advice needed for Cairns stay
 

Hi!
We will be in Cairns area for 3 nights. Staying at the Daintree Eco Lodge night one, then the Hilton nights 2 and 3. thought this would be a great base....
I see a great deal written about Cape Trib. Has anyone stayed at this Eco lodge and if so, is it worth it? I am wondering if we should be looking at going to Cape Trib. instead which doesn't allow time for the Eco lodge.....
Another Q: does anyone know if there is a great half day snorkelling trip to the GBR where we wouldn't have to travel so far out, but would still see ample everything? Seems the best trips are three hours out....is that so? Or can we see the same by a shorter trip.....
Thanks!
Susan

Hello Susan,

Can you tell us how much time you'll have in Australia, when you'll be going, and where else you'll be going besides Far North Queensland? Oh yes, can you also say if there will be just two of you or if you'll be travelling as a family. Being provided with enough context to understand a poster's trip makes all the difference in being able to respond sensibly.

If you have only 3 nights in Far North Queensland, I take it you'll have only 2 full days there. In that case I would not spend any time in transferring from one property to another. I would stay in only one place. I would choose a coastal town (Cairns, Palm Cove or Port Douglas), as it would be a suitable base from which to see the Great Barrier Reef as well as the tropical rainforest. Looking at the Daintree Eco Lodge's map page, I get the impression it's a fabulous place to stay, and a good place from which to see the rainforest, but probably not a good jumping off point for seeing the GBR.

If there is ANY way you could lengthen your stay in FNQ, even by a day or two, I would do so if I were you. Without having seen the rest of your itinerary, I cannot say whether or not there are any inefficiencies that could be ironed out to "buy" a day or two for FNQ.

Please don't try to rush the GBR and squeeze it into half a day (even if it were possible to do so). It's an utterly amazing experience that deserves to be savoured. Don't begrudge it a full day. Although being IN the reef (diving or snorkelling) is a "must do," seeing the reef from the air (from a small plane or helicopter) also is incredible. In many cases it's possible to get both experiences in the same day.

That said, the Outer Reef is not 3 hours from land, as I recall. My recollection is that it was about 90 minutes from Port Douglas, and I've heard it's about 45 minutes from Cairns.

It's good to have a spare day or 2 in the area, in case the weather precludes going out to the GBR on your preferred day, which sometimes does happen.

An eco tour of the Daintree River, the tropical rainforest as far as Cape Tribulation, and Mossman Gorge is another excursion that deserves a full day.

If you had another day on which to catch the Skyrail to Kuranda, which is on the edge of the Atherton Tableland / Cairns Highlands, that would be nice.

I think it would be pleasant if you also could treat yourself to one lazy beach day.

But, as I said before, we would be in a better position to comment if we knew more about your overall agenda.

Hi Susan - first of all, when are you coming? Can't even get to Cape Trib by road today as the Daintree ferry is closed due to heavy rain from monsoonal trough and yesterday water was up to bonnets (hoods) of large 4WD's. There is no bridge over the Daintree River nor the creeks between it and Cape Trib - just causeways, and they do flood in heavy rain. The best months to visit are April-November.

The only half day "reef" trip is to Green Island from Cairns and you could hardly call it "reef" - it's a coral cay but the surrounding coral is, unfortunately, degraded. There is a new boat out of Cairns - called Thunderbolt II (Thunderbolt I sank on it's inaugral outing) run by Raging Thunder out of Cairns- it'll get you out to Moore Reef at 76kmph - that, to me is not the way to enjoy the reef. Ocean Spirit out of Cairns is a lovely motor/sailer catamaran and part of the enjoyment of the day is the trip out and back from the reef. As Judy says, you're not giving yourself enough time - weather is never 100% predictable, even in dry season - you can't be sure it'll be fine on the one and only day you have available, let alone half day.

