Great Barrier Reef

We have booked a November Celebrity Cruise out of Sydney & ending in Auckland.

We are considering doing the GBR & area for 4-5 days prior to boarding the ship in Sydney.

We are Americans in good shape, no mobility issues & seniors 65 years old.

Looking to the the reef for 1-2 days, snorkeling only.

Likely will be going to Cairns, unless otherwise suggested.

Looking for a few ideas:

Boat tours & snorkeling, small boat. Don't want to be with 80 new friends.

Places to stay, moderate $$$

Any other land excursions to do in the area ?

Good restaurants, know it's subjective.

We likely will return to Sydney 1 day early & over night prior to boarding the ship.

Appreciate your suggestions, as this is this closest we will get to the GBR, so it's on our must do list.

We have snorkeled in the Galapagos Islands for 7 days & enjoyed it very much.

Thanks your help, John

I used to live in Australia and going to the GBR was a favorite winter (July) holiday for us. I've been there 5 times and we always stayed in Port Douglas, a popular small town north of Cairns. I recommend you stay there too--it's much nicer than Cairns and has a beach, which Cairns does not.

But, even though PD has a beach, you won't be able to swim off the beach because November puts you in stinger season. Stingers are the deadly jellyfish which inhabit the waters off beaches in Far North Queensland from November - May. If you wanted to swim off the beach, you would need to wear a stinger suit AND swim within the confines of a stinger net. But, personally, I wouldn't do it.

Stingers can also be present at the Outer Reef (but are less common there), so your tour boat will provide stinger suits as a precaution. I recommend going out with Wavelength out of PD. They are a snorkel-only boat that carries a maximum of 46 passengers to 3 different locations on the Outer Reef. I have gone out with many different companies, but we always do one day per trip with Wavelength. Every one of my 5 trips with them has been excellent.

Other activities in the region include trips to Daintree National Park (World Heritage Site rainforest), Mossman Gorge, Kuranda via train and/or Skyrail and the Wildlife Habitat. I suggest you read up on these attractions on the "Things to Do" tab for Port Douglas on Trip Advisor. You can also check out accommodations on Trip Advisor. On our last two trips to PD, our family got a serviced apartment at At the Mango Tree. The location was close to both the beach and the town and we thought it was one if the more affordable choices in PD. But there are a LOT of places to stay in PD.

Port Douglas is beautiful and it should be a bit off season in November with a few good prices about. An alternative, closer to Cairns, is Palm Cove. We are off to Port Douglas in a couple of weeks so of course, would recommend it. Restaurants are expensive up there, not having all the family run ethnic restaurants that you find in Sydney and Melbourne. There are many restaurant reviews on Trip Advisor.

I also recommend Port Douglas. There are shuttle buses that run regularly from Cairns airport to Port Douglas. dropping off at all hotels.

We like to stay in an apartment and recommend the Meridian Port Douglas. http://portdouglasmeridian.com/ We've stayed there a number of times. Unit 2A is the best. These apartments are the main road, one block from the main shopping street, and equidistant from the beach on one side and the marina on the other. Easy walking all round. The beach is great for walking on - long and fairly flat. There is a good selection of restaurants although some of them are expensive.

I also concur with GradUT regarding Wavelength http://www.wavelength.com.au/ for snorkelling on the outer reef. Fantastic snorkelling.

For a trip to the Low Isles I suggest Sailaway http://sailawayportdouglas.com/

Thank all of you for the timely & valuable information. We will continue our research.

How long is the bus ride from Cairns to Port Douglas ?

Just trying to get an idea of total travel time from Sydney to Port Douglas. Also it will help in choosing the flights out of Sydney.

Much appreciation from us, John

Don't underestimate our distances here!!!!

Sydney to Cairns is 2600 kms by road or a 3 and a bit hours flight!

(airport code is CNS)

Cairns to gorgeous Port Douglas is around 60 kms.

Domestic flights here can be a bit expensive.

