Great Barrier Reef
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Great Barrier Reef - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Airlie Beach Lagoon
Hugely popular with locals and visitors, especially in stinger season, this stinger-free swimming enclosure on Airlie's shorefront has dedicated lap-swimming lanes, real-sand "beaches," adjoining children's pools, and sensor-activated lighting after dark. There are toilets, showers, and change rooms nearby, and all pools are patrolled by trained lifeguards year-round. Surrounding the lagoon are a children's playground and a tropical garden, crisscrossed with walkways and dotted with public art, picnic tables, and free electric barbecues. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.
The Esplanade, Airlie Beach, Queensland, 4800, Australia07-4945–0200-Whitsunday Council -
2. Birdworld Kuranda
One of your best chances to see the endangered southern cassowary, a prehistoric emu-like bird, is at Birdworld Kuranda. It's home to hundreds of colorful birds from nearly 60 species, more than 20 of them native to vanishing rain-forest areas—walking and flying freely in a gigantic aviary. Many of them are tame enough to perch on your shoulders. Wear a hat and sleeved shirt: birds' claws are scratchy.
Rob Vievers Dr., Kuranda, Queensland, 4881, Australia07-4093–9188Sight Details
Rate Includes: From A$20 -
3. Cod Hole
For divers and snorkelers, the usually crystal clear waters off Lizard Island are a dream. Cod Hole, 20 km (12 miles) from Lizard Island, ranks among the best dive sites on Earth. Massive potato cod swim up to divers like hungry puppies; it's an awesome experience, considering these fish can weigh 300 pounds and reach around 6 feet in length. The island lures big-game anglers from all over the world from September to December, when black marlin are running.
Lizard Island, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia -
4. Daintree National Park
The world's oldest tropical rain forest is an ecological wonderland: 85 of the 120 rarest species on Earth are found here, and new ones are still being discovered. The 22,000-acre park, part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics region, stretches along the coast and west into the jungle from Cow Bay, 40 km (25 miles) or around an hour's drive northwest of Mossman. The traditional owners, the Eastern Kuku Yalanji, who live in well-honed harmony with their rain-forest environs, attribute powerful properties to many local sites—so tread sensitively. Prime hiking season here is May through September, and many local operators offer guided Daintree rain-forest walks, longer hikes, and nighttime wildlife-spotting excursions. Gather information and maps from local rangers or the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service's ParksQ website before hiking unguided, and stay on marked trails and boardwalks to avoid damaging your fragile surroundings. Whatever season you go, bring insect repellent.
View Tours and Activities -
5. Great Barrier Reef
Other AttractionTo astronauts who've seen it from space, the Great Barrier Reef resembles a vast, snaking wall—like a moat running parallel to Australia's entire northeastern coast. Up close, what looks like a barrier is in fact a labyrinthine complex with millions of points of entry. Mind-boggling in size and scope, encompassing more than 4,000 separate reefs, cays, and islands, the Reef could rightly be called its own subaqeous country. The Great Barrier Reef is a living animal. However, it's hard to imagine that the reef, which covers an area about half the size of Texas, is so fragile that even human sweat can cause damage. Despite its size, the reef is a finely balanced ecosystem sustaining billions of tiny polyps, which have been building on top of each other for thousands of years. So industrious are these critters that the reef is more than 1640 feet thick in some places. The polyps are also fussy about their living conditions and survive only in clear, salty water around 18°C (64°F) and less than 98 feet deep. An undersea enthusiast could spend a lifetime exploring this terrain—which ranges from dizzying chasms to sepulchral coral caves, and from lush underwater "gardens" to sandy sun-dappled shallows—without ever mapping all its resident wonders. Not only is the Reef system home to thousands upon thousands of sea-life species, the populations are changing all the time. Here, divers can swim with more than 2,000 species of fish, dolphins, dugongs, sea urchins, and turtles; and marvel at hundreds of species of hard and soft coral. The Great Barrier Reef begins south of the tropic of Capricorn around Gladstone and ends in the Torres Strait below Papua New Guinea, making it about 2,000 km (1,240 miles) long and 356,000 square km (137,452 square miles) in area.
, Queensland, Australia -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Mossman Gorge
Just 5 km (3 miles) outside Mossman are the spectacular waterfalls and swimming-hole-studded river that tumble through sheer-walled Mossman Gorge. The Kuku Yalanji–run Mossman Gorge Centre is the starting point for various walks, tours, and activities. There are several boulder-studded, croc-free swimming holes within the gorge, and a 2½-km (1½-mile) rain-forest walking track and suspension bridge. (Swimming in the river itself is hazardous, crocs or not, due to swift currents, slippery rocks, and flash flooding.) Keep your eyes peeled for tree and musky rat-kangaroos, Boyd's water dragons, scrub fowl, turtles, and big, bright butterflies—and try to avoid stinging vines (plants with serrated-edge, heart-shaped leaves, found at rain-forest edges). If you intend to hike beyond the river and rain-forest circuits, inform the information desk staff at the Mossman Gorge Centre, which also has café/restaurant, gift shop, Indigenous art gallery, restrooms, showers, and visitor parking.
