Hi folks. Been reading all this great feedback about the Daintree Air tour to Lizard, but is that the only option for a day tour? Aren't there any boats to that island? We would be departing from Kewarra beach/Cairns.

There are several boats which visit Lizard Island from Cairns. Lizard is well over 100 miles from there. The boats do 3 and 4 day trips to lizard as the distance is much too long for a day trip. I did the plane tour and thought it was just magic. Certainly the highlight of my queensland tour. We flew low over a ship wreck on the reef, as well as many islands and sand cays. We missed most of the rainforest on the way home as it was very cloudy and the pilot went above the clouds although on a good day it must be amazing. I also did a boat out of Port Douglas which was very good, but the reef we swam over at Lizard was of much higher quality and was just alive with marine life. I also stayed at Kewarra Beach resort. It's a little far out of town but was excellent and I would go back there.
Have fun !!!!!!!!!

Hi ffei, thanks for the advice. Regarding the Daintree Air trip: Both of us are non-swimmers. The most we would do we would be to walk out in shallow water. Does that mean we would be missing out on the main attraction of this tour? In other words, if we aren't going to scuba dive, is it still worth us paying that much for the trip?

stevelondon,

(are you from london steve? my husband and i are moving to london from california in 4 short days!?!)

anyway, i just wanted to reply to your query about lizard/swimming and is it worth it if you don't swim...

i think it is absolutely worth it! you will still experience the incredible view that the flight provides as well as the walk through the island viewing all the floral and fauna and critters greg points out. finally, you will be able to relax on the beach, enjoy the lunch and at least get your feet wet in the beautiful clear water! i'd say it's still worth the price regardless of if you snorkle or not...

have fun!

steve, if the weather was good i would say do it for sure. Be a little careful though ( with the weather ). at some times the weather can be very windy and cloudy in queensland. i went to lizadr island on a very bad day, the wind was up to 35 mph all the way along the coast. we got out of the really bad weather about 50 miles north of port douglas.the wind at the island was very bad but we snorkeled on the oppisite side of the island to the wind and the snorkeling was the best any of us had ever seen. once we got away from the clouds the flight over the reef was really amazing. the pilot went out of his way to show us as much as he could. we did get a good view of cooktown and the endeavour river on the way home as well, but as we neared the high mountains the weather really got bad and we did not see an other thing til we arrived i cairns. i must say we received a phone call on the morning of departure from daintree air with a warning that it was windy and wet and we had to make the choice if we go or not. as it turned out it fabulous day even though the weather was bad. it was our last day so we wanted to go bad weather or not. if the weather was good id say the flight up low over the reef and then back over the rainforest must be about the worlds longest and most beautiful joy flight. i think most of the people that go up there are looking for the best place to snorkel but the flight the walks the beaches the lunc and the some what twisted sense of humor of the guide are all added extras which we all really enjoyed.
We still laugh when we think about that day. if i ever return i will be doing it again bad weather or not .
ffej

Dear ffej, What time of year did you have your awful weather on flight to Lizard? We are considering for late April early May.

Thanks, AndrewDavid

Thanks for the tips, folks. I've decided to book with Daintree!

hello andrew , I was there on July 25.
We stayed with the guide who took us to a very protected part of the island where the snorkeling was great. But if you walked out into the open the wind would you blow you over.

Andrew: weather in Far North Queensland should be near enough to perfect late April/early May. July and August are sometimes very windy,(as they were this year) it's our "winter" and we're subject to prevailing SE trade wind which can make conditions on reef fairly unpleasant for snorkelling. However, our winter is still much warmer than rest of Australia with exception of Darwin and Top End.

Dear Pat and ffej, Thanks for weather tips.

AndrewDavid