Check SYD-CNS-SYD flights as an add-on to your international fare. That should be way cheaper!

I suggest renting a car in CNS to get around. The drive up to Port Douglas is gorgeous! From there you must drive to the Daintree rain forest, a place called Mossman Gorge etc.

Google "things to do around Port Douglas. Queensland".

Lots of companies offer trips to the GBR.

Some go to a small island ("low isles") where you get beach time, some go to a fixed pontoon out on the ocean, and some just bob around the waters.

There are some quite big boats with several hundred passengers doing the trips (to the pontoon) and some lovely small-ish sailing catamarans. You'll find brochures galore everywhere.

Can recommend Piermonde Apartments in Cairns - beautiful spot overlooking the water across from the cruise ship terminal. Loved the Bushfire Flame Grill restaurant in Cairns. Places to see are the Kuranda rail, Cairns Harbour Cruise (involves going to a crocodile farm) and Paronella Park.

Please consider what you would like to do up here before you go and book accommodation in Port Douglas. It is 45 mins away from Cairns by road and there are not many tour companies that will pick up in Port Douglas so you have to get down to Cairns before you can go anywhere. The exception is the reef where they will depart from Port Douglas as well as Cairns. For everything else you will be paying extra to get a transfer to Cairns to do things such as the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, the Kuranda Scenic Train, Rainforestation Nature Park, etc.

There is also the beautiful Atherton Tablelands with it's waterfalls, fruit wineries, coffee plantations, dairy farms, lakes and breathtaking views. Most people don't go up there and experience all it has to offer up there. If you have time please look into spending at least a day there.

Palm Cove is a closer place to stay to Cairns if you are not wanting to stay in the CBD of Cairns. Depending on your budget you can pay anywhere from $330 per night to $100 per night. There are a lot of different types of accommodation for you to choose from. There is a public bus service that will take you into the Cairns CBD which is about 20 mins away.

You should also consider whether you want to be within walking distance to the restaurants and shops ..... any accommodation along the Esplanade in Cairns or Abbott or Lake Streets are ideal, however, the accommodation along the Esplanade has water views. Have a look at Rydges Tradewinds. Close enough to walk everywhere and far enough to not get the noise from the Bars and Restaurants. All the tour companies will pick up from the CBD and surrounding hotels for day trips if you stay here too. It is within walking distance to the marina for your reef trips.

I hope this helps you somewhat. If you have any more queries you can shoot me an email. It is in my signature below.

If you want to do the reef on a yacht with a max of 20 passengers have a look at Reef Daytripper.

http://www.reefdaytripper.com.au/

Very reasonably priced at around $139 inclusive with lunch.

Hello buchhalm

Mr&MrsCookie

Bill and Charlie's Mum ( Eileen )

Thank you for your kind responses. Feeling over-whelmed with choices & excellent ideas. Seems we need more time to explore this wonderful area. Good for me as I am not a city/urban guy & love the great outdoors.

We have much more research to do , thanks to all of you who have responded to our questions.

Best wishes to all, John

Bill Bryson's book Down Under has a really amusing and informative section on the Cairns region.

one thing to keep in mind is that there is a time difference between Sydney and Cairns half of the year. Queensland do not have daylight saving time in summer so are an hour behind. So if you get an early flight up you can arrive nice and early.

I have stayed in PD many times and have never had a problem getting a tour. There are a lot of GBR boats based in PD, so it's not a problem getting a Reef tour. Being closer to Daintree than Cairns, you will find several Daintree tour companies based in PD. And even though the train and Skyrail to Kuranda are closer to Cairns, I had no problem booking a train/Skyrail tour that began in PD.

I have a week coming up in Port Douglas. Really looking forward to it

We have booked a November Celebrity Cruise out of Sydney & ending in Auckland. We are considering doing the GBR & area for 4-5 days prior to boarding the ship in Sydney. We are Americans in good shape, no mobility issues & seniors 65 years old. Looking to the the reef for 1-2 days, snorkeling only. Looking for a few ideas:

Boat tours & snorkeling, small boat. Don't want to be with 80 new friends.