Thank you both so much for your responses....It makes it all clear that I am feeling the way I am for a reason..we are RUSHING IT! Much apprecitaed comments. We are a family of three, with our 11- yr old daughter. She is a world traveller (!) and I am thinking of her as I make these arrangements. I have lengthened our stay in CAirns to 4 days. I was able to change the return flight to leave a day later....sooooo much happier now!
My Plans at this point are:
Arrive in Cairns at 11:00 am 12th of April and rent our car to travel north to Daintree Rainforest Eco Lodge for one night, arriving around 1:30-ish.
We will be doing the river cruise that night from 6-8pm and then a forest walk in the am before departing for the Radisson Tree top lodge in Port Douglas. (this part is not confirmed yet..we are booked for three nights at the Hilton in Cairns, of which we will certainly keep at least the last two nights there)...we would do Kuranda that afternoon, if possible. I thin we can go from Port Douglas?
The 14th, we would do an all-day GBR trip with Quicksilver? suggestions are always welcome on which outfit I should use here...!
The last day, the 15th, we would take a full day tour to the Atherton Tablelands/Mareeba wetlands, etc....saw something on this! Sounded great.
We fly out the 16th early am to NZ.....
SUggestions PLEASE!!!!

Susanvt

Hi Susan,

That's looking better, but it's still too chopped up for my taste.

I admit I prefer a slower travel style than many other people, so you may take what I say with a pinch of salt, but I'll give you my two cents' worth anyway.

My husband and I spent several days in Port Douglas, and we did everything (GBR, rainforest, Kuranda, lazing on the beach, etc.) from that single base. We really enjoyed unpacking only once, settling in, and returning to the same spot after our various excursions, rather than packing up and moving all the time.

We enjoyed Port Douglas very much indeed, but I'm not saying you have to stay there. There are people who love Palm Cove and others who love Cairns. But I really do think it's a good idea to choose one of them and then stick with it.

Wherever you choose to stay, it probably would be nice to spend your first afternoon walking around a little, getting oriented to your surroundings, and spending a bit of time relaxing on the beach.

You could possibly plan on going to the GBR on your first full day in the area. I say that because, if the weather turns out to be unsuitable on your proposed GBR day, it'll give you the option of switching activities, waiting for the weather to improve, and going to the GBR on the next day or the day after that. The longer you delay your outing to the GBR, the less wiggle room you have.

I recommend devoting a full day to an excursion to the Daintree River, a trip through the tropical rainforest all the way to Cape Tribulation (which will give you the opportunity to visit interesting mangrove forests as well), and beautiful Mossman Gorge. I think your daughter would find the different eco systems (river, rainforest, mangrove) fascinating. This is where one really benefits from having a knowledgeable guide.

We did the Daintree / rainforest / Cape Trib / Mossman Gorge trip in a small group with an experienced guide from Trek North. He picked us up from, and returned us to, our hotel in Port Douglas. Pat Woolford, who lives in Cairns, says that the company continues to provide excellent guided day tours:

http://www.treknorth.com.au/

It's a great idea to spend a day visiting the Atherton Tableland, but in that case I would not spend half a day going to Kuranda, as that sounds repetitious.

So, in summary, my advice is:

* Sleep in one spot (preferably near the coast) in FNQ.

Day 1 - half day orientation and visit to beach

Day 2 - GBR

Day 3 - Day trip to Cape Trib

Day 4 - Day trip to Atherton Tableland

Hope this helps.

Hi Susan I agree with Judy, given the short time you have it would be much easier to sleep in the same spot, whether it be Cairns or Port Douglas. The 4WD day trip with Trek North to Cape Tribulation (which both Judy and I recommend) will pick you up at either of these points. It truly is better to do Cape Trib with a knowledgeable guide rather than self drive - it may still be very wet up there and driving yourself could be scary. I had a guest once who took a rental car through a flooded causeway between Daintree River and Cape Trib - ruined the engine, was stranded for a few hours, and faced a bill of $3,500 from the rental company. I know I mentioned before that the dry season usually starts in April, it could well be later this year - there's been torrential rain up there this week.

