To Reserve or Not To Reserve... That is the Question
 

Hello,<BR><BR>We are thinking of going to Australia either toward the end of this year or the beginning of next (either nov/dec 2002 or march/april 2003).<BR><BR>I've read through the archives on the various GBR islands and have also read that sometimes you can wait until the last minute to stay somewhere and pay a lot less. Would this be the best way to go? My husband and I will be doing a lot of scuba/snorkel and will be spending the majority of the time (probably) around the GBR with a little time in Sydney.<BR><BR>I'm wondering if the months we've chosen are generally busy months and if it would be a lot of work to try to find a good place to stay during that time. We are interested in Lizard, Dunk, Hamilton, Hayman & Heron islands. We were very interested in Heron, but I have to admit reading about the screeching birds is putting me off that one.<BR><BR>Has anyone gone to any of these islands without reservations without problems (and gotten the reduced rate I read about)?<BR><BR>Thanks for your help!

Stephanie,<BR>I have a list of standby rates (last minute rates if you like) I picked up in Airlie Beach last year. I'll find it and let you know what the rates are like. We booked standby at South Molle Island and were on the island an hour after making our decision to go. We saved heaps by not pre-booking.<BR>Will get back to you.<BR>Kay

March/April is the beginning of the High season whereas Nov/Dec is the low season up on the GBR. <BR>Heron is nice but is not near any other island.

Thank you so much for the info! Kay - when did you go? Thanks so much for looking that information up!<BR><BR>LizF - I am so glad you stumbled upon my question. I was wondering when high season was and hadn't run into that yet. I think the main reason we are looking at Heron is because of the diving that I'm reading about. We are scuba certified (I'm a beginner and hubby is advanced) and I think we will be spending about 1/2 of our vacation (one week) near the reef somehow. It's so hard to figure out which islands to go to... Any other suggestions? Thanks again!

If you haven't seen them yet, you should check the packages offered by P&O Resorts. The package rates are offered at a discount to the rack rates and have some extras thrown in.

Stephanie, although Heron is lovely and you can dive around it, it is very small and it is on the very tail end of the reef. The worse thing about Heron is that its out from Gladstone, a "forgetable" industrial town and to fly to Gladstone costs as much, or more, than to fly to more beautiful area because its off the big plane tracks. Although the Whitsundays are not right on the reef and require day trips out to the reef proper - not that far really - you would have a lot of different dives in and around the islands and a lot of islands to choose from. If you really want to be right on the reef then the PD / Cairns region is for you because the reef is all around. However you will still want to take a trip to the "outer reef" spots wherever you are.

Hi Stephanie,<BR>We were in Qld in June 2001. We flew to Proserpine, had some time on South Molle then drove to Cairns via Mission Beach etc, on to Port Douglas then flew home out of Cairns. A great holiday. The only accommodation we pre-booked was PD because it was school holidays. The weather was quite warm but not hot. We swam a bit but the water was cold. Wore shorts nearly every day. <BR>On the price list I picked up from Airlie Beach Tourist Information Centre (email [email protected]) there are prices for transfers to islands, full day sailing trips, flights to islands, night cruises, dive charter etc.<BR>Standby Island accommodation rates are:<BR>Club Croc Long Island includes all meals from A$99pp<BR>Hamilton Is A$99 includes transfers<BR>South Molle A$98pp includes all meals (we upgraded to A$125pp for a beachfront room with great view)<BR>Hayman Is A$372pp includes transfers<BR>etc<BR>Hope this helps. I think at the time you are going you would be able to get similar rates. The busy season is around July-Sept.<BR>If you want more info let me know. Happy to help. Kay

Kay and Liz -<BR><BR>Thank you so much for the information!<BR><BR>Liz - those are great suggestions.<BR><BR>Kay -- I can't believe how cheap that is compared to normal. It's probably 50% off, wouldn't you say? Do you know if they ever offer those rates for Lizard Island? Probably not, but just thought I'd check. The travel agent warned me against vacationing that way, but I think it sounds like you could save a LOt of money that way.

If you have an Entertainment Book (any of the Australian editions as far as I know) you can book at fantastic rates in both Cairns and Port Douglas.<BR><BR>The Australian website is www.entertainmentpublications.com.au.<BR><BR>We have booked the Oasis in Cairns and Rydges Reef Resorts in Cairns for July (peak season) at unbelieveable rates - AU$90 per ROOM for Port Douglas and AU.$103 for a mountain view room at the Oasis in Cairns. There are other choices though.

Rel -<BR><BR>Thanks for that link! I've gotten books for Hawaii -- never though of one for Australia. Great idea!

Hi Stephanie,<BR>Yes, prices are a lot cheaper than pre-booking aren't they? We were very glad we hadn't booked when we arrived and saw the prices. <BR>Almost every second shop in Airlie Beach is a tour office and they had blackboards outside with cheap deals written on them. We probably did save about 50%.<BR>Any travel agent is going to warn you against doing this, as they don't make any money and there is the chance you won't get in anywhere and then blame them. When we were there, in June, there were heaps of vacancies.<BR>Don't know about Lizard Island. Why not email them direct or email the tourist office address I gave you and ask. Wouldn't hurt and you may end up saving heaps. The good thing about travelling standby in the Whitsunday area is there are so many different islands. If you can't get into one, you can try another.<BR>Kay

Kay -<BR><BR>Followed your advice and sent an email. Nothing back yet, but I'm sure it will come. I think we will probably try only booking the first hotel and then seeing what's available for the area around the GBR, etc.. 50% can really add up!<BR><BR>Thanks again,<BR><BR>Stephanie