Places to stay, moderate $$$

Any other land excursions to do in the area ? John

Hi, John!! Glad to know that you are "young" in your mid 60's. Are you going to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge? I did!!

Lots of great options to consider for in and around Cairns. If you seek a more unique angle, view and Great Barrier Reed experience, below are more details as to what we did. We did have a rental car for one day doing the rainforest, seeing Port Douglas, etc. Also did the nice train adventure on another day. That worked very well, too!! Below are a few of my visuals as "photo evidence" and "proof" that we made some fun, good choices. Check out my live/blog below, including the complete index at the end. Happy to share more, answer any questions. Just post on the live/blog and I will follow-up for your needs, interests.

Lizard Island/Great Barrier Reef: For our flight/adventure to this historic island in the middle of the GBR, we used Daintree Air Services. Their e-mail contact is: info@daintreeair.com.au. Worked with chief pilot and owner Greg Letondeur. Their website is http://www.daintreeair.com.au. Seeing the Great Barrier Reef by air makes a big difference, plus it saves time. Being on this island in the middle the GBR, doing lunch on the beach, have such snorkeling fun, etc., was super awesome!! Per Insight Guides, Lizard Island is is 19 miles off of the shore and 157 miles north of Cairns. It is a dry, mountainous island with very diverse vegetation and terrain. Its gentle beaches and clear water uniquely allows direct, easy access to the reef, coral and fish life. Per Fodors, this is a 2,500 acre island with Cook’s Look at a high point of 1,180 feet where Captain Cook in August, 1770, found his way out of this challenging reef region. Its coral reefs and marine life are considered among the best in the world.

Cairns/Australia: Stayed with two other couples in a large three-bedroom, three-bath unit at Jack and Newell Apartments, 27-29 Wharf Street, Cairns. E-mail to: info@jacknewellcairns.com.au. Very helpful staff with lots of room to relax after our long flights and to have as a “base” for doing much nearby with the Daintree Rainforest, Great Barrier Reef, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 153,594 views for this posting.

For the Great Barrier Reef, we chartered a plane and flew out from Cairns to Lizard Island, one of the most isolated locations in Australia. Chief Pilot Greg has done about 2200 trips to this location and really knows it well. First is Susan looking through the plane window towards one of the small, isolated islands we passed over enroute to our snorkeling site. Second has us on the beach getting his briefing for snorkeling in these reef areas right off of this location/beach. Yes, we saw real lizards here when we walked from the landing strip to our beach location. Captain Cook named this island because when he landed, he saw so many lizards!! Had a wonderful lunch on the beach. On the way to Lizard Island, we flew our over the edge of the reef to better understand this amazing 1500-mile long natural wonder, how it works, etc.:

For our snorkeling, I got to try out my new Nikon AW110 underwater camera. Shot about 260 underwater pictures. Here is one quick sample below. More visuals and details on the full live/blog.:

The Kuranda rail trip took us back a different routing, plus lots of interesting scenery, dramatic waterfalls, major engineering work, many train tunnels, big bridges, etc. The rail line dates back to 1891. For our group of six, we did the upgrade to the "gold" rail seating with plenty of wine, nice food/snacks, etc., in a wonderful, old-style rail car with great service and attention by the staff The great company and nice sights (plus the flowing wine), made it very much fun on a day with on and off patches of rain.:

From the Daintree Rainforest and National Park near Cairns, Australia, here are two samples of our exploring there. We did a somewhat challenging 1.43 miles circular hike in the deep, deep of this dramatic rainforest. Lots of rocks, up and down paths, twists and turns, hard work, etc., as this picture illustrates. But we survived!! Even at our ages. Our group crossed the Mossman Gorge on a fairly long swinging bridge. Not Indiana Jones, but for us it was super spectacular. Here is one of my favorite pictures as it show John in our group looking at one of these huge trees in the middle of this rainforest and contemplating its majesty, size and history. And I told John, the picture shows his more photogenic side!:

Thanks again to all of you for the informative responses.

