Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Need suggestions of places to stay in the Cairns/GBR area

We'll be coming to OZ in January, and as part of our trip we'll fly to CNS and spend 3 nights in the area. Previously, I was thinking we'd head up to Port Douglas and spend the 3 nights there. We'd use that as our base to see/dive the reef, and hit some of the other attractions (Daintree, Kuranda, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, Rainforest).

Interested in hearing about some other places/cities that we should look at, as well as some specific hotels/resorts/B&B's that are recommended.

Thanks.

well I am no expert on Australia but this is one place I would like to make it to . http://www.hayman.com.au/ and I would reccomend the Sheraton Mirage also.

We'll be coming to OZ in January, and as part of our trip we'll fly to CNS and spend 3 nights in the area. Previously, I was thinking we'd head up to Port Douglas and spend the 3 nights there. We'd use that as our base to see/dive the reef, and hit some of the other attractions (Daintree, Kuranda, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, Rainforest).

Interested in hearing about some other places/cities that we should look at, as well as some specific hotels/resorts/B&B's that are recommended.

Thanks.

If travelling as a couple (sans children), you can't go past the Beach Club at Hamilton Island. Just a short CRASH-8 flight from CNS, with the reef readily accessible via boat or helicopter:

http://www.hamiltonisland.com.au/default.asp?action=category&ID=2&order=rank&sort=asc&limit=0


Port Douglas has never impressed me - a bit of a dump.

Both are great suggestions, albeit a bit pricey.

To clarify, while we're looking for a bit of relaxation (which Hamilton Island would certainly provide), we're also looking to see a few of the attractions I mentioned in the OP, which is why Port Douglas seemed like a good location. Are there any other towns in the vicinity that we should check out??

Thala Beach Lodge www.thala.com near Port Douglas

The new Shangri-La www.shangri-la.com in Cairns

Hilton Cairns www.hilton.com

Angsana Spa and Resort in Palm Cove www.angsana.com/gbr

Sea Temple Palm Cove http://palmcove.seatemple.com.au/index.cfm

Herbie

The Peninsula Hotel in Port Douglas is excellent.
http://www.peninsulahotel.com.au/

I stayed at the Sheraton Mirage last year and had a great experience. Make sure you get out to the Great Barrier Reef. Tandem skydiving (Skydive Cairns if I remember correctly) was also an awesome experience.

Thanks for all the suggestions. My wife and I are having a very difficult time deciding between staying on the Queensland "mainland" (Port Douglas, Mossman, Daintree) or out on one of the GBR islands.
With only 3 nights, I'm wondering if it makes sense to spend so much time traveling out to spend the time on the reef, but again, where else can you sleep on the GBR?!

I guess we'll wind up flipping a coin!

We stayed in Palm Cove (between Cairns an Port Douglas) in August. I think it is a quieter alternative to PD. Our hotel the Sebel Reef House was excellent but if you can't get a room there anything on Williams Esplanade ( the seafront) would be OK - The Outrigger Beach Club looks nice too. Look on www.wotif.com for late deals. The other place we stayed at in Nth Qld was Castaways on the Beach at Mission Beach from which you can do a daytrip to Dunk Island but as it is 2 - 3 hours south of Cairns it is too far away from Daintree Cape Trib etc.

The Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas is a waste of money, it really isn't kept up to resort level standards that Americans would expect for the price point. The facilities are nice, but the guest rooms are a dump.

We stayed in Palm Cove (between Cairns an Port Douglas) in August. I think it is a quieter alternative to PD. Our hotel the Sebel Reef House was excellent but if you can't get a room there anything on Williams Esplanade ( the seafront) would be OK - The Outrigger Beach Club looks nice too. Look on www.wotif.com for late deals. The other place we stayed at in Nth Qld was Castaways on the Beach at Mission Beach from which you can do a daytrip to Dunk Island but as it is 2 - 3 hours south of Cairns it is too far away from Daintree Cape Trib etc.

Palm Cove & the Reef House are excellent - great suggestion! I personally didn't like Dunk (kindof down scale) or Hamilton (too big) or Hayman (too flash, felt like in a big hotel plopped on an island exactly the same size). With only 3 nights, I'd stay on the mainland, do a GBR cruise/snorkel & go check out Daintree Lodge for a night.

Out of curiosity, how far are the beaches from the Daintree resorts (i.e. Silky Oaks Lodge)? Would one need to drive to Port Douglas, or is there a beach nearby?

Good to see you've selected the best place in QLD to visit. I work (and play) in that area but couldn't live there (too humid!)

There are many good beaches accessible from the Daintree locality (Cow Bay, Thorntons Beach, Cape Tribulation etc) but you could find yourself 2 feet shorter (literally) if you swim there due to Logs With Legs - Crocs!

If they leave you alone there are the Irukanji (spelling?) jellyfish which will finish you off quick time.