View Tours and Activities212r Mossman Gorge Rd., Mossman, Queensland, 4873, Australia07-4099–7000Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free entry to Mossman Gorge Centre; A$12 return bus trip out to gorge; tour prices vary -
7. Reef Teach
CBDKnowledgeable marine biologists and conservationists give entertaining talks and multimedia presentations, usually to packed houses, about everything Great Barrier Reef–related, from sea turtles' sleep cycles to coral-killing starfish. Expect to learn more than you thought possible about the reef's evolution and the diverse inhabitants of this delicate marine ecosystem. The attached Marine Shop sells an array of reef-themed merchandise: T-shirts, DVDs, books, field guides, and souvenirs. Sign up for a Reef Teach seat by midday.
Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia07-4031–7794Sight Details
Rate Includes: A$23, Shows Tues.–Sat. 6:30–8:30, Closed Tues., Thurs., weekends -
8. Skyrail Rainforest Cableway
SmithfieldFrom the Skyrail terminal just north of Cairns, take a six-person cable car on a breathtaking 7½-km (5-mile) journey across pristine, World Heritage–listed rain-forest canopy to the highland village of Kuranda, where you can visit wildlife parks and shop for local crafts and Aboriginal art. At two stations along the way, you can hop off and explore (the Skyrail ticket price includes a short ranger-guided rain-forest tour at Red Peak, and there's an info center and lookout at Barron Falls). Upgrade your ticket to the glass floor Diamond View Gondola for an even better view. The cableway base station is 15 km (9 miles) north of Cairns. Many visitors take the Scenic Railway to Kuranda, the cableway on the return trip.
View Tours and Activities6 Skyrail Dr., Cairns, Queensland, 4878, Australia07-4038–5555Sight Details
Rate Includes: From A$57 -
9. The Esplanade
CBDFronting Cairns Harbour, this busy boardwalk and recreational zone is the focal point of life in Cairns. Along the walk you'll encounter shady trees and public art, picnic and barbecue facilities, a large saltwater swimming lagoon, volleyball courts, an imaginative kids' playground, a state-of-the-art skate plaza, and areas for fitness, markets, and live entertainment. A shallow, 4,800-square-meter (51,667-square-foot) filtered saltwater lagoon swimming pool with a sandy shore, decking, and shelters, patrolled by lifeguards year-round, provides free, convenient relief from the often sticky air. Along the street opposite and along the marina at the boardwalk's southern end, you'll find hotels, shops, galleries, bars, and eateries.
Between Spence and Upward Sts., Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia1300-692--247-Cairns City CouncilSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
10. The Strand
Dubbed Australia's Cleanest Beach, this palm-flanked stretch of sand—lined with jogging tracks and cycleways, picnic-friendly parklands, and hip beachfront bars—has two swimming enclosures and a long pier perfect for fishing. The beach and its permanent swimming enclosure, Strand Rock Pool, are fitted with temporary nets during box-jellyfish season, November through May. There's also a free, kid-friendly Strand Water Park. All are patrolled by lifeguards daily, with hours varying seasonally. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; toilets. Best for: swimming.
The Strand, Townsville, Queensland, 4870, Australia134--810-Townsville City Council -
11. Wildlife Habitat
This world-class wildlife sanctuary just off the Captain Cook Highway is divided into "immersion" wetland, rain forest, grassland, and savanna habitats, enabling close creature encounters with everything from koalas to cassowaries and crocs. The park shelters more than 180 species of native wildlife in its 8-acre expanse, including technicolor parrots, emus, kangaroos, echidnas, and reptiles. The breakfast with the birds, served daily 9–10:30 am, is accompanied by avian residents so tame they'll perch on your shoulders—and may steal your food if you're distracted. You can also lunch with the lorikeets from 12:30 daily, then join one of the sanctuary's free expert-guided tours, held several times daily. For something even more special book the nocturnal tour (A$43) or a two-hour animal and dining package (A$170).
Port Douglas Rd., Port Douglas, Queensland, 4877, Australia07-4099–3235Sight Details
Rate Includes: From A$38 -
12. Australian Butterfly Sanctuary
More than 1,500 tropical butterflies—including dozens of the electric-blue Ulysses species and Australia's largest butterfly, the green-and-gold Cairns birdwing—flutter within a compact rain-forest aviary, alighting on foliage, interpretative signage, and feeding stations. About 60 butterflies are released into the aviary each day, ensuring the colorful spectacle continues. Free half-hour guided tours of the aviary and caterpillar breeding area are full of fascinating tidbits.