Terry:

You really know how to turn a holiday into an adventure. Thanks for the many great ideas. Really enjoy your photos. I have read many of your responses on other CC boards. You have a wealth of information & I appreciate all the time & effort it takes to share your knowledge.

Everyone has been most helpful on this post. Working on trying to fit it all in, with just 4-5 days in this area. Rental Car ? It's been a long time since I last attempted to drive on the opposite side of the road.

Best Wishes to All, John

Thanks again to all of you for the informative responses.

 

Terry:

You really know how to turn a holiday into an adventure. Thanks for the many great ideas. Really enjoy your photos. I have read many of your responses on other CC boards. You have a wealth of information & I appreciate all the time & effort it takes to share your knowledge.

 

Everyone has been most helpful on this post. Working on trying to fit it all in, with just 4-5 days in this area. Rental Car ? It's been a long time since I last attempted to drive on the opposite side of the road.

 

Best Wishes to All, John

Renting a car for a 4-5 day visit to Port Douglas is not a necessity. I've been there many times and we have sometimes rented a car for the whole time, sometimes rented a car just for the day to go to Daintree and Mossman Gorge and sometimes not rented a car at all.

If you don't want to rent a car, you can take a bus (coach) from the Cairns Airport to PD. There are several companies that offer this service and you should book in advance. Plan to stay in accommodations that are close to town and the beach--there are loads of them--so that you can just walk wherever you want to go. On the day of your snorkel tour, you could walk to the Marina or arrange a pick-up with the boat company. There are also tour companies that will get you to Daintree, Kuranda and other places.

However, taking the coach to/from Cairns and all of those tours can add up. If you want to rent a car for the entire time, be aware that the road from Cairns to PD has a bunch of traffic circles as you leave Cairns. They can throw off American drivers as they aren't common in the US. But if you have driven in Britain or Ireland, you probably know how to handle them. In case you just rent a car for a day to drive to Daintree, the road is pretty straightforward to drive--good condition and little traffic.

If seeing the GBR is a priority then consider taking a 3 day Coral Expeditions cruise. Small boat with a biologist and dive master. We combined the 3 day and 4 day for a full week. It was beyond words! When we did this in 2014 the company was Coral Princess Cruises but have since switched to Coral Expeditions.

We also booked a full day trip with Down Under Tours up the Cook Hwy to Cape Tribulation. It included Mossman Gorge, BBQ lunch in the rainforest plus a boat tour on the Daintree to see crocodiles. It was also fantastic.

We did a shorter day trip to an aborigine village and then up the skytrain and then the train back to Cairns. If you do this make sure you book the reserved car on the train, more money but worth it since we were stuck travelling backwards in the middle of a bench seat for 4. Not enjoyable at all but we did get some wonderful pictures.

We will be in Australia the first week of January. We fly into Sydney. We would like to immediately fly out to another destination, possibly Great Barrier Reef area or Brisbane or Gold Coast. Then we will fly back to Sydney and stay 3 or 4 days. From there our sons will fly home and we will continue to Melburne.

Sons are 27/29 and we are in our early 60s, fully mobile but not as energetic as people in their 20's!

I am disappointed to have read that we may be at the 'wrong time' to snorkel the Great Barrier reef because of some kind of stinger fish. If this is 'out' what is suggested as an itinerary?

We are looking at three or four days 'somewhere'... We want to do something particular to Australia. I say this because dh keeps finding 'amusement parks' to visit and I can't see the point of flying for over 20 hours to go to amusement parks!

He also is interested in a hot air balloon ride which he noted was available both in Brisbane and Gold Coast areas. I'd really like to visit a beach for at least half a day.

All information is sought and welcome! Thank you!

We will be in Australia the first week of January. We fly into Sydney. We would like to immediately fly out to another destination, possibly Great Barrier Reef area or Brisbane or Gold Coast. Then we will fly back to Sydney and stay 3 or 4 days. From there our sons will fly home and we will continue to Melburne.

