sydney to GBR

We are planning for next year. Between cruises we have 5 days and would like to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Any suggestions on how we could do this from Sydney? Thanks for your help.

We are planning for next year. Between cruises we have 5 days and would like to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Any suggestions on how we could do this from Sydney? Thanks for your help.

You're looking at a pretty decent flight to get that far. It's thousands of kilometres from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef. You could hop on a flight from Sydney to Cairns and do tours from there. It's certainly not local though... :)

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The flight to Hamilton Island from Sydney is about 2 1/2 hours. We are currently planning a land tour in Australia for our 30th wedding anniversary.

Hamilton Island is probably the largest resort area in the GBR.

We are planning for next year. Between cruises we have 5 days and would like to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Any suggestions on how we could do this from Sydney? Thanks for your help.

Five days is plenty of time. You will loose a most of a day each way with the transfer and flight times but remaining the three days is OK for sightseeing and visits to the reef. Look for a flights/hotel package that includes transfers.:)

While geographically Hamilton Isl is in the GBR it isn't really the best place to see it. Cairns is the best option.

Agree. Hamilton is one of the Whitsunday Islands which are lovely (one of Australia's best kept secrets IMO) which form the southern end of the GBR. There is some great snorkelling to be found there but for the GBR "proper" you really need to head further north to Cairns. Plenty of flights from Sydney to Cairns (it's too far to drive, especially on limited time, look at a map).

Any idea of a company or website to check about possible packages. Please email me, gc.frederick@hotmail.com

thanks.

So, by going into Cairns, can we stay on the GBR? Or do you stay in Cairns and day trip?

So, by going into Cairns, can we stay on the GBR? Or do you stay in Cairns and day trip?

You'll still need to do a day trip to get to the reef.

Mission Beach is where the reef meets the Rainforest so that is an option from Cairns too.

To stay on the reef you have the island option of Heron. It's a bit fiddly.

The other option is Lizard which is not a coral cay and VERY pricey.

Lady Elliot often also comes up in conversation but it is not as commercialised so trips are not as good and the snorkelling does have some issues.

My suggestion would be with 5 days to head to Port Douglas (north of cairns) and go out snorkelling with Wavelength

If you want to dive, look at Poseidon

With 5 days, you can easily visit the GBR region and plan/book everything on your own--no need to tours, travel agents, etc.

Book a round-trip flight from Sydney to Cairns

Book your accommodations. (I'm fond of Port Douglas, but you could stay in Cairns or any of the northern suburbs of Cairns. I would read up on each of those places to decide what appeals to you.)

If you decide to stay in PD or the northern suburbs, you will need to rent a car or arrange for a coach (bus) transfer from the Cairns airport. There are several companies that offer this service--I have used Sun Palm.

I agree with Mrs. Waldo that Wavelength is the best choice for a snorkel-only tour. They do get booked out, so I would book with them in advance.

Book any rainforest tours you want to take (Tony's Tropical Tours is popular for Daintree and the Kuranda train/Skyrail is popular too). We've done a self-tour of Daintree twice and it was great each time.

Bobocasey...thanks for asking the question and thanks to all for the great info. We are planning to do the same thing and are grateful for the help.

Bobocasey...what 2 cruises are you doing??

Kathy

while Hamilton Island is beautiful, and well worth a visit, it is not at all the largest resort area of the GBR. It's not actually even on the GBR.

For a short stay including a reef visit your best options are definitely Cairns or Port Douglas. Here's a good 3 day package in Cairns that would be good for you www.visitcairns.com.au/store/Product.aspx?ProductID=0d7a3611-508e-4be6-8fad-ab86dd040768

Thank you Bobocasey for asking this question... We are cruising out of Sydney in 2016 and want to be able to see the GBR also. Thank all the rest of you for giving your opinions. All are valuable for our research.

Please share your experience on what you plan to do. We are waiting for Princess to come out with their pre-cruise shore-excursion and see if it is what we want.

Have fun planning..

Cheers,

Carol

While geographically Hamilton Isl is in the GBR it isn't really the best place to see it. Cairns is the best option.

Agreed.

A flight to Cairns (Qantas and Virgin Australia both fly this route) is about 3 hours from Sydney. Then a boat out will take about 2 or more hours, depending on where on the reef you're going. There are all sorts of boat trips available ranging form a few hours to a few days. Cairns itself isn't much to write home about, but if you want to be in the area for the few days you have, Port Douglas and Palm Cove are very pleasant.

The flight to Hamilton Island from Sydney is about 2 1/2 hours. We are currently planning a land tour in Australia for our 30th wedding anniversary.

 

Hamilton Island is probably the largest resort area in the GBR.

Not much to do there in regards to sight seeing apart from the reef. Cairns is the best option....there is lots to see and do from Cairns. Many companies that do day tours to the reef for snorkelling. There is the Daintree Rainforest and Atherton Tablelands.... magnificent part of Australia..... indeed the world!

Bobocasey....... Enjoy your trip. Flight time from Cairns to Sydney is around 3 1/2 hours. Five days is a reasonable amount of time to do the reef and surrounding areas from Cairns.

If you need any help in planning, just ask. There are some good private tour companies up there.

Agreed.

 

A flight to Cairns (Qantas and Virgin Australia both fly this route) is about 3 hours from Sydney. Then a boat out will take about 2 or more hours, depending on where on the reef you're going. There are all sorts of boat trips available ranging form a few hours to a few days. Cairns itself isn't much to write home about, but if you want to be in the area for the few days you have, Port Douglas and Palm Cove are very pleasant.

Cairns is a beautiful place. If you stay in a hotel on the Esplanade, you can walk to some wonderful restaurants and shops. Port Douglas is a long way away from the action..... not much to do there actually and the tour companies charge extra to pick up from there, some won't even venture up that way for pickups, you have to find your way to Cairns. Palm cove is just resorts..... Wherever you decide to base yourself OP there are plenty of tour companies that will take you anywhere you want. Don't limit yourself to the standard everyday touristy things..... try something different.