amsimon

For our honeymoon- which hotel would you recommend in Port Douglas:

Sheridan Mirage Port Douglas Resort
or
Sea Temple Resort and Spa

Or any other resort-type hotel like thse.

Looking for a nice hotel, in good location, etc.

Thank you!!!

Bushranger

Either are very snazzy upmarket, the tops of places and if you scroll down to post No.14 I think it is, titles Sea Temple, PD or Palm Cove you will find a good summary.

wlzmatilida

Hi Amsimon,

You couldn't go wrong with either one really -- I lean more towards Sea Temple.

I'm assuming you're going to have a car (because you asked Barbara about driving),as those resorts are outside of Port Douglas, no problem with a car though.

Hope this was helpful!

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

amsimon

We are planning on having a car I think... are there car rental places in Port Douglas?
We land in Cairns late at night so was going to try to plan transportation ahead of time from Cairns to PD because was nervous about the driving at night- but once we get to PD- are there places to rent?

Are there any other places that are 'nice' for our honeymoon that you can recommend staying-- closer into the town of PD?

Thank you so much!!!!

amsimon

Also- due to the risky weather that some have told me we may get-- do you recommend we just booking a flight and hotel in Whitsunday's instead of risking Cairns and PD?

We of course, without a doubt, want to snorkel the GBR and would love to see the rainforest, etc- but dont want to get stuck in a cyclone and miss out on everything as a result!

JohnFitz

amsimon we always use www.drivenow.com.au .It lists every car hire company operating across Australia and you just put in dates and what you want and you get comparative prices .
We often use Thrifty off this site ( almost always up-graded and nice staff )but check their insurance fine print - and on all companies.

Bushranger

You are right amsimon to give some consideration to what weather may hold and whilst forecastes can be reasonably reliable a few days or so in advance, nothing much is certain a week ahead.

On one hand it could be said that in earlier January you're early enough to miss any cyclonic development and they vary from year to year, but possibility is there that you could get some stormy weather and also for Whitsundays though less likely for cycloic activity there and stormy weather may not normally last as long.

Last year I read of how a UK based meterology think tank predicted that the summer could have sever storms and a high liklihood of cyclones and though there were storms and some flooding, ironically more further south including Whitsundays, there was not cyclones of any great significance - maybe they were a year out!!

As for the rainforests, whilst you could get out to some nice rockpools in different areas and the water can be quite cool and refreshing, getting about on foot will have you working up a lather and that will also be the case for the Whitsundays and even so further south because it is that warm humid time of year and it brings thunderstorms with it.

There are resorts in the Whitsunday area and Airlie Beach itself has undergone considerable development in recent years: http://www.pinnaclesresort.com.au/wh...y_location.htm being just one resort there on eastern edge of the town.
A couple of years ago when that area was still in development and I found that an already developed area on Paradise Point between the village and the Marina seemed to me to be in a much better location re proximity to the village - easy walk and also that being on a point I'd expect cooling sea breezes to be more prevalent.

http://www.stayz.com.au/accommodatio...s/airlie-beach shows a couple in that area, the Coral Coast one and quite likely also the first listed [ I have not checked out each individually]
but look for any that make mention of proximity to village and marina.

The Whitsundays or Airlie Beach in particular has developed a reputation for being a backpackers haunt and they are still there adding to the flavour of the town but it is also much more than that and Australia's jewell for islands and sailing - what you will miss out on as far as the rainforest goes will be more than compensated for by Whitehaven Beach - http://www.whitsundaytourism.com/pla...aven-beach.cfm and http://images.google.com.au/images?h...5&ct=title

There are many ways you can get there, sailing trip, cruise, fast thrill boats and even by seaplane - and whether you go to Cairns/PD or not, you still ought to make an effort to fit it in - yes I'm passionate about the place and if there was one place in Australia I could go back to time and again it would be the Whitsundays.

You could even be a little adventurous and be your own sailors, tie up each night in a little cove, and re stormy weather you head for shelter if something on the horizon looks darkening.

http://www.rentayacht.com.au/ would be my way to go.