Palm Cove vs. Trinity Beach
 

We are trying to get some information on these two areas. We are traveling with our 14 month old and we have found great apartments in both spots. Is it worth the extra money to stay in Palm Cove versus Trinity Beach? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!

Palm Cove is certainly the more glamorous of the two - they're only a spit apart geograpnically. The beaches are practically identical, but Palm Cove does have a more attractive foreshore in terms of appearance of resorts and shops. It depends where the apartment(s) are - there is a lot of new development on the road into Trinity which is fairly awful looking, but the beachfront is fine. If you give the addresses, I can give you a better picture.

try
www.palmcove.net

can't help with trinity beach

Muck

We are looking at the Villa Paradiso in Palm Cove and the Coral Sands Resort in Trinity Beach. Do you have any opinion on these resorts as well? Thanks!

I know them both, and in terms of proximity to the beach there's nothing in it. When you're a local you can't really march in and ask to see a room, so sorry, can't really help except to reiterate that Palm Cove is considered Cairns' premium beach suburb. If you do stay at Trinity, have a drink at the pub which is on the hill - fabulous view.

Thanks for your help Pat, we are going to go with Palm Cove!! We are going to spend 10 days there and will certainly make the trip to Trinity Beach for a drink at the pub. Thanks again!!

Spent all May 03 in Trinity beach. A fantastic resort well placed and good bus route to Cairns. Great beach, a few shops but tranquil. Hired a cheap car and Palm Cove, Cairns and Port Douglas all in easy reach. Enjoyed it so much going back again this May - outstanding!

Trotter- my only caveat is to avoid Villa Paradisio. Tiny shaded & dirty pool. Poor maintenance of grounds and our room, bad attitude by managers(owners?), and they even ran their leaf blower very early in the morning. I posted the details a while back, then was looking at pictures of our room and it was even worse than I remembered!!


Palm Cove was vey cute, but quiet, and Trinity is even more quiet. Both have nice beaches, but I would probably choose Port Douglas if going again.

If its Palm cove, I'd choose any of the places except VP. The Angsana, Sebel, Marriot were all lovely. We ate at them all at least once, Angsana several times, and checked out the pools and lounge areas.

Pat, Could you tell me which of these 3 hotels are nicer, more upscale and better location? 1] Seachange 2]Bellview 3]Marlin Cove. Any other rec: for accomodation in Trinity Beach would be appreciated? Thankyou Jim

Hi Jim, They're all good, best view would be Bellevue as its on elevated ocean front site. Seachange is very nice, beachfront on flat part of beach and Marlin Cove is set back a bit, about a 5min stroll to beach. They're all largish resort/apartment blocks - I really like the smaller Trinity on the Esplanade (also beachfront) - white shutters and soft toned decor give it a tropical "Raffles" feel.

Trinity is very handy to Cairns city - if you like French cuisine, C'est Bon in Abbot St has just taken out gong for best European restaurant in Queensland, beating Brisbane, Gold Coast, Noosa Heads, Palm Cove, Port Douglas and numerous extremely expensive resort and island restaurants. Open for dinner and lunch (Tuesday-Friday only for lunch) - on weekdays they have a "business lunch" with two delightful courses for only AU$20pp. I think my favourite in Trinity is Atlantis, L'Unico is very popular too.

Pat, I appreciate your help. My wife and kids prefer a beachfront hotel/resort vs the apartment style accomodation. Which P.Cove resort would you recommend based on that? Thanks so much. Jim

Hi Jim - if you want absolute beachfront - ie walk out of resort onto sand, there are two at Palm Cove. Angsana and the almost new Sea Temple. Most of the others are esplanade front but still very close to beach, just a short walk over narrow pedestrian-friendly road. To be quite honest, there are so many new or freshly renovated resorts along the esplanade there that I can't keep up with them - Sebel Reef House is about the oldest but has recently been modernised.

Pat, Which of the following resorts - Angsana, Sebel Reef, or the Sea Temple do you think would be best with teenagers? Are you tired of me yet? Thanks Jim

Hi Jim, they're all top class resorts, all within short walking distance of each other but I really can't say if one is better than the other for teenagers. There aren't a lot of organised night time activities for teenagers in Palm Cove, but neither are there in Trinity or Port Douglas, for that matter. Still you shouldn't have any trouble wearing them out through the day, so maybe that isn't a concern. Sorry, I can't be of more help on this one.

Pat, I am not sure if this thread is still active. I wonder if you could help me because I cannot find much info about this place online. As a military member, we get a good deal on Cocos Holiday Apartments in Trinity Beach. I am trying to find out more about its location. From pictures, it doesn't look glamorous, which is fine. But what about the surroundings and proximity to the beach?

mavpalyana, Cocos Holiday apartments are on Trinity Beach Rd which runs from main highway (Captain Cook) down to Trinity Beach. There's no street number in local phone book and nothing on website (as you've noted), but judging from the website shot with front balcony views, which shows the back arch of L'Unico restaurant and is on beach esplanade, it couldn't be more than a block and a half from beachfront, just a few minutes' walk.

Trinity Beach is serviced by Sunbus, local public bus service which goes right down Trinity Beach Rd, and most tours would pick up there or nearby.

Cocos would be within easy walking distance from local restaurants, cafes and Trinity Beach Hotel.

Pat, thank you for the information! Sounds like an all right place to stay.