We are planning our first trip ever to Australia, and are primarily interested in the Great Barrier Reef. We are considering the Cairns area, and the schedule would be the last half of December. Is this a bad time to go? Any (and all) suggestions regarding when to go, where to stay, things to do and see would be appreciated. Or, if you would recommend something other than Cairns I would be interested in those comments as well.

Basil: <BR>Cairns in December is perfect. Weather is beautiful. Lots of tour boats out to the reef that one can book after arrival. Your hotel concierge can arrange them for you. We went out on the Ocean Spirit and had a wonderful day. Once at the reef (about a 2 hour journey) you can snorkle, scuba dive, or glass bottom boat. The Kuranda Rain Forest is also a must see. Since tourism is their thing, restaurants abound. Casino as well. The shopping mall, Cairns Central, can compete with any in the US. <BR>We stayed at the Rydges Hotel. WWW.Rydes.com. <BR>You're going to love Cairns. Pronounced Cans, by the way. <BR>John <BR> <BR>

December is not the ideal time for far north Qld. It is the wet season so it will be extremely hot and humid with a good chance of heavy rain - possibly even cyclones. The rain (and runoff) can also affect the visibility on the Reef at this time. Its also stinger season which means no swimming by the coast, but on the Reef will be OK. Its also the start of the main holiday period in Oz. If you have to go in December you might want to consider further south on the Reef. <BR>The best time to go is between May and October when the weather is a bit cooler an there's much less chance of rain and storms. Cairns is not a particulalry attractive place and it has no beach. You'd be better travelling a bit further north to somewhere like Palm Cove or Port Douglas.

I agree with Matt. In December anywhere from the top of Cape York to Brisbane will be humid and probably wet. The school holidays in Queensland start on 16 December so you may have to book ahead for activities and accommodation. <BR>Palm Cove is a really nice spot - lots of hotels and apartments, restaurants etc. Just a little village right on the beach but very pleasant. It's between Cairns and Port Douglas - about twenty minutes each way. Cairns is a very nice city but doesn't have a beach. If you are hiring a car, you could use Cairns as a base and easily do day trips each day.

I returned from Australia last week - my second trip to Oz in 2 years. I took a week's sailing and diving tour on the GBR with Barefoot Cruises based in Airlie Beach. Both boats were rigged 75' sailing schooners, the first being "Windjammer" and the second "Coral Trekker". The Trekker has an air compressor and dive master onboard. Even though this is the rainy season & there was some rain and rough weather, the trip was a wonderful adventure on the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. The small group (8) was international and interesting. The chef, "Amee" was the very best ever. I highly recommend both boats, but preferred the Coral Trekker. <BR>Last year I booked rafting, kayaking etc. trips through Raging Thunder Adventure in Cairns - another wonderful experience. <BR> December may be the rainy season, but if this is the only time you can go - go for it!

hi, we stayed in port douglas, just north of cairns. it was a really lovely town, has a beach and is close to just about everything. <BR>december may not the most ideal time to go to the reef, but then again, people were trying to talk me out of going in january (i was there this year) because it's cyclone season. well, the weather we had was just great. we were really lucky and the 4 days we were there were rainfree. the temp was in the low 80's and humid, but it wasn't oppressive. <BR>try to rent a car and drive around. it's a beautiful drive to daintree and cape tribulation and you can stop along the way and take some hikes along the boardwalks full of strangler figs, mangroves and fan palms. i also recommend going to mossman gorge for a nice hike and swim in one of the many swimming holes there. <BR>from port douglas, we went on the aristocat, a new boat that holds 40 people. you may want to book the reef trip when you arrive in town. ask the tour operators at the info booths how the water will be while you are there and book on the nicest day. we went on a day when the water was at 15 knots and the boat was pretty comfortable and didn't make the trip out too nauseating. also no need to book tours before you arrive. you can do everything when you get into town. most accomodations have tour desks and can do it for you. <BR>another fun place was the rainforest habitat for wildlife viewing. we had to see a croc after not seeing one on the daintree river cruise (which is another fun outing). <BR>we stayed at a place called the boathouse on macrossan (on the main street) in port douglas. it's a beautiful fully accomodated apartment. i highly recommend it! plus you'll probably get low season rates as we did, since you will be going off-season! <BR>have a great time! i wish i were going back soon. <BR>tina