Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Seeing coastal region north of Australia, including Great Barrier Reef

We will be going to Australia for 2 weeks, in late June. We are staying at a time share (Mercure apartments) for 1 week in Sydney.

One option in terms of the second week is to travel to other locations in the East coast, north of Sydney - but the trip to Brisbane or onwards to Cairns (and then back to Sydney) may be too onerous by surface transportation, within the 1 week time frame. What are the major attractions to see between Sydney to Brisbane/Cairns - esp if we drive? Or should we fly?

In terms of the Great Barrier Reef, can one take a one day tour (by air) from Sydney or Brisbane or Cairns - and then land on an island near the Reef, and perhaps take a boat tour (are there glass bottom boats - I can not swim, and therefore I can not snorkel).

I'd fly. By road Sydney to Cairns is similar distance as Ottawa to Dallas (1700 miles).

When the Aussie pilots went on strike I drove from Cairns to Sydney. Three days of driving on the wrong side.

Fly.

We went up to Daintree in a lovely lodge for a few days after a week or so of scuba diving. We stayed at Silky Oaks. It was great, but that was years ago.
http://www.silkyoakslodge.com.au/

Heron Island is a coral reef island off the coast

of Queensland at Gladstone

It is the best of the reef and the P&O resort

shares the tiny island with a national parks

research station that is open to the public

You can fly to Gladstone via Brisbane or you

can fly to Rockhampton (larger airport) and

take a rental car (nice easy trip) to Gladstone

PM me if you would like more details

My wife & I have been to Gladstone & Heron

on 3 different trips as the HIGHLIGHT of our

travels to Australia (not to be missed)

Heron Island is a coral reef island off the coast

of Queensland at Gladstone

It is the best of the reef and the P&O resort

shares the tiny island with a national parks

research station that is open to the public

You can fly to Gladstone via Brisbane or you

can fly to Rockhampton (larger airport) and

take a rental car (nice easy trip) to Gladstone

PM me if you would like more details

My wife & I have been to Gladstone & Heron

on 3 different trips as the HIGHLIGHT of our

travels to Australia (not to be missed)


I just looked at the expertflyer.com travel tool. AC and QF have combined fares (marginally more than AC fare from Canada via YVR to SYD) which allow stopovers or final destination in Cairns and/or Brisbane. If I wanted to fly to Cairns, what is the best way to see the Great Barrier Reef (perhaps on a day trip) - of note, my wife and 13 daughter can swim/snorkel - I can not swim at all.

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If I wanted to fly to Cairns, what is the best way to see the Great Barrier Reef (perhaps on a day trip) - of note, my wife and 13 daughter can swim/snorkel - I can not swim at all. Have a look at this:

www.sunlover.com.au

Good daytrip, fun even if you don't opt for the snorkeling / diving bit. They also do two-day trips for a bit more.

At this stage I would reccomend flying into Cairns.Right now a category 5 cyclone is over the whitsunday islands-probably will be a few damaged resorts.It is projected to pass just east of Heron Island so I would not be making a decision to stay there until the end of this week.