Cairns Travel Answers

Hi You can get everything you need in Port Douglas, and no, its not necessary to pre-book online. Once you get to Port Douglas, go to the Marina, and book your ticket to the Barrier Reef. Quicksilver is good, and costs A$110 pp for a full day trip- meals and snack included. Booking online is not cheaper anyway.

PS Don't miss the very entertaining Cane Toad races at the Iron Bar in Port Douglas. See the website- its great fun. ironbarportdouglas.com.au/ca...

Kuranda and Tjapukai are the only things that are closer to Cairns and you could do those in one day from Port Douglas. Port Doulgas is a much nicer place to stay than Cairns. Be aware that January is the wet season and it will be very hot and humid and you could see lots of tropical rains. It is also stinger season so you can't swim at the beach except inside the stinger nets which is hardly worth doing. We stayed in Port Dougals in January once and spent a lot of time at Mossman Gorge which is a wonderful swimming hole outside Mossman, 20 minutes North of Port Douglas.I wouldn't prebook any activities because you will want to go to the reef on the best day weather wise so you can book it while you're there with advise from the boat company. I would hire a car and you can do all of the other trips independantly.

Although I agree in part with the other 2 posters, I'd suggest dividing your 'staying time' between both Cairns and PD - with maybe longer in PD. Cairns does have the man made lagoon for swimming (stinger danger as noted above) and I'd suggest staying at PD in an accom place with its own pool. Couple of my highlights for PD are 'The Tin Shed' and Port Douglas Yacht Club and “W.A.G.S.” - see my PD page for details. As has been said many of the activities you have planned are weather dependant, so suggest you don't pre-book tours for specific dates. It is also cyclone season so keep an eye on the weather forecasts prior to your arrival.

whether to book locally or beforehand is very dependant on the time of year you're travelling. In the busy seasons it does pay to book ahead as it can get very busy and the better tours can fill up. If you're going in the wet season it may be better to wait until you're there and plan around the weather. An important point is also that you'll probably get better advice by booking beforehand as when you get to Cairns lots of the tour desks are owned by the tour companies and won't give you impartial advice.

We were in POirt Douglas in school holidays last September and had no problems getting on to 2 different outer reef tours withing a couple of days.

At that time of year you should be fine to book a trip when you are there. Although I would suggest checking bookme.com.au if you want to save a few dollars. I am a big fan of Port Douglas, it is more relaxed than Cairns and the beaches are very nice. Being the wet season, try to take some time to visit Barron falls in Kuranda, they are stunning that time of year!