I’ve read many other trip reports here on Fodors and hopefully someone will find something useful in mine! <BR> <BR>We just had 17 days in north Queensland (mid June to early July), starting at the Whitsundays and ending in Port Douglas, driving in between, and stopping at Charters Towers, Mission Beach and Cairns. If you want any more info on anything, please ask. <BR>Flew Melbourne to Brisbane (2 hrs) then Brisbane to Proserpine (2 hrs). Picked up a HIRE CAR, pre-booked with Avis. Got a good deal through Ansett Frequent Flyer – about A$46 per day for a Toyota Seca. No other costs involved – completely different to hiring a car in the USA! Drove into Airlie Beach, about half an hour, to look for somewhere to stay. There were heaps of standby deals for both Airlie and the islands. Booked 3 nights at SOUTH MOLLE ISLAND, $125 each per night, for an oceanfront room including all meals, all non-motorised watersports, transfers to the island, golf, tennis etc. Cheaper rooms were available. We loved South Molle, very relaxing, had cocktails every night. Shorts weather during the day, needed long sleeves outside at night. <BR> <BR>Ferry back to AIRLIE BEACH, about 20 min ride. Stayed at Boathaven Lodge in a hotel room, A$60, overlooking the water. Airlie Beach has a new lagoon area for picnics, sunbathing and swimming. Place is full of backpackers. Not much in Airlie itself, mainly a hopping off point for the islands. Most ferries go from Shute Harbour, about 10 mins from Airlie. <BR>

Part 2: <BR>Drove north towards Townsville, detouring inland to CHARTERS TOWERS (6 hour drive), an 1880 gold town that attracted us because of the beautifully restored old buildings. Found somewhere to stay, the Park Motel, built in 1888, with motel rooms plus 3 heritage rooms upstairs in the old building. A$72 for a heritage room, with private balcony and huge clawfoot bath. Looked around at the old buildings, not a lot in CT but worth the visit. Saw heaps of dead kangaroos along the way here, run over by trucks and cars. Not pleasant, but a common sight in Australia. <BR> <BR>Drove north again to MISSION BEACH, 5 hrs. Again found a motel room, Mackays, standby rate A$60. Nice, with a pool but a little cool for swimming. 2 mins to magnificent beach, overlooking Dunk Island. You can do day trips to Dunk. Three little communities, Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach, South Mission Beach, all have places to stay and eat. Mission Beach is the biggest but it’s still pretty quiet. Had a terrific meal at The Shrubbery Greek Taverna at MB, and a lousy meal at Millers at WB. <BR>

Drove north to Cairns, about 2 hrs away. PARONELLA PARK is worth the trip, it’s close to Innisfail, at Mena Creek. As it was raining, we went there a few days later from Cairns. PP is a “Spanish folly”, buildings that were created out of a rainforest setting in the early 1900s by an immigrant who started out sugar cane cutting, bought some land and built a castle, ballroom, house etc. They are all in ruins now, very interesting to see. A$14 admission includes a guided tour and fish feeding. We saw brilliant blue Ulysses butterflies in the garden – wonderful! Don’t miss the hot scones with homemade tropical jam and thick cream with hot tea. Yum. <BR> <BR>Found a one bedroom apartment in CAIRNS, the Central Plaza Apartments in Lake St, standby rate A$80 per night. Almost new, with washing machine, dryer, balcony, pool, kitchen etc etc. Cairns is also full of backpackers and places to book tours and lots of cafes and restaurants. Had a great burger and shake at Johnny Rockets, a 50’s American diner, upstairs at The Pier, and a so-so all-you-can-eat meal at Windows (A$26 pp), almost next door. <BR> <BR>Booked the day before for KURANDA, historic train up and skyrail (cable car/gondola) back, A$64 each, including a bus transfer at the end to get back to our car. Well worth the trip, though found Kuranda and its markets disappointing. Thought it was full of tourist junk, maybe because we’re Australians. Train was full but skyrail less busy, there are 2 trains per day but numerous skyrail cars. Lots of places to eat in Kuranda. Stopped at 2 skyrail stations on the return journey for about 15 mins each. A rainforest boardwalk at one and an environmental centre at the other. It was colder up at Kuranda, due to the higher elevation, glad I took a warm top. <BR>

On to PORT DOUGLAS, via Palm Cove. Palm Cove is quiet, with some nice looking places to stay along the esplanade and a few cafes and shops. We loved Port Douglas, had pre-booked the PD Queenslander (5 min walk to town and beach) for 5 nights. Drove up to Cape Tribulation one day and had a picnic on the beach – one of the best beaches I’ve ever seen, long, flat and wide with white sand. Other great beaches along the way, all a short drive off the main road. There’s a few places along the way to get food and drink, quite a few places to stay as well. Caught the cable-ferry across the Daintree River (only way to get from PD to Cape Trib) A$16 return for a car. Other places to stop are rainforest boardwalks, a tree-top tower, environmental centre. Always be aware of the danger of crocodiles in and near any water. <BR> <BR>PD Sunday market was good, down near the marina. Also booked day before for a GREAT BARRIER REEF trip with Quicksilver. Their huge catamarans hold about 400 but our boat was about half full. Staff were very helpful. Cost A$150 each including snorkelling equipment, lunch, morning tea/coffee, underwater observatory and semi-submersible trips. Cats leave from the marina at PD, so anyone doing the trip from Cairns adds on about 2 hrs each way on a bus. There’s also the option to travel by cat from Cairns to PD and return. Excellent trip, would particularly recommend it if you intend to snorkel, otherwise you may not have enough to do out on the pontoon moored in the water. A little cool in the breeze but fine in the water. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Kay, enjoyed reading about your trip. Question? What do you mean by "standby rates" ? Is there a central place in each town the properties post availabity or do you have to go from hotel to hotel and ask? How was the weather? would you go again at this time of year or would you suggest a better time?

Hi Marcia, <BR>Standby rate is a general term meaning the rate you would get for that night, or maybe the next night. A last-minute rate if you like. It's cheaper because they know they won't fill the room that night. <BR>In Airlie Beach there are tour offices with signs outside with cheaper (standby) rates for the islands. I had to ask about standby rates for the hotels in Airlie Beach itself. <BR>In Cairns some of the hotels had signs outside on the pavement with the standby rate. It varies a bit, but generally you ask around or drive around the area and have a look. A lovely new hotel on the esplanade in Palm Cove had a sign outside saying "twin share, $39 per person". If you pre-booked this from home I bet you'd pay a lot more. <BR>The weather was OK, warm but not hot (could wear shorts every day). We needed long sleeves in the evening. Warm enough to swim during the day but the water was cold. I think next time I'd go a bit later, say September, when it's warmer. Standby hotel rates may not be available in the peak season. <BR>So glad you enjoyed reading about our trip, we had such a good time! <BR>Kay