smiley_uk

If you are water friendly then a couple of nights on a Pro-sail boat up in Aarlie beach is a must. I have done twice in the last year and can strongly recommend it.


www.pro-sail.com.au


Paul

diddy

Low Isles tend to have alot of stingers in Oct/ Nov & Dec. (not Box jelly's though).

However it is great for kids as they can use the beach base. There are other companies that go there which are more personal that Quciksilver.

Paul.

alison_g

Hi there, I have been following this forum for a while now as we are also arriving sometime in Oct but settling on the Sunshine Coast. We are boomerang immigrants! but hopefully its for good this time.
As for Cairns, we have been on few occasions but went there last July for a flying visit to Brisbane then took a Virgin Blue flight up there which was perfect.
We booked all our accommodation on hotel.net and left if right til the last couple of weeks before booking cos it was certainly cheaper, we stayed at the Holiday Inn which was a fab location, reasonably priced and clean etc... ... we have done several trips to the reef and I have to admit used one of the smaller operators who were friendly and really made the trip worthwhile. Cairns is a great base for the obvious reef trips and islands ie Green island as well as the trips to Port Douglas, Cape Trib and Rainforest trip to Daintree and the river trip! sorry to go on, but you will love it.
Have a fab time, I will continue to read your posts as well as the many others!
Alison

debsy

Thanks everyone for the advice. Looks like we will be heading for Port Douglas. We do not mind when we go so maybe we will book it last minute when we arrive - have to think about that one.

Sherie - I had been looking at the Rydges website funnily enough Paul I hope we don't get stung

Alison - come on then tell us your story. I would love to hear it.

Thanks again folks.

Debs

tinaj

Cairns is OK but is more of a busy town/port than a beachside resort. We have 3 kids and stayed at the Rydges in Port Douglas which is more suited to families than some of the smaller boutique type hotels in PD.
If you want somewhere that caters for kids with kids club activities we would recommend the Rydges, which we booked thro' the Trailfinders branch in Cairns- we got better deals from them than booking direct with the hotel.
I think Rydges hotels in Australia have a website you could check this out. Another place we stayed was the Rydges in Yeppoon, nr Rockhampton midway between between Brissie and GBR, this is our all time favourite we got walk in rate of 100A$ for the 5 of us per night and lots of activities for adults and kids .
We would definitely like to go back here also!
I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip whatever you decide, theres something in the area for all kinds of people and budgets
Best wishes,
Sherie. [/QUOTE]


Glad to hear Rydges at Yapoon is good as we have just booked to stay there next month, we are going in an apartment which sleeps 6 of us ( including my Mum) What appealed to me was the kid's clubs from 9-12.30 and 1-4.30 each day included in the price- yes freedom at last!!! Also all the sports that are included and you can get the boat to Great Keppel nearby.

Bix

Mmmmmm.....and what will you do during this "free" time

tinaj

Diving, sailing, sand carting etc!!! I am off to do my certified PADI diving course with my Mum in 5 weeks, so that will keep us busy. Hubby and I wont be getting up to much fun sharing an apartment with my Mother!!!!

MrsDagboy

Have been to both Rydges Reef Resort at Port Douglas & Rydges at Yepoon & would thoroughly recommend both of them. You'll have a ball Tina & so will the kids.

Debsy, Port Douglas is fabulous, you'll love it.

Kiwilamb

We went to the Lakes Resort in Cairns which was self-catering apartments but with a restaurant on site for when you didn't want to prepare yourself. We have young children so the sc was great - everything provided, inc microwave, oven, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, ensuite facilities and a family bathroom. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff (esp my favourite Will). As a point for bigger families, on our travels we have had the kids sharing beds to save money but we had to have a bed for each child on this occasion. I don't know if this is specific to Cairns or just Australia as a whole.

We spent one night at Port Douglas and loved the beach but the Radisson Treetops was a disappointment after The Lakes, I would have like longer there. Don't forget to visit the tropical zoo between Cairns and Port Douglas, our kids loved feeding the 'roos, the avairy and watching the crocs being fed.

PJK

Hi

We went to QLD July last year to qualify our visa and drove from Cairns to Port Douglas. Check out the roof top cable car rain forest trip just outside Cairns which is fantastic (get the train back!). The drive is spectacular (about an hour) along the coast and Port Douglas has the beautiful 4 mile beach to bathe from. Quicksilver is the company we used to visit the reef and was our choice becuase they have large fast aluminium sea cats and you get a good barby lunch as well as a chance to dive (even 1st timers) snorkel, have a helicopter ride or submarine trip. My wife and all three kids (even the 4 year old) all got in and had a brilliant time as you can see the reef just as well snorkelling as you can diving it.

Good luck

PJK

debsy

Thanks folks. Lots of places for me to investigate. Though Quicksilver seems to come out tops with most people.


Once again thanks for the advice.

topcat

I've been up to Port Douglas twice recently and had a great time each time.

The Pavilions is OK (advantage is it is right on the main street) but I prefered Nautilius apartments which are about 1km away from main street but the apartment was larger, brighter and
generally much nicer.

Personally I didn't like the look of the Quicksilver tour to the reef simply because of the number of people (upto 400 on the boat) and the fact that you only visit one place (the platform).

We went out with a small operator which was much cheaper than Quicksilver, there were only 20 aboard the first time and 40 the second and everything (pick up from accommodation/ food/wetsuit/snorkelling equipment including corrective lenses) was included. The staff were great and we went to 3 sites each time. I've snorkelled and dived with this company (Calpyso) and am happy to recommend them for all ages.

Quicksilver has the advantage that there is something for non-snorkellers to do viz. the submarine.

Port Douglas has a number of tourist shops each selling the many different tours, but most apartment managers will also recommend and book for you at exactly the same price, which is then added onto your accomodation bill.

If you are only going for a short trip it can be cheaper to drive yourself up from Cairns to Port Douglas than use the shuttle serivice. You then get to stop and have a look at the great views on the way as well

diddy

Agree with everything Topcat said, especially the bit about Quicksilver.

leejo

If you are venturing north of Townsville.

There isn't much between Townsville and Cairns. Other than
Mission beach and a visit to Dunk Island.

Innisfail - Cane farms

Cairns can be a bit busy if you want to relax. Although the esplanade is excellent after all the improvements they have made.

Port Douglas is at the other end of the scale quiet and very nice. But after visiting the Rainforest Habitat you could start running out of thing to do.

North you have Mossman which is like a small Innisfail - Cane farm. Then over the Daintree to Cape trib. is great but it's no Radisson or Hilton. You will be roughing it with the snakes, crocs and insects. Which I enjoy but it's not some people idea of enjoyment.

My suggestion is Palm Cove it has the nice hotels and restaurants like Port. Excellent fishing, off the jetty. I caught a hammer head the other night. You are halfway between the 2 places. So you can enjoy Cairns and also escape the hussle and bussle.

The night zoo which is great, Hartleys Creek croc farm and if you can't be bothered traveling to Trinity Wharf for a boat to the reef. You can catch it from the jetty.

But then again I am biased because we live 5 mins from Palm Cove.

Cheers

Lee

NickyC

I'd agree with Lee. Palm Cove is really lovely with some great restaurants and a good beach. You're close enough to Cairns to do the train-trip or explore the tablelands as well being close to Port Douglas. All the tours (and Quicksilver) pickup from Palm Cove. We stayed at the Novotel which was fine (9 swimming pools/golf course/activities etc) but there are heaps of other nice places there.