Monica

Are Port Douglas (Sheraton Mirage) and Hayman Island similar for beach and beautiful scenery or Hayman Island is superior ? <BR>Do you advise me a stop in both places or is better to choice one of these and after to visit an other Australia ? <BR> <BR>

michael

Monica, <BR>We've stayed at both and in my mind the Mirage is the best choice. The only similarity is the fact that they are both world class resorts but Mirage is on the mainland much further north with all sorts of activities available around Port Douglas and the option of a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Hayman Island is in the Whitsunday passage, has a smallish beach, is still a reasonable boat trip to the reef and afterall is an island so it is ideal for a holiday where you intend to do nothing but relax, eat, swim, read etc. Doing them both in one trip if you are coming a long way is probably overkill unless you needed a sanctuary to unwind in then doing Hayman is a reasonable idea for the relax but your time/money may be better spent doing something wildly different like going to Kakadu in the northern territory or to the red centre of Australia (Ayers Rock as you would know it).

Holly Wallace

Sheraton Mirage!! <BR>My sister and I stayed there for a week and loved it!! <BR> <BR>Port Douglous was great, if you go I suggest you take posiedon out to the reef, they were wonderful! <BR>

Harold Tomanek

Dear Monica, <BR>I would not recommend staying at the Port Douglas Sheraton Mirage, my wife and I were there September 1, 1998 and were so disappointed with the hotel we left after 2 days of a 10-day stay. <BR>The rooms were dirty, capets, beds, bedding, the room smelled like insecticide, the food was of poor quality,and the hotel staff had a bad attitude. You cannot drink the water anywhere in Port Douglas. I don't know who the other writers are but you can be sure what we say is true. We also stayed in Sydney and Cairns and had a very nice time. Instead of Port Douglas think about Cairns, it's a much nicer area and more to see and do. Cairns is about 40 Miles South of Port Douglas. where you can get to the Tablelands, Great Barrier Reef, Rainforest. Port Douglas is a big tourist trap and very expensive for what you get. (Nothing) And bring lots of money for bottled water, $3.00 for a 12.Oz container. My wife and I travel around the world and are very seasoned travelers.

Michael

Obviously Harold has had a bad experience which is unfortunate and happens to us all at some stage but I think you will find that no-else would possibly recommend Cairns over Port Douglas, and as consistently stated by other authors in the various postings in this forum the Mirage is consistently recommended.

Peg

I'm sorry also that harold had such a bad experience at Port Douglas. We have found it is one of our favourite places for a holiday, although we stay closer to the township in a self contained apartment. Port Douglas has a village atmosphere, with no MacDonalds and some of the best seafood that i have ever tasted. We have never had any problems with the water. The locals are very friendly and always happy to say g'day and have a chat. Peg. <BR>

Harold Tomanek

Well I have not seen any replys from Americans such as myself, Americans demand value and service. <BR>I noticed that all the email is from .au

michael

Harold, <BR>I think you'll find that throughout the various postings there have been just as many references from non "au". You will also find that those responding from the au domain are travellers and expect no less service than perhaps you do - I think your inference that Australians expect less on service and value from establishments than Americans do is a little bit outdated and I know that the many Americans that I have strong friendships with would challenge your assumption that they "demand" service, in fact they would be horrified. Its a shame that your trip didn't work out the way you would have liked and I hope that the next time you visit our shores your experiences all live upto your expectations. Take care.

Peg

Harold, i hope your experience hasn't soured your feelings about Oz. I recommended Port Douglas to someone on Fodors earlier this year. When he returned he sent me an email. i have posted an extract from it, so that you won't think that we are just talking from a porocial point of view... "we are indeed back from the fabled land of oz/and i can not say enough <BR>wonderful things about the people, Sidney, the water, the beaches, the <BR>rainforest, the food, the weather, THE PEOPLE, the flora, the fauna, the <BR>night sky, you get the idea, we are already planning a return visit, and <BR>i have recently purchased but not yet recieved a scanner/ so somewhere i <BR>will post some pix of our trip/ thank you for writing and i can't ever <BR>repay you for the tip on port douglas/ if not for your advice i'd never <BR>have gone!!/ we ended up not spending the planned three or four days but <BR>ten!/ and could easily have doubled that/ we did a rainforest trek/ we <BR>also didi a 10k mntn bike & hike tour thru the forest [most excellent] / <BR>and the great barrier reef - well how many adjectives can i fit in <BR>here?! the experience far exceeded our very high expectations/ geez i <BR>feel like i need to return . . ." <BR>