Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Help with accomodation in the Barrier Reef and Brisbane

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Help with accomodation in the Barrier Reef and Brisbane

I'm flying to Cairns for a week's vacation in November and am looking for somewhere good to stay on the GBR (somewhere pretty nice without breaking the bank) Can anyone suggest some ideas and how to get to and from them from Cairns airport?? Additionally I am planning a 2 night, 3 day stop in Brisbane and would ideally like to stay at Surfers Paradise. Again, any suggestions for nice hotels and advice on how to get to and from Brisbane airport?? Thanks

In November Cairns won't be really full so you will be able to get plenty of good accommodation. Taxi from airport as its only a few miles out. Look up hotel in and around Cairns and pick from there - there are plenty of sites. Preferably get one on the esplanade. Surfer's Paradise offers hundreds of hotels/motels etc again either look it up on the net OR wait till you get there. You can take the train from Brisbane airport to Nerang( Gold Coast) then get the bus into Surfer's Paradise and go to the tourist bureau who can get you a booking. You should be able to get somewhere right on the beach and in the middle of all the action ( as long as its not Schoolies Week whereupon you will not wish to be on the Gold Coast at all unless you are in the 18 - 25 year old group. Alternatively you can get the Gold Coast /Brisbane Airporter bus which picks you up at Brisbane airport and takes you into SP. Depends on you preferred form of travel. There are many tourist buses which will pick up at hotels etc and take you to all the attractions - forget Movie World and concentrate on the other theme parks - Sea World is the best in my view with Dreamworld next and take your swimming costume (togs) with you when you go to them - wear block out sun cream too!!!

Matthew, We were recently in Cairns and Port Douglas and preferred PD. It has a quiet, laid-back villagey feel with a great beach. There is no beach in Cairns itself. If you wanted to stay in PD, Hibiscus Gardens looked nice and is very central. We stayed at the Port Douglas Queenslander which was fine and also central - not expensive either. To get there from Cairns, there is a local bus, you could also arrange pick up at airport through your hotel. Tours for the GBR and Daintree rainforest all leave from PD. If you fly into Coolangatta (Gold Coast airport) for your stay in Surfers, you are only 10 mins drive away (there's a hotel shuttle), whereas Brisbane is at least an hour away. There is stacks of accommodation in Surfers. We prefer Broadbeach which is 20 min walk along the beach to Surfers. If you stay near the Oasis shopping centre at Broadbeach, there are lots of shops and restaurants and also the monorail to the casino. Hope this helps a bit. Also check out www.jasons.com.au for accommodation. Kay

Re: the above email suggesting Coolangatta airport. You can't fly into Coolangatta from Cairns - only to Brisbane. If you were going from Sydney you can fly into Coolangatta but not from the north. The trip from Brisbane to the Gold Coast is about 55 mins. Its at least 20 mins from Coolangatta. I agree about staying at the Oasis centre but if you are a young person you probably would like the night life in Surfer's P.

Matthew- I loved the condo type place we stayed in Mermaid beach (surfers paradise) It was big, comfortable, had a nice pool and picnic areas, and parking. Nothing fancy, but had washer/dryer and full kitchen in the unit. walk a block to the ocean or to oasis shopping. It is called diamond Sands. They have a web site, or type in "Diamond sands" for a text search above. all the other times I've mentioned this place were on threads with questions like yours.

Matthew, I am a travel agent and Aussie Specialist. I would recommend you either stay at Port Douglas (about 45 min north of Cairns) or Palm Cove which is closer to Cairns but still offers beaches and more of a resort atmosphere. Cairns is a city as opposed to a resort. There are buses from the airport to both Palm Cove and Port Douglas. sometimes you can prearrange this through your hotel when you book. Palm Cove prices are a bit more modest. Also Palm Cove does have a public bus that will take you into Cairns for nightlife or shopping.

We preferred PD to Cairns. All the tours leave from there. We stayed at PDTerrace apts. 2bed,2bath liv,din, kit, wash/dry for $100US per night. We had a view of 4miBeach from our apt.and walked across the esplanade to the beach about 75yds or so.They picked us up and took us back to Cairns. Plenty to do with rainforest, GBreef trips.Food and shopping in PD and the marina were fab and cheap. We did BTStours for rainforest.Ask for George as your guide. Quicksilver for reef. Never snorkeled before. Didn't chicken out but if I had, they have a semisubmersible,and an underwater observation deck so I would have gotten to see the reef if I had chickened out. If you need any more specifics e-mail me.I loved Au and I love to help people who are going.

Hi Texasgirl Thanks so much for taking the time to help others coming to Australia. Its been a while since I was in Cairns and PD that giving suggestions is a tad difficult if you havn't been for a while. So glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself - its not a bad bolt hole from the troubles of the world, is it? We love to hear that people had a great time - do come again!!