bockma14

My husband and I will be traveling with our 3 teenagers in July/Aug. in Queensland. ANY HELP would be great! We will be in the Brisbane area for 3 days and then off to a flight to Cairnes. Staying in Port Douglas for 5 nights... a few questions!! Here goes: Will I need a car in Port Douglas or should I wait until I get back into Cairnes? A good beach stop near Cairnes and Townsville or should we just drive straight to Townsville? How about a good beach near Brisbane?( south of Noosa?) Any comments on the Noosa area- we are looking for the LEAST glitsy!!?? Any inputs..must sees...must MISS..would be great!We will be there 28 days total (last 2 days in Sydney)

SusanInToronto

We stayed in a place called Jacaranda Apartments in Noosa. It was right on Hastings Street but not on the ocean side. I expect it would be quite good for a family. There was an outer door which was left open. Beyond that, there were 2 inner doors, one leading to a studio and the other to an apartment. We booked a studio, which was a fairly plain room, with a microwave and small fridge. I don't know what the apartments would be like, but they overlooked the river and had a balcony. If you had both the studio and the apartment, you would just lock the outer door.

BTW, it's spelled Cairns, with no "e".

pat_woolford

bockma 14 - with three teenagers I'd definitely pick up car at Cairns airport. Coach connections and tours for 5 people can add up very quickly. Plus, you'll have mobility to get to other areas when you feel like it whilst based in PD.

Don't know why its rarely mentioned on this forum, but the lovely Mission Beach (you're likely to see cassowaries in the wild) is definitely worth a stop-over. It's about 2 hours south of Cairns, gorgeous beach which looks out to Dunk Island and the nearby, but hideously expensive Bedarra Island. South of Mission, out of the tiny town of Cardwell is the incredible and hardly visited Hinchinbrook Island - try to find time to spend at least a day. There are often dugongs in the channel between it and Cardwell. I wouldn't bother too much with Townsville city, but it has easy access to the under-rated Magnetic Island (definitely no "glitz&quot where there are koalas in the wild and wallabies hopping down the beach. Then, further south you've got the Whitsunday Islands and south of them is Fraser Island. Bear in mind that you're heading south in our winter and it will be signicantly colder from about the Whitsundays down than it will be in North Queensland.

I'll leave it someone with more up-to-date knowledge of Sunshine Coast beaches answer your other questions - SE Queensland is growing so fast I can't keep up with it.

AndrewDavid

bockma14,
Did I miss something? If you are in Brisbane area for 3 days and then off to a flight to Cairns how do you pass through Townsville?

AndrewDavid

RalphR

bockma14: A few additional comments: Beaches in N. Queensland are pretty, but are a bit boring because there is so little surf (GBR offshore). On the other hand, there are great surf beaches in SE Queensland. Noosa, from what I've seen, is the nicest spot on the Sunshine Coast. The beaches of Noosa Heads are gorgeous, though they are a bit of a walk to get to. Weather: don't let Pat scare you. Water may be on the cool side, but SE Qld and even northern New South Wales have an extremely mild "winter". Very common to see people in swimsuits (or less!) on the beach at that time of year. That's why the Gold and Sunshine Coasts are popular winter destinations for Victorians and the like. Winter highs are easily in the 70s F. Wish we had winters like that here in Connecticut!

pat_woolford

Hi Andrew - maybe I'm missing something - I took it that bockma was flying from Brisbane to Cairns then on to Port Douglas and driving back to Brisbane.
Ralph, I'm not trying to scare anyone - but,I've lived in Noosa Heads on Sunshine Coast and I know it can often be unpleasant for much beach enjoyment in winter - particularly in a howling August westerly. And a cold, windy, rainy day on Fraser Island with sand blowing in your face isn't much fun either. The two busiest tourist months in the north are July and August because of the extra influx of Aussies escaping their southern winter. Brisbanites included. I'm sorry you find beaches in the north so boring - sure there's no surf - but the promiximity to the reef and comparitively warm waters certainly makes up for that to me, at least.

RalphR

Pat: And I have spent many a "winter" month at my mum-in-law's on the Gold Coast. Your description of SE Qld being "significantly colder" in winter makes it seem like it would not even be worth going there at that time of year. Not true at all. Sure, there can be some windy days and even some rain, but that can happen almost anywhere, including NQ. "Less warm" would be a more accurate and descriptive way of putting it.

bockma14

hanks for all the inputs! This is fantastic!! Any ideas for day outings in Brisbane/Stradborke Islands??

pat_woolford

Hi bockma - if you decide to take a trip to Magnetic Island it would be cheaper to leave your car at the Townsville Breakwater Casino security car park near the ferry and take the passenger ferry rather than the vehicular. I was speaking to friend who lives there only last night and she tells me the vehicular ferry is now AUD$130 plus extra for over two passengers. There's hardly any traffic on the island (no wonder!) with a good little bus service which runs around all the beaches. For a wonderful view climb up to the old fort - a WWII relic - you'll see koalas(usually asleep) in the trees on the side of the track.

I haven't been to Stradbroke Island for years so will leave that for someone else to comment - seem to recall Mucky who contributes to this forum has - so he'll probably chime in.