Cairns/Port Douglas
 

My soon to be wife and I are planning our honeymoon to Australia and we are seeking advice on where to go once we arrive. We will be there for two weeks at the beginning of September. We are locked into Hayman Island for the first 6 days we are there. After that, our schedule is up in the air. We have heard great things about the Port Douglas area and would love to explore it. Basically we only have about 5 days and we would appreciate any advice on what to do once we are there and where to stay. It is our Honeymoon so we like to stay in a first class resort. We have never been to Australia before and do not expect to come back for a long time. We are in our mid twenties and are looking for a blend of relaxation and exploration (some night life would be nice as well). If you had five days to spend in the area what would you see and what would you miss? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi there, I live in Port Douglas.<BR>House of Willow is amazingly beautiful. Self contained villas, but amazing local art sculptures... private etc etc. Beautiful<BR>If you want a resort type accomodation then try the Peninsula.<BR>Both are beautiful.

Thanks for the reply. We will definitely check out your suggestions. I have read on this post that many people who have enjoyed the David Armbrust guided tour. Are there any other tours or activities like this that would should look into? Thala Beach looks great and so does Palm Cove. I know five days is not enough to see this area, but we would like to explore as much as possible. Again, thanks for the reply!

If you are on your honeymoon and want some night life, stay at Port Douglas. Lots of good restaurants, good beaches, and a good base for sightseeing.

Hi there,<BR>Peninsula is right on the beach at the end of the main street, so its central to everything.<BR>David Armbrusts tour is a must do. You must also go to the reef from Port Douglas. If you just want to snorkel then Wavelength. If you wish to dive or try a dive then Synergy would be nice.<BR>Id pick Thala over Palm Cove anyday.<BR>Make sure you have dinner at the "inlet " restaurant and also Sardis.<BR>From Port Douglas, you may like to visit Low Isles, The Skyrail and Kuranda Train, maybe go horseriding on a tropical beach, visit the mossman gorge and go for a swim.<BR>email me if you have any questions

Dave, I wish I was locked into Hayman for 6 days. <BR>P/D will be good for the rest of your time I think and from there you can go to just about anywhere else anyway. As someone else said there are lovely restaurants, a bit of night life but in the main you would be able to arrive there and then decide what you wanted to do after checking out all your options. I would think though that after Hayman you would want to do some land based things like David's tour and perhaps a Daintree Crocodile trip/ Cape Tribulation exploration and Mosman Gorge trip. <BR>Have a great time. <BR><BR><BR>

Liz, Carolynne, and Marg-<BR><BR>Thank you so much for your input. Your advice is great and we can't wait to see it all. It is still four months away and I am already excited. My fiance is very interested in seeing Kangaroos, Koala bears, and the rest of wildlife in the area. What is the best place to go to see these animals and possibly get close to them? I know she has always wanted a picture with a Koala Bear. Af far as getting around in the area, would you recommend renting a car or is the transportation available sufficient to see everything? Driving on the left side of the road should be interesting! Again, thank you very much for the information and we look forward to any more suggestions you might have.

rainforest habitat outside port douglas has many kangaroos you can walk amongst them. they also have koala petting time but check on the time before you go otherwise the koalas are sleeping.

How exciting. the rainforest habitat is excellent. do breakfast with the birds there. You can pet the kangaroos, pademaleons and potaroos and wallabies there and get your picture taken with a koala.<BR>Oh and they aren't BEARS ...Just koalas. You can have a picture taken with one at 10 am i think. The Habitat has a good web site www.rainforesthabitat.com.au<BR>See u soon

Hi, Carolynne, <BR><BR>Can you recommend a good website for accommadition in Port Douglas or Far North Queensland? We are planning to hit FNQ in October, and looking for comfortable hotel at moderate price. We want to do GBR, Daintree, Mosman Gorge and Cape Tribulation, is it better we just base ourselves in Port Douglas and take trips? Thanks.

Carolynne and Sue-<BR><BR>Thanks for the info on the Rainforest Habitat. It looks like an amazingly beautiful area. I looked on their website and the breakfast with the birds should be fun time. Carolynne, thanks also for the clarification on name for the Koalas (not Bears). As I stated earlier, I have never been to Australia and I am looking forward to learning all about it. Any further tips on the area would be much appreciated. It sounds like we should have scheduled more time Port Douglas. I can not wait to get there.

Ivan, <BR><BR>For accommodation web sites, try<BR>www.pddt.com.au<BR>or www.great-barrier-reef.com/<BR>Port Douglas is a convenient base for all those places you mentioned.

Hi there,<BR>PDDTA site is good place to look. I would recommend Hibiscus Gardens or Port Sea. For Accomodation that is. You will need to book accomodation before you get here. Your tours can be booked when you arrive. Be aware that the "information" centres in Port Douglas are owned by Tour Companies... so have an idea of whatr you want to do before you get here. The GBR, Cape Trib and Mossman Gorge are all best accessed from Port Douglas. Daintree and Cape Trib in one tour and Mossman gorge you can go by yourself. BTS tours have a good cape trib tour.<BR>Sorry about the "bear" thing, I didnt mean to sound patronising. I just wanted you to know they were a marsupial and not a bear. Now you can act very superior to other tourists in the area... because you KNOW. (laughs)<BR>Well any questions just email me. I want every visitor who comes here to love it as much as I do.<BR>Cheers

Carolynne- no worries about the bear thing. I do not believe you sounded condescending at all. I appreciate the correction. You were stating earlier that the Peninsula area might be a good place to stay. In relation to the Peninsula, where would the Sheraton Mirage be? Would you recommend staying there. I have heard it is a little bit out ot town.

