Cairns Australia
 

I am going to Australia in January and plan to spend some time in Cairns. I am interested in seeing The Great Barrier Reef and think this will be a good location, correct?
First question: would around 5 or 6 nights be a long enough stay? (We do not scuba dive)
Second question: it looks like I can stay at Coral Coast Resort Palm Cove; has any one stayed there to tell me what it is like and if it is in a good location?
Third question: The pictures look identical for the resort mentioned above as well as for The Sebel Palm Cove Coral Coast; anyone know what that is about?

Thanks for your help

Hi KSM

The first time I went to Cairns/Port Douglas I spent 6 nights there and thought it was a good length of time (I was by myself though).

I stayed 2 nights in Kuranda and then 4 nights in Port Douglas.

Not sure if you're planning on hiring a car but I did and found driving in the area straight forward and day trips easy.

The only thing I wish I'd seen was Cape Tribulation (I wish I'd stayed a few nights up there) but I went out on the reef one day, did a horse riding tour on the beach and through the rain forest about an hour out of Port Douglas and spent some time exploring Karunda and Cairns.

I think January is part of the wet season and also stinger season. I went in early April and the trip out to the reef was pretty rough and we had to wear stinger suits to snorkel. I didn't enjoy that at all, which was a shame.

Happy planning!

January is, indeed, the wet season and stinger (deadly jellyfish) season for the Cairns/Port Douglas area. This is not to say you can't go there at that time, but you should be aware of the conditions which might impact your enjoyment.

You do not need to know how to dive to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef. You can easily have a great day at the Reef by snorkeling (and I have done so many times). The boat operators are based in both Cairns and Port Douglas. I've gone out with several different operators from Port Douglas, but for me the hands-down best was Wavelength, a snorkel-only boat out of PD which carries a maximum of 30 passengers. (I've been out with them 5 times and each trip was excellent.)

Palm Cove is a northern suburb of Cairns. It's a small community with a nice beach. (But you can't swim off the beach during stinger season unless it's within a stinger net and, advisably, wearing a stinger suit.) If you stay 6 nights, you might want to have a car so you can drive to Cairns or PD for a bit of variety in dining/shopping.

Thanks longhorn55 and rellie2 for great advise. It sounds like I can still enjoy the reef even though stinger season. I could go The second week of February also but I doubt that would make that much difference?

Weather-wise and stinger-wise, it doesn't make much difference if you go to Far North Queensland in January or February. However, if you go to Australia in January, the kids will all be on school holidays. Families are on vacation, making accommodations and flights harder to find (and more expensive).

School holidays are over at the end of January, so if you go in February, you'll probably encounter fewer local tourists and, perhaps, better rates on accommodations and flights.

Wow! A whole month off from school that is a nice holiday. Thanks for the heads up.

It's longer than that, my son finishes on 1st Dec and goes back at the end of Jan, it is the main summer holiday after all

I would recommend renting a car, Palm Cove is not a northern suburb of Cairns, it's about a 30 min car ride. I have stayed at Palm Cove without a car but I was playing golf nearby and the visit to the reef involved being picked up by the reef operator and taken to Cairns. I think the organised tours are expensive especially to kuranda, Daintree and mossman gorge which you can do easily with a car.

Personally, I don't find the beaches particularly inviting, they look ok from a distance but they don't really make you want to set up camp for the day, therefore stingers are never a problem for me. Out on the reef stingers are not a problem and there are many ways to see the reef, scuba, snorkeling or submersibles, it's relatively expensive in the past I have used the Entertainment book for Cairns which has saved me a lot of money, ie 25% off the reef trip, as well as some very good restaurants

Forgot that would be summer school holiday there so the two months makes sense. It has been a long time since I thought about school holidays for my kids. How crowded do you think Cairns will be? Will January be peak season? We are considering renting a car. I wanted to finalize dates and locations then look into a car. Is Palm Cove area nice?

Thanks again for all the help

I've been there during school holiday time and I didn't think there were many Aussie kids at the touristy places. I think many queenslanders go elsewhere as the area has a reputation for bad weather at that time of year.

The tourists seemed to be largely made up of Chinese tour groups, Korean, Germans and a hotpotch of other nations.

I like Palm Cove it's ideal for 5 or 6 days , I also like Port Douglas, take a look. it has some very good hotels, apartments and restaurants

If you are thinking of staying a shorter time then I would just stay in Cairns and you wouldn't really need a car. or maybe only for a day or two

OK. Good advice. If I wanted to stay in Cairns for a night or two and wanted an EXCELLENT view, where would you suggest? Thanks

Follow up question...is it worth staying on one of the island a night or two? From my initial research the beaches and water are just beautiful

Do you have a budget ksm?

Not really; probably under $250/night

The Holiday Inn , Cairns Harbourside, would come under that price. It is about a 15min walk into town , along the boardwalk or they have a shuttle bus every hour . You could have a front sea view. Price/ availability depends on the day of the week .

The hotels get dearer closer to town. The Reef Hotel Casino is beautiful, fabulous views and location but the difference in price is considerable .

Plug your dates into hotwire, you don't know the name of the hotel but by the amenities you can usually work it out, I put in 5 days in Feb and got a 5 star hotel at the pier for $112 per night

Thanks; great info as usual!