Unhurried trip Sydney to Cairns
 

We’ve allotted a month (beginning mid-December) to explore the Queensland coastal areas and are looking forward to a slow paced trip through this region. We’re trying to decide between a bus or train (our research suggests that costs are similar) for travel from Sydney to Cairns. We’ll break from the public transportation and rent a car in the Brisbane/ Sunshine/ Gold coast area for a week. Our criteria for choosing which Queensland coastal cities are:

1. Can one get there easily by bus or train?
2. Is it in a charming or interesting coastal area?
3. If we arrive (by bus or train) and find lodging in the center of town, can we easily walk or take public transportation to the beach or shore areas?

So far we’re considering stays in the following bus or train accessible cities:

1. Coffs Harbour or Byron Bay. (North coast of NSW, I know, but they are on the route north from Sydney) Still haven’t decided between these two cities. 2-3 days
2. Gold Coast /Sunshine Coast towns, pick up car in Brisbane. 1 week
3. Hervey Bay, then ferry to Fraser Island-already booked. 1 day (Hervey) & 1 week (Fraser)
4. Arlie Beach for day trip to South Molle Island. 2-3 days.
5. Townsville for day trip to Magnetic Island. 2-3 days.
6. Cairns and GBR. Haven’t decided which GBR island for day trip. 4 days
7. Port Douglas and natural areas (Daintree and Tablelands). 4 days

We’re aware that December and January are the school holidays months and know that accommodations will fill fast. In order to keep a somewhat flexible schedule, we were thinking of booking much of our lodging through Wotif or similar websites that offer last minute deals on hotels in the city centers. Do you think this will work? Suggestions for our proposed itinerary (which is 1 month of a 3 month OZ trip) are welcome.
Thanks, Kathy

Kathleen - Queensland Rail has packages where you can travel from Brisbane to Cairns, and at various destinations, you can get off a few days, then rejoin the next train.
They even book your accommodation for you, before you leave Brisbane.
I haven't their website,but if you do a websearch on Queensland Rail, you should find the informaiton your after.
I'm sure the coach companies do the same.

Tropo, Thanks for the reply. We were thinking of getting the East Coast Discovery Pass which would include Country Link from Sydney in NSW and Queenland Rail on through to Cairns in Queensland. Are you familiar with this rail pass? Its travel in one direction, but that shouldn't be a problem for us.

I think we'll book our own accommodations, but will keep their booking services in mind. Kathy

kathleen,
What are you looking to do on the GBR? What are your interests? Reefteach in Cairns is a good start to help you appreciate what you see out there.

On the GBR we'd like to snorkel, mainly, and take long walks on the islands. In the Cairns and Port Douglas area we have several places to go and things we'd like to see.

Cairns: 4 days. Day trip to Karunda, day trips (w/ guide) or overnight to some GBR island, day in the city of Cairns to see city sites and museums.

Port Douglas: 4 days. Day trip (w/guide) to Daintree Nat'l Pk, day trip (w/guide) to Cape tribulation Nat'l Pk, 2 days PD city and beach walks.

We arrive in Cairns by train, and leave by plane (to Perth). I assumed 2 days at the beginning, 4 Port Douglas in the middle, then 2 days at the end for Cairns (2C-4PD-2C). But we're open to another distribution of days (3C-4PD-1C). Or should we just pick one place and stay the entire time? Also, we could add a day or two if it would make a better itinerary. What would you do and see? Where (how) would you stay? Thanks, Kathy

I would definitely have a car if you're going to spend a week on Fraser island and want to get to all those incredible lakes. Driving on fraser (in a jeep of course) is an amazing experience. Remember that you can't swim in the sea there so a week is a little too long though in my opinion 3 -4 nights would be plenty. We did the Whitsunday islands on a sailing boat called Siska for 2 or 3 nights. It was fantastic - great atmosphere and beautiful places. The only thing to bear in mind is that Jan-December is stinger season and you won't be able to swim anywhere near the GBR without a full stinger suit.
I wouldn't worry too much about the school hols - we were terrified there was going to be traffic and crowds but coming from Europe we found Australia to be pretty deserted by comparison. We also spent a month doing the same route and loved it!

I don't know about charming, but there's many interesting points over the 1750km approx distance. Out of one month a whole week on Fraser Island is excessive, and you're talking to someone who's happily spent several 3 week breaks there with kids and worked there for 3 months sans kids.

Please don't forget Hinchinbrook Island between Townsville and Cairns, this is a tropical island with beaches, reef access, wildlife and hiking, easily accessible from nearby Cardwell on the coast.

And Tree Roo's advice is correct, Reef Teach in Cairns gives you so much insight to GBR and shouldn't be missed. Every night from 6pm-8pm except Sundays.

That 1750km distance approx applied Brisbane-Cairns, not Sydney-Cairns which is a lot further.

Tree Roo, Reefteach is now on our list to do in Cairns. Thanks so much for the tip.

Carrom and Pat, We are now rethinking the length of time on Fraser. We thought that the island might be a nice relaxing stay after three weeks on the road with several short stops of 2-4 days each. Maybe we'll shorten it to 5 days. Sometimes after moviing around a lot, you just want to stay put and linger. We do plan on renting a car for a day while on Fraser if it's possible. Otherwise we'll walk or rent bicycles (if possible).

Pat, So, you also think a whole week is a bit long for Fraser--given our total time in Queensland? No doubt we will heed your advice on this and move along, perhaps for a visit to Hinchinbrook Island.