Dave -<BR><BR>The Sheraton Mirage is pretty far south from the main street of PD (or the peninsula). When I was in PD last August I stayed in one of the small apartment complexes just one block from the beach, just south of the main street that goes from east to west and has all the restaurants and shops. I thought that was much more convenient for shopping, eating and tour catching. There are local busses that you can take from the Mirage property to town, as well as a hotel shuttle bus if you opt to stay at the Mirage resort.<BR>Martha<BR>

Just got back from Australia in February. We also stayed on Hayman Island. I would highly recommend diving while on Hayman. If your not certified (I am not) they do introduction dives. It was the most amazing experience. Hayman is not on the Barrier Reef but only about 45 min boat ride to it. The dive instructor was excellent. We went on 2 dives about 45 min each. I can even begin to describe how beautiful the reef is!! <BR>In Port Douglas, if you dont mind staying just outside (15 min drive) Silky Oaks Lodge was wonderful. You have your own private "cabin". The lodge is built on the shore of the Mossman River and the lobby and restaurant is like a tree fort. The cabins are all built on stilts, and some have views of the river. Very relaxing location. Its not far from Mossman Gorge or Port Douglas. The resort offers free shuttles to Port Douglas many times during the day. I would also recommend taking a helicoper out to Quicksilver dive/snorkel boat. Its located on the outer reef near Port Douglas. Until you see the reef from the air, its hard to appreciate the size and beauty. We took the helicoper out and the boat back. The water is pretty shallow so the snorkling was awesome. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.

Hi Dave, <BR>The Peninsula is at the end of the main street and right on the beach. you can walk everywhere from there.<BR>The website is www.peninsulahotel.com.au<BR>Check it out.<BR>The helicopter flight is awesome, but do it as a bonus not just to snorkel. You go to a pontoon and there are 450 other people there. Also it is one site and the snorkelling is not as good at their site. Coral is like a garden... imagine if you had 450 people going to the same bit of garden every day for 10 years....<BR>Um the Sheraton is a 20 min walk from town and they do have shuttle buses... but a young couple like you would much prefer a smaller place to stay.<BR>I have friends that work there and they comment that the resort is in need of refurbishment. Also everything on property there is very very expensive. if you stay in town you will have more choice in everything... restaurants clubs etc.<BR>Have fun

My wife & I just returned from a two month vacation in NZ & Australia. Stayed 8 days in Port Douglas (PD) and loved the small village feel of the place. We rented a vehicle in Cairns & drove to PD. It is an easy place to drive, just take it easy on some of the curvy but good roads. If you don't drive most, if not all, tour companies will pick up at the various hotels. I can't recommend the hotel we stayed at, the Rydges Reef Resort so I will leave the hotel recommendations to others. Most hotels located where the Rydges, Sheraton, etc are have fairly frequent bus shuttle service to PD. One restaurant I will recommend is Going Bananas on Davidson St, however there are many good ones in PD - walk the streets, check the menus, & make your selection. If you rent a vehicle, you can drive to places such as Mossman Gorge (overrated) and Cape Tribulation. I recommend a jungle tour to Daintree & Cape Trib & maybe even to Cooktown, however Cooktown is an overnight trip. But overlook those tours that include Mossman Gorge - it will be a waste of time with a tour group. Recommend taking the train to Kuranda on a market day (the market, should we say, is just O.K.), driving to Freshwater Station to catch the train - an easy drive from PD and returning via the Skyrail. They have a shuttle that runs from the base of the skyrail back to Freshwater so you can pickup your vehicle. Do not pay to see the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park near the base of the Skyrail. I did & it was probably the worst purchase I ever made. It was a total ripoff. Strictly a low budget facility soaking the tourists. Recommend the <BR>Quicksilver day trip to the outer reef via the Wavedrancer. They have helicopter rides from their platform & a submersible sub to view the coral if you don't desire to get in the water. The lunch and snacks they provided were absolutely great - can't recommend them enough. If you are in PD on a Sunday their small market is pretty neat - I thought much better than Kuranda.

Bill...<BR><BR>Sounds like you had a blast. You give good advice, I think. The staff at Hibiscus Gardens was great in that respect. They told me to skip Kuranda (they said Port Douglas's markets are plenty good, and that'd I'd probably be bored doing Kuranda) and to also skip the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. All this from a local, so I'd say the recommendations were good ones, since you agree!

Dave-We stayed at dreamcatcher. Do not believe the photos...the pool was filthy, the rooms not only had bugs, but we found a dirty sock inside our bedsheets, and the front desk staff was unrelentless in trying to push guided tours on us. They refused to let us cancel our week reservation, but we couldn't stand it so we left out 3 days early, despite having to pay for the time. It was bad!<BR>