Arikson77

Hello,
We were thinking about making Cairns our base and stay in that area for about 8 days. First question - would anyone recommend renting a car and if so, what is the best place to get on and what kind of price can we expect? Second - we are seriously considering staying at Lilybank B&B...any comments? How close is it to the beach and the city?
And finally, we are considering the option of only spending maybe 5 nights in Cairns and taking a cruise for 3 days among the islands, does anyone have any suggestions or advice about this idea? We had originally planned to go to an island and that is still a possibility but we are the types who don't really want to see or do the same things every day so we liked the idea of a cruise since it would hopefully allow us to see various islands. It also seems much more economical, surprisingly, to cruise as opposed to staying in an island resort!
Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

Daff

A hire car really would be a "must-have" especially if you are spending a few days in Cairns, and Pat Woolford's lovely B&B, Lilybank, is a little way out of the city centre. I'm sure someone who has stayed there will be happy to post more information. There are so many places to visit and a car will give you much more freedom - Daintree, Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge, Port Douglas, Palm Cove, the Atherton Tablelands are all within a couple of hours' drive. There are many car hire companies in Cairns and if you do a search on the internet I'm sure you'll find a good deal - Pat can probably advise you too.

We, as 'locals', can thoroughly recommend one of the 3- or 4-day Captain Cook cruises! A few weeks ago we had a short holiday from our own small accommodation business and took the 3-day cruise on their "Reef Endeavour" and enjoyed it so much that we would recommend it to anybody who would like to combine a relaxing few days on an extremely comfortable smallish ship (only about 160 passengers) with visits to Fitzroy and Dunk Islands, a full day snorkelling/diving/glass-bottom-boating at the Outer Reef and a magical cruise through the magnificent Hinchinbrook Passage. It's also a chance to make friends with other travellers (how many do you usually get to know on an independent holiday?!) and to visit different interesting places in comfort.

Their 4-day cruise takes you to Cooktown, a small coral cay, Lizard Island and one of the outer reefs - and we look forward to the day we can do that one too! The Captain Cook Cruises website is at http://www.captaincook.com.au/b_reef/index.htm

Happy planning!

Arikson77

thank you Daff.
Pam could you let me know your opinion on car rental. We will probably take a tour to rainforest and other things around cairns and I think those will do the pick up at the B&B. When else will i need it?

jns110

We stayed at Lilybank in February and would not recommend it without a car. It was not nearly as convenient as advertised. Bus service to town was sporadic. We spent 20-25 minutes waiting along the side of the road for the bus, then another 30-35 minutes to get to the center of Cairns. They advertise restaurants a short walk away. The walk is approximately 1/2 mile along a road with no sidewalks, often done in a tropical downpour. Other guests used a taxi to go to and from Cairns. They also found it time consuming and costly.

The B&B itself was OK. But certainly not worth a car rental.

I hope this helps

Arikson77

how expensive is rental in Cairns? Any suggestions where to look

Kimbis

I stayed at Lilybank in March, and loved it. It's quiet and friendly. Even if you don't have a rental car a taxi can be there almost before you have time to retrieve your wallet from your room.

I don't know WHAT JNS110 means about the restaurants not being as close as advertised. They are a short, pleasant walk down the road. (And yes, I did the walk in the rain ... it's not anywhere close to 1/2 a mile to the farthest one.) There may not be any sidewalk for part of the way ... but there is also almost no traffic. It is not a cookie cutter high rise with a bar/restaurant on the main floor, so it's not the place for you if that is what you want.

I will say that Lilybank really isn't close to the city. But then, I found almost nothing within the city itself to be of interest. Most of the tours you might be interested in will pick up and/or drop you off right from the B&B. I would definately stay there on any future trips to Cairns.

uandme

We stayed at Trinity Beach in Cairns.
Wonderful beach but could not swim in the water dur crocodiles and stingers.

We chose a B&B, I do not think they make a lot of money out of the B@B, but they seem to make lots out of selling tours.Every where in the B@B there were tours being advertised.
We actually saved a lot of money by ringing the boats direct.

We had a car and were very glad we did.
We explored the tablelands, the Daintree, and spent a great day at Paranella Park to the South of Cairns.

We thought Cairns and surrounds was just perfect. Although we had rain each day. The town is clean with lots of tropical restaurants. Port Douglas was also a pretty little town where we did not see one bit of rubbish any where. We did a reef trip out of Port Douglas and one from Cairns as well.

A car is essential as you can please your self where you go and what you do and for sixty dollars a day it is a cheap way to move around.

us

pat_woolford

hi u and me - was concerned to read your comments that you actually saved money by ringing boat direct rather than booking through the B&B. The B&b would have to be an approved agent to carry the tour advertising, as are hotel reservation desks, tour desks, travel agents, etc. Yes, there is a small commission payable to the agent, and a good agent will know which tours to book to suit the particular customer. In fact, often their local knowledge can save the customer, as many tourists arrive with no idea that trips other than those which can afford overseas advertising are available. A lot of them are significantly cheaper and more suitable to their needs. However, no agent may charge more than the current advertised price on a tour brochure. Reputable operators will email or fax their agents with details of any upcoming specials, which is then passed onto the client.