fish.01

In your situation yes. But if you want longer than 4 hours or a different part of the city some other options may work better.

blackcab

Unlimited stay here in Ascot. But yes agree with Fish, KP is where you will get a ticket if you overstay your welcome...Been there done it.

astera

So you cannot just change parking spaces and fill up the meter again, because you need to input your plate number, right?

blackcab

Someone? Me unsure

astera

I recall reading at the meter that it's something like one stay per zone (daily?), though I'm not sure if that includes the entire KP area or whether various parts of it are not treated as the same.