Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Is Lizard Island for the Day & Arburst Tour worth the $$

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Is Lizard Island for the Day & Arburst Tour worth the $$

Hi All - Thanks to your help we're planning a 2-week trip with: 4 days in Sydney (Four Points because it is free) 3 nights in Palm Cove at Angsana 2 nights at Silky Oaks 3 more nights in Sydney at the Four Seasons While at Angsana I really like the idea of the Lizard Island Day trip with www.daintreeair.com.au. But while at Silky Oaks I like the idea of the David Armburst tour of the rainforest. SO, would you splurge on the Lizard Island trip and try to cut back somewhere else??? IS David's rainforest tour really heads above the rest?

Last September, we followed a similar route as you are planning. However, for our GBR trip we spent 5 nights at Orpheus Island and loved it. Visited Palm Cove on our way to Silky Oaks. PC wasn't as appealing because it was quite windy and water was quite brown from surf churning. As part of 3 nights at Silky Oaks, we did both David Armbrust's tour and the AWS safari. David's tour is very good but so is AWS. AWS:Good guide in the Daintree and after lunch you can swim in a billabong in the rainforest. With David's you get to see the animals up close and personal. I think the AWS was a bit more informative as we covered more ground. We easily could have spent a few more nights at Silky (good food, lovely setting) but as it turned out, we traveled on to Adelaide/Barossa Valley and loved that equally as much.

We are planning a similar trip in mid-july. My itinerary is 4 night at 4 season- Sydney , 3 night in Hayman Island resort, 2 nights at Silky Oaks while there doing the David Armbrust tour, 2 nights at Sebel Reef Resort and 2 nights at Wanderer's Rest in Kangaroo Island. What do you think of this itinerary?

How do I get information on David Armbrust's tour? We will be in Port Douglas in mid-September.

MOLLY_GIRLS, ABOUT THE LIZARD DAY TRIP - AN EMPHATIC YES!!!! - IT'S WORTH IT! I ACTUALLY E-MAILED GREG @ DAINTREE AIR YESTERDAY WITH A QUESTION AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE HAD TAKEN A GROUP OF FODORITES TO LIZARD THAT DAY (HE MENTIONED THAT THEY HAD HEARD ABOUT THE TRIP THROUGH THIS FORUM). HE SAID IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY AT LIZARD! I'M SURE WHEN THEY RETURN THEY WILL TELL YOU IT WAS WORTH THE MONEY AS WELL! :) (P.S. I ALSO STAYED AT ANGSANA AND ALTHOUGH IT'S TRUE THAT THE WATER AT PALM COVE DOESN'T COMPARE TO THAT OF SAY, LIZARD - I FOUND MY ENTIRE TIME THERE RELAXING, WONDERFUL AND THOUGHT THE TOWN WAS VERY PICTURESQUE!!)

molly_girls

David's website is www.anhs.com.au. I strongly recommend his tour - it was our most memorable part of our trip. the rainforest is the best with his animals, and then the lunch was fantastic - the atmosphere was amazing!!

PinotNoir or someone else-- is there a website or a longer name at least for the "AWS Safari"? I'd like to read more about them.
Also do you think it would be too hot to do the AWS Safari, whatever it is, or the David Arburst tour, in January.
Thanks in advance.

Three of us took Greg's Daintree Air trip last month and had a blast.

It's expensive, but when you break it down, it's not outrageous.

Most snorkel trips out of Cairns and Port Douglas cost anywhere between $150-$175, and you've got to travel at least an hour and a half each way by boat with a (varying) group of people.

With the Lizard trip you're getting a bird's eye view of the rainforest AND a view of the reef (where you can actually get a perspective of how large the reefs and the reef system is - something you can't get from a boat).

You can also get a little tour of the island, which has some amazing history.

The kicker, however, is the snorkeling. I'm a certified (albeit recreational) diver and have made dives in Europe, North America and Australia, and the snorkeling we had in Watson's Bay at low tide was better than anything I've ever seen at 60 or 90 feet. And not a single other person out on the reef!!!

Plus you get Greg, who's a whole form of entertainment unto himself, and a great guide.

We had a blast, and wouldn't hesitate to say that this trip was an amazing value for the price.

Have fun...

Hi, We could not agree more.
The daintree air services tour to Lizard Island is an absolute must.

We plan to return and spend a couple of weeks with Greg flying across Australia.

The quality of the tour is out standing. We can not speak highly enough of daintre air.

Enjoy.

mrsmayers