For your reef trip I'd suggest Wavelength if you're staying in Port Douglas and Ocean Spirit to Michaelmas Cay from Cairns. Am assuming here that you're not certified divers and just interested in snorkelling. Either will pick up at your accommodation although Hilton in Cairns is only a minute or so's walk to Ocean Spirit berth.

Kuranda Train/Skyrail - perhaps include the Tjakupai Aboriginal Cultural Park is more accessible from Cairns than Port Douglas and once again you'll be picked up at your accommodation. By including Tjakupai this becomes a full day trip.

Wait a While runs a trip to Mareeba Wetlands which are closed during "wet" and due to open at Easter so should be open by April 15. Recommend booking this one fairly well in advance as they can only take limited numbers.

Have a great trip!

Sorry, forgot to say that you can combine Skyrail to Kuranda with Wait a While trip to Mareeba Wetland, but you'd miss out on Tjakupai.

Pat,
could we do Tjakupai at night? I saw in one of my books that they now have an evening show....we could then do as youstated before, combining the two trips and save this ritual for a night?....Thanks ALL for your responses! I am truly unrealistic, I am finding out, at times! Tough to do so much in so little itme!
SusanT

Hello Susan, yes, from April 1 Tjakupai by Night will be running every night of the week. The show is an abbreviated version of what you would see in the day and includes buffet dinner in their Boomerang Restaurant. Have not done it myself as yet, but have had guests who loved it. I'd do this from Hilton in Cairns rather than PD - it's a long way back to PD in the dark and only about 15/20 minutes from the Hilton. Hotel pickups are available from Cairns, Northern Beaches and Palm Cove.

Pat,
Do you have Wait a While's email address? Thanks!
And thanks again for all your help. I still do have two questions though:
Should we continue to stay at the Daintree Eco Lodge for the one night? I have had my heart set on this property since day one (!) as it sounds wonderful. It seems that they are located right in the rainforest with a river cruise early evening and a nature walk that we would otherwise have to do with a tour group....? Would it be redundant to do this and THEN do a tour to Cape tribulation? I have also learned (thru someone who did went to CAirns recently) that it might be more fun to do a Dive trip to the outer reef rather than a huge boat filled with people...My husband is a diver and we (my daughter and I) would go along as well to just snorkel off the boat. The oufit they used served lunch as well. (need to find out the outfit name)...This friend said she enjoyed it so much more and had done both. Any suggestions on this? Thanks!
SusanVT

I went last year. Stayed 3 nights Port Douglas at Raddison Tree Tops. If I went again I would choose to stay at a place on Macrossan street instead. At the Radisson we spent all our time catching the shuttle to the village. Depends if you like to be in the thick of it or not. Also found the Raddison rooms to be motelish though the lobby area and pool area were tropical in feel. Complete with cuckatoo at the entrance you can scratch.

Also regarding reef trips. My husband dives but I don't. We went on a boat called the Calypso from Port Douglas. The staff were friendly but the divers were separated from the snorkellers for most of the time so I felt quite lonely !

So next trip from Cairns he went on a diving trip all on his own and then we both went to Green Island for half day snorkelling together.

Green Island was ok, saw much bigger fish and much smaller coral there. But did see tons of fish though not as much as the colourful fish as on the reef. The time passed quickly.

I am glad I did the reef trip because I have never seen it before but it was a long time travelling for a relative short time actually spent with the fishes.

If you are not a big fan of fish then perhaps do Green Island but after travelling half the way around the world to see the GBR then perhaps a few hours get sunburned on a boat is worth the little extra time spent.

The one question I keep asking and no-one can tell me is why do they go diving so much! Where we snorkel we saw so much just a little under the surface. I couldn't imagine what extra treats lay in the deeper water. My husband said he saw some stuff different but was it better? He didn't say!

