Hills Boy

Planning on heading up to Cairns or Port Douglas for about a week in April.

Plan to base ourselves in either of the above and take day trips.

Got two young kids (five and three).

Any advice on must sees and must dos?

Peepster

We had a fab week in Port Douglas last year, loved it. I'd recommend a walk in the Mossman Gorge (free!), a trip out to the reef (I think ours was the Wavedancer), croc spotting on the Lady Margaret river cruise (we saw a couple of really big crocs in the first few minutes alone and only $20 and you get a free beer and a biccie!!), go and see George the Groper being fed his tea at 5.00pm at the Inlet (free!) and there was cane toad racing at the pub next to the Courthouse hotel every night. There were loads of more expensive trips to do (theres a rainforest canopy thing which looked good) but we loved our cheap and cheerful ones.

Soapy was up there the week before I think and they did horse riding on the beach which sounded ace.

ponyrama

Deffo do a croc cruise on the Daintree River - well worth it.

Go up to Kuranda on the skyrail/train - couple of snake/spider/butterfly displays up there too.

Reef is well worth the day trip but be guided by the weather - it gets pretty hairy (and vomit inducing) on the trip out if its windy, not sure about how good it will be for small kids as if you dont swim its not really worth going - the snorkelling is the magical part.

If you can get up to Cape Tribulation thats nice - nothing there though, and yes the Mossman Gorge and Port Douglas are lovely. I'd be tempted to stay North of Cairns as Cairns and south of there are still recovering from the Cyclone.

IvanM

Cape trib is beautiful but for adults. Anyone know how the water visibility is after the cyclone. Got to go for work.

tonyk38

Water visibility is fine.

My recommendations are somewhat wildlife-biased, but that's just me:

I've heard 'Breakfast with the birds' in Port Douglas is good but have never tried it; as for rainforest, everyone heads to the Daintree (which includes Mossman and Cape Trib) but there is far more interesting rainforest on the tablelands: if your kids are at all interested in nature, you have both Curtain Fig Tree and Cathedral Fig Tree to see, plus the Crater Lakes at Eacham and Barrine. Some tour operators do nocturnal tours on the tablelands looking for possums (not your Brushtails from down south, but other local species including the amazing Striped Possum), Tree Kangaroos, Pademelons and lots of other stuff. Etty Bay is by far the easiest place to see a wild Cassowary. There are daily whale-watching trips from the pier which apparently guarantee sightings of Humpbacks.

The reef is always good value if you like snorkelling; safe on the outer reef any time of the year; even 'The Lagoon' a free swimming facility on the Cairns Esplanade is great value as it's free and brilliantly set up for families.

The Skyrail is probably preferred by more people than the Kuranda choo choo, but you can do both in one package on the same day.

Cairns is tourist orientated, so all depends on what you and your kids like doing. There's certainly plenty for families.

tonyk38

Cairns is fine; even the forest wasn't badly damaged. The main areas to avoid at present are Mission Beach, Dunk Island and environs.

Sally Simpson

Hartleys Crocodile farm is definitely worth a visit, especially with younger kids.
Would suggest that you look at either Palm Cove or Port Douglas to stay. Just be aware if in Port, many of the hotels are quite a way out of the town. There are shuttle buses but you have to pay for them.
We stayed at some lovely apartments recently, that had a wonderful pool area & were within easy walking distance to shops, restaurants & beach.
http://www.plazaportdouglas.com.au/

The horse riding at Wonga Beach is excellent but not for little kids.
Weather should be improving by April too!

Bix

I agree with Sally, Hartleys is well worth a trip.
It's nothing to do with the fact the crocs love tender meat.

You may like to consider staying here.....
http://coconut.com.au/
It has an excellent reputation and is wonderful for young kids.
You can book tours from there if you wish.

Rainforest Station up at Kuranda has a bit of everything too.
An assortment of wildlife (crocs, roos etc), Aboriginal dancers and boomerang throwing and you can take a ride on army ducks.

Turban Explorer

If you are flexible on dates I would definitely postpone until June/July time. It is likely to be rainy and humid in April where as a couple of months later the weather will be lovely, visibility around the reef much better and you might get to see the humpbacks migrate (July to Sep). However, Cairns is still a great place if you do stick to April - Lake Tinaroo, the canopy walks, Cape Tribulation are all beautiful. Spotting the 'in-breds' in Mareeba is also a way to wile away a few hours.

One thing I really enjoy is taking a tinny up the Trinity Inlet (you can hire them or a pontoon boat in Marlin Marina) and spotting crocodiles in the mangroves. There should be quite a few sun-baking on the mud flats. The Low Isles off Port Douglas is a good day trip for snorkelling - I've seen huge turtles around there - I wouldn't bother with Green Island or Fitzroy off Cairns - the viz is terrible and the coral far from pristine. I've always fancied the helicopter over the reef trip to take some pictures only it's very pricey - that might be something to look into which could be fun however.

furbacchione

where did you say you lived and when would you be away...

Petals

We went in August last time good month to go.

Prefer staying in Cairns to Port Douglas but we do not have children to worry about.

Night markets, restaurants etc.

Trip to the Atherton tablelands is very good, together with all the rest that has been said.