Is anyone familiar with the area and its accomodations? It seems like a great location, but I don't know how nice the area is. We are looking at the Golden Sands resort.

We stayed in Cairns but rented a car and drove around the area. Yorkeys Knob is an easy 15 minute drive north of Cairns.<BR><BR>The beach there is absolutely beautiful. It's about a mile in length. If you're going in the summer, they have the "stinger resistant enclosure" so you don't have to worry about jellyfish.<BR><BR>As for accomodations, we saw a few small Mom & Pop type places in the neighborhood. I don't imagine there is much nightlife there - it's mainly a residential area. If you're looking for a very quiet place that's a little out of the way, go for it. <BR><BR>I have a few pics of the beach there - feel free to email me and I'll pass them along. [email protected].<BR><BR>John in Miami

Trinity Beach is also a good place to stay - it's just north of Cairns not far from Yorkeys Knob. I don't think the beach is as good as Yorkeys Knob but there is a much better range of accommodation with apartment houses etc right on the beach front. <BR>Palm Cove is a great place to stay - it's midway between Cairns and Port Douglas, has a good range of accommodation and is a really pretty little village.

We stayed in Yorkeys Knob for 5 days in August. Had a great time. It is close to Tjapukai, Kuranda, Cairns. We didn't swim in the ocean, but the pool at the apartment was great. Tricia Cowin manages a number of properties in Yorkeys and she is incredibly helpful. She is very knowledgeable and helped us figure out an itinerary, even though we did not book all the tours through her. Did not make any difference to her commitment to make our stay wonderful. The apartment we stayed in was beautiful and spacious with the beach right across the street. I would suggest you contact Tricia @ [email protected].

Once away from the beach or unless you are staying up on the hill then it is just another suburb as far as I recall . If you want more tourist amenity such as restaurants / cafes then Palm Cove is the choice. Both places have easy access by car to convenient shopping malls for all your needs .

Yorkeys certainly doesn't have the tourist infrastructure of Trinity Beach and Palm Cove, unfortunately that will come. Now its a quiet beach, mostly residential, with Half Moon Bay yachting marina on northern side. Visitors can eat here cheaply at Yacht Club with outdoor dining over water. If you walk on southern end of beach towards the northern end of Holloways Beach, you're in a wilderness area, yet not far from the city. Locals know that one of the best restaurants in area is Star Apple, run by a couple of blokes who trained under David Thompson from Sydney's renowned Darley St Thai serving innovative Asian dishes. Its in the grounds of Golden Sands Beachfront Resort.