I have booked all flights already. I am flying in to Cairns and will be there for 5 nights. What should I do, should I base myself in Port Douglas (heard it is much nicer than Cairns) and do day trips to see things (what should I see), or should I stay in PD a couple of nights and then stay in the Whitsundays, Lizard Island etc. Also where should I stay, must be a nice hotel, but cheaply priced. Need tours that are not expensive also, can anyone recommend companies/websites etc. Help help help.

Hello kayeb
Having returned from Port Douglas recently, I can do nothing but rave about the place, have a look at my trip report 12/13/2003 and hopefully it may assist you.
I didn't find Cairns very exciting at all, the best part was the Esplanade and that's it.
Prices for accommodation will depend on what time of the year you travel.Most Resorts we found have great deals going from November through to March, (with the exception of Christmas and New Year),with the backpackers being the cheapest.
We stayed at Radisson Treetops because they had a great deal but it's definately worth a look at different options and getting other advice.
Have been to the Whitsundays a few years ago on our last trip and found it great, it's worth a couple of days there. Lizard I believe is very expensive so it may be best to get some info from someone who has been there.
Happy planning

Another alternative to consider is Palm Cove - midway between Port Douglas and Cairns. Just a small village, nice beach, good choice of accommodation and much quieter than either Cairns or PD. Bus service to Cairns.

Kayeb - be guided by your tour desk at your accommodation in PD, but do try to pick a local.
to Katie - sorry you don't like Cairns but am wondering how much you saw of it if you think The Esplanade is the best part. I avoid it like the plague. You can hardly compare a regional city of 130,000 people with a tiny tourist town - there are some beautiful parts of Cairns and some horrors, like most cities. Did you go to Crystal Cascades (it would have saved you mingling with the hordes at Mossman Gorge), Lake Placid, Botanical Gardens, Lake Morris, Palm Cove, Ellis Beach, just to name a few. After only 2 days of much-needed rain the area is looking spectacular - tropical flowering trees are in full bloom red poinciana, bright yellow and pinks cassia, purple crepe myrtle and frangipani. Could someone in the USA tell me the meaning of the word "flossy" - it was used by an American guest to describe Port Douglas.

I'm with you Pat regarding Cairns. I think there are some wonderful areas in and around there and the crystal cascades being one of them, Lake Placid another.
I don't know the exact meaning of "flossy" but I think its a regional American term.
No one has mentioned to kayeb that the Whitsundays are 500 miles south of Cairns. I note that kayeb is from the UK - then anything in accommodation terms is cheaply priced in comparison. Driving yourself is the best bet because then you can see everything at your own pace and everywhere is signposted etc. Do reef trips at the end of your time there so that you don't have the cost of a hire car over that period.
There was a wonderful article in the Sunday Mail last week about the best of Australian Pubs for accommodation and how so few people use Pubs for that purpose. I have done many Pub stays around Australia and can vouch for the value in them. If you are intending to stay in the Atherton Tablelands during say a trip to the lava tubes then stay at one of the Pubs overnight and take in some real Aussie stuff. The usual cost of accommodation at a Pub is about $35 Aust and although not 5 star you will be very comfortable.
There is soooooooooooo much information available to you when you get there about tours that I would not make any arrangements until you are actually there.

Thanks Janese - "flossy" must be very regional in USA as I have asked Americans who don't know either. Agree with you about staying in pubs, especially on Atherton Tableland - we have friends who run an amazing restaurant out at Herberton - Tom and Coral Risley at Risley's Cafe - astonishing to find food of this calibre in meat and three veg. land. Foodies from all over Oz go there. Tom is a well-known artist and sculptor and the restaurant doubles as an art gallery for his work. Anyway, we always stay at the old pub over the road from the restaurant - think it's The Grand (aren't they all) - it's $35 a night a double - if you get a room at front upstairs you have a view of the whole tiny town - very quiet as there's hardly any traffic. Once I did find the publican's blue cattledog in our room, but that's OK. There's also a great old pub at Malanda - all done in silky oak. Cheers