We hadn't paid any attention to this island on a map, but after doing a google search and pulling up the website, I can see why you suggest it. Very inviting. Maybe a day trip or one overnight. We need to decide where to splurge and where to choose budget accommodations on this trip.

What about the Cairns and Port Douglas time split of 4 and 4 days? Keep it this way or make a change?

Anyone have a preference between Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay?

Thanks everyone. Kathy

Carrom, I meant to ask, did you write a trip report on your month long Queensland trip? Since it's a similar length of time to ours, I'd love to read it and take note of where you stayed, what you enjoyed, and what your interpretations were. Kathy

Kathleen,
I am building the picture of you as liking to get away from the crowds a bit. If that is the case then can I suggest that one of the northen beaches of Cairns as a base for the things you want to do there and then two nights up on the Atherton tablelands for walks and the birds and mammals which do not occur on the coast.
do take Pat's advice about Hinchenbrook. I have not yet walked the whole length of the island but even a day trip there can let you get away from the crowds and walk.

Kathleen, be aware that Fraser Island is completely sand, in fact the largest sand island in the world, but still sustains remarkable rainforest and perched lakes with the clearest filtered water imaginable. You can wash your hair here and not need conditioner. But if renting a vehicle it must be 4WD, of course there are 4WD day trips available. What sort of bike were you thinking of?

I might be reading you wrongly here, but if you're allocating 3 weeks from Sydney to Fraser Island with 5 days on Fraser this will leave virtually no time from Fraser to Cairns, which is the longest part of the trip in mileage? Sydney-Brisbane is 1000km, Brisbane - Cairns is 1750km and Fraser is only a few hours north of Brisbane by road.

TreeRoo, Its a balance that we're after. Since we'll be moving about using public transportation (mostly), staying in city centers, and exploring the cities, we thought the island trips would be nice. Queensland is well known for its GBR and the other islands, so we wanted to explore them as well.

I don't think we'll stay in the tablelands. Instead we'll take day trips with guides to this area. Having read many suggestions on this board, it seems that a having a guide is a better way to see a lot in a limited time. The guides know where to go and what to see, etc. We don't want to rent a car in this area. Actually, we try to minimize renting cars, since we really don't enjoy driving while on vacation. I think we'll do 3 days Cairns, 4 days Port Douglas, and 1 day back in Cairns before flying to Perth.

Pat, I think I've confused everyone on our timeline. After spending a week in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, we'll begin a month or so through Queensland. So, the time remaining after Fraser is approximately 2 weeks. It appears that the entire time ends up being close to 6 weeks, before going to Perth.

We've placed 2 cities, for 2-3 days each, between Fraser and Cairns. I was thinking that would be enough. But with the distance being so great, should we place another stop in this section?

Fraser Island. We were hoping that at low tide, in the hard, packed, sand on the beach, we could ride bikes. Here in South Carolina, we can, if it's low tide because the sand packs tightly, and the beaches are flat. I assumed Fraser might be the same. I now think we'll be doing a lot of walking. We did decide to cut the time on Fraser to 5 days. Maybe those two extra days could be at another town on the way to Cairns-- maybe Cardwell and over to Hinchinbrook.

Thanks for the input--it's appreciated. Kathy

Hi sorry my reply is so late i've been away grape picking! I'm sure I did write a trip report - i'll have a search. You can have a look too just by clicking on the name carrom you should be able to see all my posts. One more thing about Fraser...it's huge i think approx 100km long and the lakes are very much inland - impossible by bike I would say as the sand is soft and deep not like around the coast. We ordered a map of Fraser island before we left and that was very useful. There are a couple of those lakes which you just can't miss! if I can find the names and more details I'll let you know. I also have amazing photos. Do e mail me if you like [email protected]

kathleen, have never seen anyone ride a pushbike on Fraser, even along the harder packed shore sand. Trail bikes, yes, unfortunately. You'd have a job getting a pushbike through the soft beach sand to get to shore as well.

You also mention Magnetic Island, you could ride a pushbike there as roads are sealed with very light traffic, but it's hilly in spots.

We spent 5 days in Yorkeys Knob in August. The highlight of our trip for our two teenage boys was diving the BGR with Paddy Collwell from Reef Teach. He is an incredibly funny, knowledgeable man and even attending the Reef Teach for me (non-diver) was very interesting. The boys got their SCUBA certification a week before arriving in Australia. Paddy took them for 3 dives and they thought it was fantastic! www.reefteach.com.au

This was my trip report on Australia in 2004 ...........short and to the point!
"We have just come back from a fantastic month in Australia. We visited Sydney, Brisbane, drove up to Cape Tribulation via Noosa, Fraser Island, Rockhampton, Mackay, Airlie Beach, Whitsundays (sailing), Townsville, Palm Cove, Daintree forest, Cairns then flew to Melbourne. We had a really great time so did our two teen-agers. Stayed in wonderful hotels, ate in good restaurants and met lovely Australians - really friendly and hospitable. "

carrom, I was able to go back into your name and read some of your posts and trip report. They were very helpful, and if I have other more specific questions, I will email you. Thank you.

Pat, I have abandoned the idea of riding bikes on Fraser. But, no problem, since we love walking. I'm really looking forward to Fraser-- however we get around on it.

travlr2, Reefteach seems to be a highlight for many so we have already made room for it while we're in Cairns.

Thanks everyone. I think the Queensland section of our trip is shaping up nicely. Now, on to Perth and that area. Kathy