Hi Susan - Wait a While's email address is [email protected] Hope Mareeba Wetlands will be re-opened in time, we've had an incredible amount of rain over the last week which may delay its scheduled re-opening at Easter. At the moment we're bracing ourselves for an imminent cyclone and Cairns is completely cut off from any direction by road. Even the Kuranda train is not running because of debris on the track. It would be as well to have an alternative to the wetlands planned.

As for the Daintree Eco Lodge, if you've really got your heart set on it, then go for it. You obviously won't see nearly as much on night trip as you would on full day trip. Keep your eye on the weather though - it would be absolutely miserable in pouring rain - I don't know what their cancellation policy is regarding bad weather, but advise you to check before booking.

Had I realised one of you is a certified diver would have recommended Poseidon out of Port Douglas or Tusa Dive out of Cairns - your husband to go as a diver and you and your daughter as snorkellers.

Pat,

A question for you.

I really wanted to do the Flames of the Forest dinner when I was in Port Douglas but didn't want to pay that much money without hearing any recommendation from anyone.

Do you know if it is as great as it sounds? Have you been or heard from others?

Hi Drop Bear

Haven't done Flames of Forest yet, but I'm dying to. I have a friend who lives near Port Douglas and whilst she acknowledges that it is expensive, she describes it as "fantastic experience in a magical setting and worth the money".

Thanks Pat,

Does sound like a really good experience.

Next trip, which will only be a weekend getaway so will have to plan our time very carefully.

Want to buy a property up there for us to live in one day, but even if we don't I don't argue about the fact an investment research trip can double as a holiday!

Hi DropBear - that's what we did, it's 11 years now since we left Sydney. Haven't regretted it, although we kept our options open and didn't sell Sydney house until last year. Retired babyboomers from "down south" are pushing up real estate prices here, but am sure you're aware of that. Houses here are still a bargain compared with Sydney. If there's any tips you'd like email me on [email protected] Good luck!

i just have a few comments here. I would also agree on staying in one place for your entire stay and would recommend either Port Douglas or Palm Cove. We stayed at the Siebel in Palm Cove for one night as we were coming in late at night from New Zealand and did not wish to drive into Port Douglas at midnight. We stayed at the Radisson in Port Douglas and the above poster is right about the hotel but the Entertainment price for two rooms for a family of four was reason enough to stay there. We had a car so location was not a problem. The hotel was fine and if you have stayed in Radisson's elswhere you will know what the hotel is like. Did like Palm Cove and the Siebel suite also at a good entertainment rate. Will probably stay there if we are in the area again. I should also note that we stopped by the Daintree and it reminded me of a boy scout summer camp. Silky Oaks however was quite nice. Would not stay in Cairns.
As for scuba vs snorkling I will just have to say that they are really two different experiences and let your husband try to explain it better to you.
We also did one of these big boats to the GBR as my wife and children do not scuba and this all day excursion allowed all of us to do what we each liked. The drawback to this approach however is that the scuba tends to be somewhat mediocre as one tends to get alot of inexperienced divers and the location is usually somewhat compromised for diving as you need rather shallow water close by for the snorklers. This seems to be true not only for the GBR but elswhere in the world as well.
Good luck on your trip.

Hi Susan, We just returned from the GBR and it was great. Took the Poseidon boat out of Port Douglas. It took about 90 min. to get to the outer reef. Weather was great when we went. Suggest you book the trip when the weather is nice as it can rain a lot at this time of year and we ran into a lot of rain at Cape Trib. We stayed at the Sebel house in Palm Cove. Great place and strongly recommend it. Can book all tours etc. from there. We had a car so didnt need transportation. It was HOT!! I ahve never experienced such heat and humididty. We stayed about a week but that was too long. 3 or 4 days is long enough. Liked Kuranda Sky Rail, Mossman Gorge and Cape Trib. However, Ive seen enough rain forests to last me a life time, so dont know if I would recommend going to Cape Trib. I too, would stay at a more central location than Daintree Eco Lodge. Eagle