Port Douglas for me - went on holiday there and fantastic!

As a personal recommendation (not an advert) stayed at the Dreamcatcher apartments. Quite a trek from the centre of town but only a minutes walk to 4-mile beach. However, the minibus to town picks up right outside and takes about 15-mins to get into town so you can a few brewski's!!!

Sorry - another one for the list maybe?

came back from my recce month ago and did both. preferred port douglas.more of a town with shops, bars and restaurants. both nice though.
great scenic coastal road from cairns to PD which takes 1 hour leisurely drive.
beach in PD fabulous. hartleys croc farm worth a look too as well as Kuranda.
three weeks and one day of drizzle wish I was back there. lets hope so very soon.
gary

Both are very good places for a holiday.

More within PD if you are keeping feet pretty much in one place and I agree it's a pretty long haul into the town from a lot of the resorts and hotels. Has the best beach in the district.

Not a lot at PC other than restuarants and beach but the resorts and hotels are close to the Esplanade.
It's a more convenient place as a base.

What to do and see?
Maybe some ideas in here for you.....

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=paradise

If you do the Skyrail / Train trip to Kuranda (very worthwhile)
take the train up and the Skyrail down. Train trip down is noisey.

Thanks for the link, fab photos! Really gave me a teaser of what's to come, I can't wait!

Looking at several options in PD now:

Rendevous Reef Resort
Rydges Sabaya
Reflections
Mandalay & Shalimar Apartments
Saltwater Apartments
There are various Mantra places too which look ok.

Too much choice!!!!

Sam

OK Sam! will write this list down & speak to a colleague tomorrow who lives between there & Cairns & get back to you!

Thanks so much, I really appreciate that!

Got a list of things to research tomorrow! Just as well I am not remotely busy at work! It all helps to pass the day!

Hi Sammy

I've only been to PD so can't comment on PC but we really liked PD it's a very pretty place....We were staying in Cairns and used BTS Tours and Transfers (www.btstours.com.au) who are a really cheap company to get us there.

There’s a variety of trips they do but we decided to go to Port Douglas and Mossman Gorge. Mossman Gorge & Daintree River - Wow! If you got time go here! Its beautiful, we got picked up at Port Douglas and went straight to the Gorge – Mossman Gorge is the national Rainforest; you can either walk around and explore yourself or go on a guided tour. We walked around ourselves as we could go at our own speed and take loads of photos! Make sure you take swim wear and a towel as you can swim in the rock pools which are so nice but freezing cold!! It cost $16 each (back in 2007) to go here which is mega cheap for what you get to see! There is no shop up there so make sure you take food and drink.

Also if your interested in trips to Green Island or Fraser Island then a good company to try is Ocean Free, they are based in Cairns – they are a smaller company who take about 16 people to the Islands, there are about 4 crew on board and they do a really good job! As there are fewer people its more intimate and relaxing. We went with these guys to Green Island, with the price you get to go to the Island, snorkel and have lunch on the boat – however you can pay extra to go scuba diving – you can either go once or twice. I recommend this highly as you get to see a lot more than snorkel and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity! You can’t go scuba diving on your own, but depending how experienced you are you’ll either go with an instructor and 2 other scuba divers or if you’re a little nervous then you will have a one to one with the instructor. Try and book in advance if you want to do this. www.oceanfree.com.au

Hope you enjoy your trip!!! :-D x

Spoke to my friend today. from your list, she suggests that Saltwater Apartments would be the best as it is in the best location, walking distance to everything.
However, she also suggests that you look at Club Tropical Resort as a preferred option!
http://www.clubtropicalresort.com/
They have had several lots of friends stay there & she says the rooms are a good size & very nice, it is also in a good location & reasonably priced.

Good luck & hope this helps!

Thanks! Will have a look at the other place you've mentioned too.

Sam

Port Douglas, the most beautiful place in the world in my opinion. Although I met my husband there on my 1st night in Aus backpacking so Im a bit biased. Ah memories.

Sam

I went to PC with my family and stayed at the novotel rockford palm cove, its 2 mins from the beach has a great restaurant and has various pools to choose from the staff are really friendly and its only about 25 mins drive to PD, we went to PD for the day and its really nice plenty of restaurants and shops and friendly people.

If i was to go back i would go to the novotel again and travel to PD.

We also did the train to kuranda then the sky rail back down absolutley stunning i wish i was going back.

The link below is for the hotel we stayed in.

http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-1745...rt/index.shtml

Thanks!

3 weeks to go and counting

Sam

Have you made a decision yet?

Hi

After dithering around for too long, we now can't get in to the places we liked and were recommended!!! To be honest, most of the accommodation in PD looks pretty good, I'm going to try and get something just away from the main streets as don't want too much noise.

Going to book a reef trip in advance as well so we don't have to waste time once we are there. Can't wait, I've read so many good things about the area on here!!

Thanks for your help

Sam