Despite the lack of beach swimming there are many great streams to wet yourself in.

Enjoy!

I stayed at the Outrigger in Cairns and it was great. Also very close to the marina. Paid around $140/night.

20 minutes north of Cairns...and you're in a sleepy little seaside town that time forgot: Trinity Beach. I'm surprised others haven't suggested it. The road from the highway into Trinity ends at the ocean. It's as quiet, serene, and beautiful as you could imagine. About 6 restaurants dot the Esplanade that parallels the beach...including one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at: L'unico. If you hire a car, you're within easy reach of all the Cairns dive/tour boats...and even the legendary Quicksilver operation will pick you up enroute to their Port Townsend departure to the reef.

I totally recommend the Coral Sands: http://www.coralsands.com.au/ for a stay at Trinity Beach.

You're much closer to Cairns, Skyrail, animal parks, and numerous dive operations. You will not be disappointed. Also suggest the Osprey dive boat. It's called the fastest boat on the reef...able to get you to 2-3 different dive sites in a day.

I have deleted this post because the original OP has questions about Cairns and accommodation in another thread.

I have deleted this post because the original OP has questions about Cairns and accommodation in another thread.
And did you share give your advice there? Maybe the rest of of us would like to see what it is you have to say. I find that different threads elicit different responses.

we just returned from a two week trip to Australia and New Zealand. What a wonderful trip.

we stayed 5 days in Trinity Beach and it is a wonderful place. Very small - not too much diversity in the restaurant choices but everything is within walking distance if you don't have a car (which we didn't).

we took the city bus into Cairns one day just to look around and the other days we were there, we did tours and the tour operators picked us up in Trinity Beach.

Two very good restaurants we ate at were Atlantis and Lunico.

We stayed at Seachange Beachfront Apartments and it was a great place to stay - fully furnished apartments all looking out to the beach and the beautiful ocean (although no swimming unless you swim within the nets.

After doing a lot of research and reading all of the great responses, here's what we (the OP) have decided to book:

Day One: Fly into CNS
- Rent a car and do Skyrail/Kuranda
- Drive down to Mission Beach and stay at Sealords

Day Two/Three: On Dunk Island
- Take boat from Mission Beach to Dunk Island

Day Four: Fly from Dunk Island to CNS, and CNS to SYD

Our ultimate thinking was that we'd be remiss if we didn't stay on the reef, and Dunk Island seems to be one of the easier islands to access.

Dunk Island isn't really on the reef. Did you consider Green Island?

Anybody have more recent experience of the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas and care to share?

We stayed at the Sofitel (the hotel associated with the casino) and it was fine. Paid $100 a night extra for a "deluxe corner" room which was way bigger than the standard rooms. Walking distance to the day boats to the reef as well as to all of the central business district (CBD).

In the CBD, we were invariably able to find someone willing to give at least 10% off on reef and other trips although not at the places right near the hotel. They all apparently get a 20% booking commission.

Anybody have more recent experience of the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas and care to share?


I was considering this property for a trip next summer and asked for feedback on this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585105

Also, if you search in the Starwood Preferred Guest forum you will find a wide range of opinions about this property.

I was considering this property for a trip next summer and asked for feedback on this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585105

Also, if you search in the Starwood Preferred Guest forum you will find a wide range of opinions about this property.
Thanks, Illini_Fan. Will think about it for us. Have you decided where you will stay? How many days are you planning to be in the Port Douglas area? What lodging alternatives in PD or the environs have you considered?

Haven't finalized anything (other than my flights) as of yet. My initial itinerary has me in the CNS area for seven nights. Four of those nights - most likely nights 2,3,4,5 - will be on a liveaboard for diving. My proposed plans are listed below -- you'll notice I'm not very specific on the housing as of yet. Somewhere along the way I heard something good about Kewarra Beach Resort, but I haven't followed-up on that yet. (www.kewarra.com)

May 31 -- Arrive CNS at 8:35am (via LAX-HKG) Full day to rest, lounge on beach
June 1 -- morning open - Liveaboard departs at 5:00pm from CNS
June 2-5 -- diving. Back in CNS around 3:30pm. Overnight in CNS
June 6 -- Tully River rafting. Overnight in CNS
June 7 - CNS to SYD then drive to Blue Mountain areas. No hotel yet there either, but some reseach via this string (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=588705)
June 8 -- stay in Blue Mountain area, try Abesailing or Canyoning
June 9 -- do either Abesailing or Canyoning and return to SYD (staying at Four Points by Sheraton in SYD using points)
June 10 -- tour SYD and stay in SYD at 4pts again
June 11 -- SYD to CHC and drive to the Nelson, NZ area. No research started on where to stay near Nelson
June 12-13-14 -- Hike the Abel Tasman trail (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=586227)
June 15 -- OPEN
June 16 -- CHC-AKL-LAX-DFW