Yorkey's Knob - local transportation

We are arriving on Celebrity's Solstice on March 18/19 2017. From reading on these boards, and researching it appears we will tender to a small local yacht club versus arriving in a port with vast cab, rental car and bus services.

Does anyone have experience with this area, and advice for land transportation for getting to local sightseeing if you do not book a ship tour?

Will there be plenty of cabs and buses available?

Do you recommend any local vendors if you want to book a car transfer or reliable round trip transportation in advance of arrival? Is Uber the way to go?

Thank you for your thoughts.

1.Ship's Shuttles to / from Cairns:

These will be available for about USD 18pp return.

Although tenders may run throughout the night, I would be surprised if the shuttles did.

2. Public Bus.

There is a bus stop about 500m down the road.

Service is not that frequent (perhaps only every 60 mins or so) especially on a Sat /Sun.

The fare I think is about AUD 5 or 6.

I think Sunbus is the operator.

If Cairns is your destination and the shuttles are operating they are more convenient for not much extra cost.

3. Taxis.

I don't think there would be many taxis just waiting for casual pickups.

Most people needing one would likely phone for one just before arriving onshore.

Taxis back to Yorkeys from town shouldn't be a problem.

4. Tour operators.

Some may include Yorkeys pickup and others may say make your way to us.

That would have to be co-ordinated with each individual operator.

There will be a shuttle service from the Marina to the CBD cost is $15 which they put onto your Cruise card.

Taxis need to be rung ahead and just be aware if you're not there they won't wait.

There is nothing much at Yorkey's Knob except the Yacht club at the marina. There is a small shopping centre about 1km away.

There is one or two tour operators that pick up from Yorkey's Knob and do private tours. Most people book way ahead so don't be surprised if they are already booked out. Google private shore tours Cairns and see what comes up. Make sure you get one that will pick up from the port. A lot say yes but you have to get into the CBD and that takes time out of your day.

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

We tendered at Yorkey's Knob while on the Solstice last October. We have tender priority and so were on one of the first tenders to depart the ship. Once we reached the shore I didn't see any taxis waiting around hoping to find a customer. So take "Mum's" advice and pre-schedule one if needed.

During our port call at Yorkey's Knob the Solstice used large, air-conditioned local tenders (which even had bathrooms) versus the ship tenders. Loading those large tenders took quite a long time but the trip in was extremely fast and smooth.

The local transportation options appear to be very limited. Thanks to all for your feedback and ideas.

Sent from my iPad using Forums