david_m11

Hi,

I have a free day in cairns and am planning an allday rainforest trip. Should I go for Kuranda or Daintree?

Cheers,

David.

stevelondon88

Definately Daintree! Kuranda is such a tourist trap. The only good thing is the cable car ride up.

Try Trek North's Cape Tribulation tour if you want a great introduction to the rainforest.

I've posted a more detailed trip report here:

(http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...nses=0&start=0)

pat_woolford

Hi David - I get asked this question all the time and agree with Steve both on Daintree and Trek North - www.treknorth.com.au Kuranda Village is tourist/tacky but it does have lovely walks 5 minutes out of village and a butterfly sanctuary and Birdworld - still, if I had to make a choice it would be Daintree.

david_m11

Thanks Guys,

I am still undecided (even though no-one voiced support for Kuranda) and I have a few more questions:

If I went on a Daintree trip would a lot of time be 'wasted' on the coach?

Is Kuranda really a full day and do the views from the cable car/train make it worthwhile?

Ta, David.

pat_woolford

Cape Tribulation is a fair distance from Cairns - Trek North picks up in Cairns around 7.30am and gets you back at about 6pm - so there is quite a bit of time spend travelling, but I wouldn't say it's wasted as you'll be going through some of the best scenery in the country. Trek North stops briefly for pick-ups at Port Douglas with a quick whip around the town (it's only small place) then for a rainforest walk at Mossman Gorge - then on to "crocodile cruise" on Daintree River. Then a great lunch prepared by the driver/guide in a tropical orchard, then onto Cape Tribulation. On the way back there are a couple of boardwalks in the rainforest where you may see a cassowary in the wild. Kuranda train/Skyrail is much closer to Cairns - view from Skyrail is outstanding and good from train - also easy to take in Tjakupai Aboriginal cultural park which is next to the bottom skyrail station. That would make it pretty much a full day - you can make it shorter by spending less time in Kuranda village.

stevelondon88

I would agree that the time you spend on the coach on the Trek North tour is not wasted as your guide (we had a great guide called Craig) will have heaps of local info and there are really great coastal views for most of the journey. Overall, I felt it was a more rewarding day than Kuranda.

I would say Kuranda is not a full day, more a half day. Take the skyway up and down, be sure to go down to the river bank near the train station, skip most of the so-called 'village'. The train journey takes much longer than the cable car, although it does have nice views of the mountains.

I would say Kuranda is a more 'tourist/theme park' experience whereas a Daintree tour is a more 'rainforest' experience. There are plenty of great photo ops on the Daintree trip and you will end the day with a feeling of having been to some wonderful places and of being IN the rainforest. I really wish you could do both, but as you have to choose one, I would recommend Daintree.

starfish1

Just returned from Oz and did both. Would have to agree, if you can only do one, choose Daintree/Cape Tribulation. We went with Asutralia Pacific Tours, small coach, wonderful guide Darren Morgan. Kuranda was o.k. but I have to agree with the other posters - too touristy. However, the Tjapukai Cultural Centre was very worthwhile if interested in aboriginal history.

david_m11

Well, daintree/cape trib is definately tempting but I still have a couple of
questions:
We are also going to Fraser Island - will we see rainforest like Daintree
here also?
How many hours required for a return trip on the cable car to Kuranda? I am
thinking of maybe doing it on the afternoon we arrive in cairns or in the
morning before we leave.

Ta.

stevelondon88

There is some info on the official Skyrail site here (at the bottom of the page)

http://www.skyrail.com.au/fares.htm

They say a return takes 2 and a half hours which sounds about right to me. Allow a few hours to look around at Kuranda and you've got a nice afternoon trip. Enjoy it! (Don't forget to get off at both stop-points and check out the river bank at Kuranda)

pat_woolford

Fraser's Islands rainforest is nothing like Daintree - Daintree's is world heritage listed because it meets the following criteria - it represents the major stages of the earth's evolutionary history; it's an outstanding example representing ongoing ecological process and biological evolution; it contain's superlative natural phenomena and contains important and significant natural habitats for plant and animal threatened species. Fraser Island (not in tropics) has its own charms - it's a large sand island with some rainforest in the middle - lovely lakes with incredibly clean water. It's dangerous to swim in the sea - undertows and I've seen large sharks within 10feet of shore.

david_m11

Hi, I have decided to do a full day at daintree and 1/2 day to Kuranda just to get the views. I now need to choose between Billy Tean and Trek North for Daintree - what would set them apart from each other?

stevelondon88

I'm not sure if many people have done both tours, if they go to the same place. I went with Trek North and I have no complaints. It was a great day.

Trek North has a full breakdown of the tour on its website (http://www.treknorth.com.au/cape-tribulation-tour.htm) which you can perhaps compare with the other tour to see what you like the look of more.

jackz

Kerry Guy looking for info from you
he has a great b & b in NNZ and has wonderful info - kerry please email Jack we might be back this year