View Tours and Activities8 Rob Veivers Dr., Kuranda, Queensland, 4881, Australia07-4093–7575Sight Details
Rate Includes: From A$20 entry and guided tour -
13. Babinda Boulders
About an hour's drive from Cairns, Babinda Boulders is a popular swimming hole, and a sacred Aboriginal site. It's 7 km (5 miles) inland on The Boulders Road from the town of Babinda, accessible via the Bruce Highway about 60 km (37 miles) south of Cairns. You can also hike to the boulders, taking the 19-km (12-mile) Goldfield Track (Wooroonooran National Park) that starts in Goldsborough Valley, southwest of Cairns, and ends in Babinda Boulders car park.
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14. Billabong Sanctuary
This eco-friendly, interactive sanctuary on 22 acres of bushland shelters koalas, wombats, dingoes, wallabies, endangered bilbies, snakes, crocodiles, lizards, and numerous birds, most featuring in daily wildlife shows, presentations, and feedings. The sanctuary has daily free-flight birds of prey shows, crocodile and cassowary feedings, venomous snake presentations, and turtle racing. Visitors can snap a selfie with a koala, or have their photo taken holding a wombat, snake, or baby croc. Thrill-seekers can book a personal croc-feeding experience, with or without souvenir photo.
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15. Black Mountain (Kalkajaka) National Park
Just south of Cooktown within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, Black Mountain (Kalkajaka) National Park protects a unique mix of gigantic granite boulders, wet-tropics species, and savanna woodland vegetation harboring abundant wildlife, including threatened species. Lucky visitors might spot the scanty frog, rainbow skink, Black Mountain gecko, Godman's rock-wallaby, or a rare ghost bat. Kalkajaka means "place of the spear"; Black Mountain was a significant meeting place for the Eastern Kuku Yalanji. The boulders are treacherous, so climbing and hiking is not allowed, but the lookout point provides a fairly close-up view.
Mulligan Hwy., Rossville, Queensland, 4895, Australia137--468 -
16. Cairns Art Gallery
CBDOccupying the impressive former Public Office Building constructed in the 1930s, Cairns Art Gallery houses a hodgepodge of local, national, international, and Indigenous artworks, including a fine collection of Australian photography, in its wood-paneled rooms. The shop stocks high-quality Australian giftware, toys, jewelry, prints, books, and cards. There are also kids' programs, classes, talks, and workshops.
Shields St. at Abbott St., Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia07-4046–4800Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
17. Cairns Marlin Marina
CBDThis floating marina's 261 berths bristle with charter fishing, diving, and private vessels, including superyachts up to 197 feet long. At the Reef Fleet Terminal off Marlin Wharf, you'll find tour offices, shops, cafés, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Big-game fishing is a big business here; fish weighing more than 1,000 pounds have been caught in the waters off the reef. Most of the dive boats and catamarans that ply the Great Barrier Reef dock here or at nearby Trinity Wharf.
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18. Castle Hill
The summit of pink-granite monolith Castle Hill, 1 km (½ mile) from the city center, provides great views of the city and Magnetic Island. While you're perched on top, think about the proud local resident who, with the aid of several scout troops, spent years in the 1970s piling rubble onto the peak to try to add the 23 feet that would make Castle Hill a mountain, officially speaking—which means a rise of at least 1,000 feet. These days, most people trek to the top along a steep walking track that doubles as one of Queensland's most scenic jogging routes.
Castle Hill Rd., Townsville, Queensland, 4810, Australia07-4721–3660-Townsville Visitor Information -
19. Conway National Park
Ten minutes' drive southeast of Airlie, Conway National Park is a 54,000-acre expanse of mangroves, woodlands, rocky cliffs, and tropical lowland rain forest that shelters the endangered Proserpine rock wallaby and other rare species, as well as sulfur-crested cockatoos, emerald doves, Australian bush-turkeys, and orange-footed scrubfowl. Most walking trails start at the park's picnic area at the end of Forestry Road, about 10 km (6 miles) from Airlie. Mount Rooper Walking Track, a 5.4-km (3-mile) circuit, meanders uphill through bushland to a lookout with breathtaking Whitsundays views. If time permits, and you're sufficiently fit, you can cycle, run, or walk the 27-km (17-mile) Conway circuit, starting at Forestry Road carpark and ending in Airlie Beach. Swamp Bay track follows the creek to a coral-strewn beach with a bush camping area.
Shute Harbour Rd., Airlie Beach, Queensland, 4802, Australia137--468Sight Details
Rate Includes: Camping permits, A$7 per person, per night, Camping permits must be prebooked -
20. Cooktown History Centre
Cooktown's historical museum, aptly housed in a former postal and telegraph office built in 1875, is staffed by affable volunteers and houses an extensive collection of photographs dating from 1873. The building also holds Cooktown's archives and is a research center for local history. It also houses semipermanent displays.
121 Charlotte St., Cooktown, Queensland, 48, Australia07-4069–6640Sight Details
Rate Includes: A$5, Closed Sun.
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