johnathome

Traveling with my spouse and 4 yr old son next month.

Will stay in Palm Cove for 4 nights, then drive up to Daintree region for 3 nights. Plan on driving down to Atherton Tablelands region for 3 nights. Then have 2 to 3 nights before we need to get back to Cairns. Wondering if folks have thoughts.

We were thinking about perhaps just staying longer in Daintree and/or the Atherton area or try Mission Beach or Innisfall but could go stay in Cairn for a few nights.

Would love suggestions. Realize each area is different. Thanks,

Saltuarius

Johnathome,
What are your interests? This would have a bearing on where to go.

Where are you from? Have you seen anything of the 'outback'? You might consider Undara for the lava tubes or Chillagoe for the limestone caves.

pat_woolford

Exactly what I was just about to say, Saltarius.

johnathome, Undara has accommodation in renovated railway carriages or permanent "tents" which have raised timber floors, and Chillagoe Cabins is a terrific place to stay, the owners are wildlife carers and Gary does local tours at a reasonable price.

johnathome

Good questions. We are from NY. We love the ocean (will be spending some time on the GBR later) but also hiking. We were planning on doing some exploring in both Daintree and Atherton (realizing they are very different areas). I had not thought about Chillagoe or the Savannah Way because the length of the drive to get there and back. Thanks though for the ideas, always helpful.

marg

Here's my suggestion. From the Atherton Tablelands, drive south towards Innisvail. Visit Paronella Park (check out their website for further info - well worth a small detour), then a bit further south to Mission Beach. You can do this easily in a day, have a night or two in Mission Beach and then back to Cairns.
On the way back to Cairns, you can have a look at Josephine Falls and The Boulders, both a small distance off the highway.

Saltuarius

As the driving is a concern, stay on the Atherton Tablelands. So much to see, wildlife to find, and if it should turn wet, very unlikely at that time of year, There are visiter centres, interpretive centres, Chinese Temple, Crystal Caves and lots of little galleries before you even have to think about going shopping!

nanabee

We just returned from the Daintree area. We also love snorkeling and we took the Rum Runner boat tour which leaves out of Cape Tribulation to the reef. (We've never done this before so we can't compare them with other outfits - but we thought is was great).

We loved the little town of Mossman and wished we had stayed there instead of longer in the rainforest.

In Cairns we stayed at the Lilybank B & B, which we loved, and would definately return too.