 

Sons are 27/29 and we are in our early 60s, fully mobile but not as energetic as people in their 20's!

 

I am disappointed to have read that we may be at the 'wrong time' to snorkel the Great Barrier reef because of some kind of stinger fish. If this is 'out' what is suggested as an itinerary?

 

We are looking at three or four days 'somewhere'... We want to do something particular to Australia. I say this because dh keeps finding 'amusement parks' to visit and I can't see the point of flying for over 20 hours to go to amusement parks!

 

He also is interested in a hot air balloon ride which he noted was available both in Brisbane and Gold Coast areas. I'd really like to visit a beach for at least half a day.

 

All information is sought and welcome! Thank you!

I have given you some suggestions on your other post. Regarding the hot air balloons.... in Cairns there is a company called Raging Thunder that does hot air balloon rides every morning in Mareeba (20 mins from Cairns) and will pick up in the Cairns CBD.

If you want to see some aboriginal history or whatever when you are here, don't go to Tjapuki... it is really not that good.... there is a place called Rainforestation Nature Park which is much, much better and they have Army Duck rides as well which is quite fun.

I am disappointed to have read that we may be at the 'wrong time' to snorkel the Great Barrier reef because of some kind of stinger fish. If this is 'out' what is suggested as an itinerary?

There's no "wrong" time to snorkel at the GBR--you can do it any time of the year. But you can't swim off the beach between the months of November and May due to the stingers. (Stingers are not fish, but deadly jellyfish as mentioned previously.)

So, go ahead and plan a GBR trip. And for ideas of additional things to see and do, re-read my post of August 15th.

Terry: You really know how to turn a holiday into an adventure. Thanks for the many great ideas. Really enjoy your photos. I have read many of your responses on other CC boards. You have a wealth of information & I appreciate all the time & effort it takes to share your knowledge. John

Appreciate so much John's nice comments and follow-up. Lots of good and interesting info has been shared on this thread. We did visit Port Douglas during our four days in the Cairns area. PD is a nice town, but it does have more of an "up-scale tourist town" feel. That is partly good, but maybe not what everybody seeks and desires. Below are a few picture items of "proof/evidence" to verify that we liked Port Douglas.

Cairns is more of a "regular town" with a wider mix of residents, economics, options, etc. There are pro/con factors in both directions. Overall, our key take-away is that we are sure glad to have visited here and experienced ALL that we did and enjoyed in this scenic area. Keep up the great sharing!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 203,029 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

These two pictures give a little sampling for Port Douglas. Here and in many of these towns that get lots of rain, they have covered walkways in the towns to protect people from the rain and/or sun. Got to shop??!! In the second picture, this is a phrase learning experience for Australia. "Pokies" means?? It equals slots or slot machines being there and available. See you learned something here!!:

Food? Yes, we have to eat and get ready for our dining on the cruise ship. Here we had late lunch at a local place called Salsa that overlooked the waterway in Port Douglas. Here is the chef in his kitchen getting ready to prepare our dining treats. YES! They were all super good! Want proof? Here is one of my "food porn" visual examples of the Jambalaya dish I enjoyed. And to make it more with an Aussie twist, it had crocodile sausage in it. Finally, in this dining place we had a wonderful waiter who was originally from Dublin, Ireland. He pointed me over to the wall where they had had past guests sign a plate. The signature was a little harder to read, but he explained the name . . . Bill Clinton. Signed both the plate and the menu. Then, he made sure that I noticed the date of his dining experience when visiting Salsa and Port Douglas. It was Sept. 11, 2011. But being in Australia, it was much before the terror incidents actually happened in NYC and DC. Yes, Hillary was with Bill on this Port Douglas visit. On the ship, I can provide the "rest of the story" for what happened with the Clintons when the Secret Service agents got the word about what happened back in the USA. Interesting story. More later on Port Douglas, etc.: