Lizard Island or Bedarra Island--Any recos out there?
 

Hi there -- my fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Australia. We've currently booked 4 nights at Lizard Island, however, last night, my fiance came home with all this info on Bedarra Island. I can't seem to find anything out there comparing the two or giving true first-hand experiences listing out both the good and the bad of each. Can anyone give us an account of their trips to either. We'd love to hear it all -- the good, the bad, the fantastic. Many thanks in advance!

Haven't stayed on either of the two islands you mention. I do know that they are probably the "most" expensive islands in Qld. Lizard Island is north of Cairns, and Bedarra is between Cairns & Townsville. Both islands would be excellent choices, they are both considered to be "boutique" island resorts.

Hi,

Went to LI for my honeymoon about 3 months ago. If you click on my name and look for my Third Trip Report on Honeymoon in Australia it will give a good idea of what you are in store for at LI.
The only reason I chose LI over BI was weather and wanted it as warm as possible during the Australian Fall. One plus of Bedarra is free drinks unlike LI where the drinks are relative expansive but well worth. Don't think you could go wrong with either one.

Hi melhog - tropo's right - they are the two of the most expensive Queensland islands, although Double Island, just off Palm Cove, purports to be Australia's most exclusive private island. You can snorkel directly from Lizard with easy access to surrounding reefs - Bedarra , which is much closer to the mainland near Mission Beach, is still a way to go from GBR via nearby Dunk Island.

Hi Mel!

While I can't attest to either resort because my boyfriend and I don't leave for a few more weeks, I looked extensively into both islands (as well as some of the other less pricey ones).

Since they are both P&O Resorts, P&O offers several "Multi Resort Packages" incuding both islands that you may want to consider (as well as one which includes the two islands plus Silky Oaks in the rain forest). They include transport b/w the islands (which we learned is very pricey) and other perks depending on the package such as tours and spa treatments. Check out the website: http://www.poresorts.com/hwad/ultimateislpackage.htm

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

Thank you all for your responses -- I've looked around quite a bit and am discovering that hardly ANYONE out there has been to both....far more people have visited LI that I can tell. Hardly any first hand accounts from Bedarra....

Another (secondhand) report on Lizard Island...I was talking to my sister in law this morning and she and my brother have just celebrated their 30 th wedding anniversary there and she said it was sheer luxury. Very private (although there are organised daily things if you wish..not pressured), great food etc. Apparently 80% of visitors are from the States.Bedarra is supposed to be private and exclusive too but I don't know anyone who has been there.Enjoy!

thanks for the extra LI praise. we've heard nothing but good things about it (with the exception of one report that said there were large quantities of biting flies on the beaches during their visit-yikes!) still nothing on bederra that i can turn up though. do the daytrippers that i hear can come to LI from cairns and such interfere with the "secluded" experience any?

Still secondhand because I haven't stayed on either but having one's own boat can make access easy. As mentioned before, Bedarra is closer to the coast than Lizard with lush rainforest vegatation - no daytrippers, they go to nearby Dunk. Lizard is much dryer looking. There are some day trippers to Lizard, definitely not the package tour groups - a day trip to Lizard from Cairns costs about AU$500

In another life I organised incentive trips for senior management rewarding remarkable corporate achievements. Bedarra was considered the favourite for pampering and personal attention for their guests then.

Melhog, in the tropics somewhere at any time of the year you will find biting insects. Its just a fact of life in the tropics. At the moment (winter) it's sandflies (so tiny you can't see them) but they leave a very itchy red welt - in rainforests you always take your chances with leeches, biting ants, etc. Sea lice (usually crushed jellyfish) can cause itchy reactions for some. It's been suggested that a 2 week course of Vitamin B2 be taken before arrival in the tropics - I don't know if this works, the only time I have been drastically affected wasn't even in the tropics - bull-ant bite in Sydney which put me into hospital.

Hello-
Just returned from Liarard Island / Australia yesterday. The reason we chose it was the following:
1) LOCATION: The time of year - it's winter - and we wanted to be as far north as possible for the warm weather

2) Snorkeling and diving. You can snorkel right off the beach -it's great - and diving trips a plenty.

We did not encounter a single fly while we stayed there.

-Amanda

The sandflies here (North Qld) are quite tiny - I believe they are called "no see-ums" in US. Nothing like the ones in SI NZ which are huge in comparison. Not everyone reacts so youldn't necessarily know if you were attacked. But even in "winter" it is still wise to wear personal insect repellent, especially late afternoon.

Hello Melhog
Have not stayed at either Lizard or Bedarra, but as others have said both are luxury resorts. Bedarra has an all inclusive tariff and has recently been refurbished. It is more intimate with only 16 villas thus a maximum capacity of 32 people and no day trippers. On Lizard you pay for extras like wine, champagne at a premium price,there are some day trippers and the island accomadates up to 80 people.
Having researched both of these islands we opted for Orpheus Island which seems to have a very low profile on this board. The island is a national park and is situated in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. There are only 21 rooms, the food is excellent with every evening a degustation menu that changes nightly, jazz everynight overall a very laid back atmosphere. There are two swimmimg pools and a gym if you want to get active as well as walks in the National Park. Plentiful bird life The snorkelling is excellent off the many secluded beaches. There is also a dive centre A top spot for a relaxing , low key holiday
Here are the webpages for the three resorts.
www.lizardisland.com.au
www.bedarraisland.com
www.Orpheusisland.com

Hi Amanda_Chicago --

Hope your trip was great. If I remember correctly, you did something very similar to what we'll be doing in a couple weeks in Queensland -- Lizard Island and a Jonathan Munro wildlife tour. I'd be interested to get your opinions on anything to look out for if you have a chance. Thanks!

Hi Amanda_Chicago

I have to second the request above. If I remember correctly, you and I corresponded back and forth for a bit during the planning stages of your trip (through theknot.com). We're heading to Aust. in October. Did you like the B&B you stayed in Sydney? How was Daintree? Anything you'd highly recommend about LI or anything hated about it? Thanks in advance!

Ozwild-
Do you have my email? [email protected]

Jonathan Munro was GREAT!! He said he had another honeymoon couple coming up-- is that you?? Please tell him "Amanda and Ryan from Chicago say Hello".

Jonathan was a trip HIGHLIGHT for us. I cannot tell you enough how fun that was and how MANY animals we saw in the wild. You are going to have a blast - in bed at 1:00 AM and up at 7:00 AM for platypus viewing - not to be missed!! We got so close to the platypus I thought we could touch them.

Lizard Island was probably Ryan's favorite part because of the diving and snorkeling. The young staff were very knowledgeable and I highly recommend taking a day trip to the outer reef when you are on the island. We saw huge fish and sharks. Pretty crazy!

Email me for any specifics.

-Amanda

I don't know what time of year you are planning on going, however, when planning a trip to Bederra Island several years ago, we decide not to go when we discovered that we would be there at a time box jellyfish could be in the water. We made phone calls, and they said it was unlikely we would encounter them, and they did have stinger suits available. We decided it was too costly of a trip to have to worry about that (probably irrationaly), and changed plans and went to Lizard instead. We had a fabulous time.