We plan a trip to Australia in January or February 2011, which I understand is the very rainy season. In hopes that the weather will be somewhat less rainy in Southern Queensland, we're thinking about doing a one-day Great Barrier Reef (GBR) trip out of Airlie Beach. We're also looking at the far southern areas.

What experience have any of you had with GBR trips in January and February?

Which southern location and tour company do you recommend?

Should we insist on stinger suits?

We probably can't afford to stay on Heron Island, which several people have suggested. So, I'm looking at other options.

Thanks for any help you can give us in our planning.

Sue

Sue...did you look into Lady Musgrave or Lady Elliot islands on the Barrier Reef? The day tour to Lady Musgrave looks like a good one (see link below). You could combine with a stay on nearby Fraser Island, a huge reefless sand island with gorgeous fresh water lakes, sand dunes, and rainforests.

Seems to me if you're considering Airlie Beach as a springboard to the reef, you might as well go up to Cairns. I doubt you'd notice much difference in rainfall. I'd seriously consider Pat's input to your earlier post and not rule out the far north. Chances are it will not be a washout, and besides, you'll get to see the other great attractions the area has to offer.

http://www.ladymusgraveisland.com/

http://www.ladyelliot.com.au/

http://dkd.net/fraser/

Sue, Ralph is right- you can bet if Cairns gets cyclonic weather, Whitsundays will be affected as well.

If you look at www.weatherzone.com.au, type in Green Island for Cairns and Hamilton Island for Whitsundays (both islands have weather stations) you'll see that now, in Feb, Green Island is showing thunderstorms or possible thunderstorms and Hamilton is showing showers and rain as is much of the entire Queensland east coast. Thunderstorms are generally over very quickly and usually are at night and have little or no effect on a reef trip.

So you can see by dodging the Far North you won't necessarily escape wet weather by going south.

Thank you both. Your replies have been very helpful. I'll check out the websites.
Sue

Sue Airlie beach is a beautiful area with easy access to islands on the Whitsundays. We stayed at a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment there for a very good price. You mention going to the very far south...Do you mean the southern states or southern Queensland?? The southern states (Victoria, New South Wales) of course do not have high rainfall at this time...very hot often as it is still summer but we do not have the cyclones etc. By the way we are going to your neck of the woods, San Diego, in June!! Very excited. Have fun in Australia!

Thanks Kdemunk. Hate to be a spoiler, but you should know that May and June are the worst months - weather wise - in San Diego. Almost constant overcast. We call it May Grey and June Gloom. Temperature is OK, but you won't have sunny skies very much.
Sue

Hi SanDiegoSue. One other thing that is important to consider when travelling to North Queensland in January or February is that it is very, very hot and humid (hence the rain). I would hate for you to go there at that time of year without being prepared for how hot it's likely to be. Of course, you can always escape inside where it's air conditioned!

Port Douglas (about an hour north of Cairns) is another gorgeous place to consider staying and another great gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.