We will be staying in Cairns for 4 days. Any suggestions as to where to stay and things to do to make the best use of our time. Thanks!

Hi Judy,<BR>Check out Il Palazzo. I stayed one night there and liked it...It was clean, central and reasonably priced. All accom. are 1BR suites and have a compact washer/dryer in the bathroom.<BR><BR>I also stayed one night at Colonial Club and it was everything Il Palazzo wasn't...not clean, not convenient and was the same price for much less space!<BR><BR>Debbie<BR><BR>PS YOu might consider staying in Pt. Douglas an hour north of Cairns. Much nicer and has a beach which Cairns doesn't!

Cairns is one of those places that can simply be described as 'nice'.<BR>I love it. Do rent a car, easy to get around, lots of beaches to the north, nothing much south. Around Lake street are apartment/units and my regular place to stay is Coral Cay. This is not a hotel, like a good class motel. Rooms are huge, you get a living room, kitchenette plus bedroom and bathroom for around $60. They will send a cab for the 10 minute ride from the airport.<BR><BR>http://www.usahotelguide.com/hotel/10006005-102050620.html<BR><BR>You can walk along the gardens to the center of town. Cairns is a lot smaller than you might imagine. A rental is cheap. Go by train to Karunda, great mountain area full of old Australia charm, scenic railway, you can go one way by cable car and return by train. Forget the name 'Tiphurai' or something, Aboriginal dance and history, well worth it. Of course trips to the island. <BR>

Hi Judy,<BR>Cairns has pretty much everything you need, except a beach !its certainly not paradise, it is certainly better to head north to somewhere like Palm cove which is a pretty coastal town which has some really great apartments/hotels, we stayed at the oasis, which was great. <BR>Would recomend a drink and a meal at the lifeguards club...great food and superb company.<BR>Have a great time<BR><BR>Muck<BR>

I'd suggest the Holiday Inn in Cains, great breakfast buffet, nicer hotel than the Tradewinds Esplande next door. We were at the Tradewinds in October and found the common areas of the hotel tired. I'd suggest Feta's for dinner, the best Greek food I've ever had! <BR><BR>I'd suggest you take a day trip out to the reef, we used Tusa Dive to book our scuba diving but they take out snorkelers also. Tusa served scones for breakfast and served a great lunch. Plenty of water and other things to drink during the day.<BR><BR>We booked our transportation to Kuranda/Skyrail with Relax Tours. Very pleasant group of people to work with. Don't expect to go to the beach while in Cains, there are only mudflats! Have a great trip!!