Travel Answers

Can anyone recommend a tour operator for a half day tour of the reef out of Pt. Douglas? We want a glass bottom boat experience and don't want to snorkel. We are aged over 50.

Please can anyone advise us where to stay in Port Douglas, we are from UK visiting family in Brisbane in late Sept & would like to go to the Barrier Reef in middle of Oct. It seems flying is the easiest way to get there & we can see you fly into Cairns but we have been told that Port Douglas is a quieter & possibly nicer place to stay???. My wife will just have had her 60th Birthday & I am 65, we have only been to Australia once before & then we stayed all the time with family but this time we thought it nice to venture off for a week or so on own own, HELP... I would really appreciate any recommendation on reasonably priced B&B's or Hotels etc & any info on where would be the best area to stay. Also any general info on trips etc to Rainforest & Reefs, any tips on saving money would be really valuable ( it seems alot more expensive since we came there 5 yrs ago). Thanks very much any suggestions would be most welcome.

I'd like your opinion on whether March 12 next year would be a reasonable day to book Tony's Tropical tour out of Port Douglas. Our cruise ship is in port that day and I'm tossing up whether to book with Tony or do the train to Kuranda + skyrail. Port time is about 8-9 hours, but it's the weather that could put a damper on tour plans. I note that most people do the Tony tour in the dry season. The only way to avoid bad weather is to wait until the day and book something at the tender wharf in Port Douglas. Your thoughts?

I come to PD in October 2012. I will be there only 4 days. Thinking to rent a sleeping van to cut back our expenses. Is it a good idea? Where else in PD we can stay on a budget? I would be pleased to cook by myself also.

I am going to be in Port Douglas in July on the Dawn Princess. The GBR is on my bucket list, and this looks like the best chance I will have to see it. Technically I have a PADI OW certificate, but my granddaughter does not dive, and I've had pneumonia so I have lung problems now which I think would preclude my diving. I have been swimming/snorkeling recently I first booked a snorkeling excursion to the GBR with the ship, but they say that the age limit is 12 to 70 years and while my granddaughter is 12, almost 13, I am 74 and so too 'old' for this excursion. (I don't know what happens to you at 70). So I booked an excursion with Quicksilver for the two of us with an advanced snorkeling tour. They have no age restrictions. They say that their dock is about 80 meters from the tender dock of Princess and I should be able to walk that far (I will use a scooter on the ship). Then I thought - how about a helicopter ride one way. I did a helicopter ride with my grandson over the Hawaii volcano and it was terrific. But to do that I'd have to rebook. It is expensive (double the other tour). Is it worth it? Is the snorkeling about the same? Would we come back on the Quicksilver boat?

Hi, I have 2 days in Port Douglas. please share with me the different between 'Quicksilver tour' & 'Calypso Reef Cruises'? any others recommendation? I love diving & snorkling. Appreciate.

Will be in Port Douglas this July. Several questions: Is 4 days enough time in Port Douglas. In 1990 we had 2 weeks in Cairns and visited Daintree & Port Douglas, and outer reef. COOKTOWN Have not visited previously. Thought we could drive there in hire car, should it be a day trip or overnight stay. I presume road is sealed the whole way. PALM COVE Is there much on offer here other than resort accommodation. We are active oldies and like to do things during the day and sit by the pool around 5pm. Thought we might split our time 3 nights Port Douglas, 3 nights Palm Cove and 1 night Cooktown. Also want a half day fishing excursion on charter boat, any suggestions? Mike

we plan on driving from cairnes to port douglas. How long do you think it will take? Is there anything special we should do in port douglas? any great restraunts we should not miss? Should we take a boat excursion out of port douglas, or just wait until we are in Hamilton island? Thanks for your help.

HI everybody, My husband and i are planning a week away with our 3 year old daughter at christmas time. We really want to come up to Port Douglas but I am so hesitant as i have read that it is cyclone season.. What was the last week of December like this year?? Have you had rainy days, or has the sky held up some beautiful blue skies?? Nothing worse than spending a whole lot of money and not be able to enjoy the summer days.. Thanks guys, Eleni

Hello all! I will be in Palm Cove this time next week and I am looking to hire an underwater camera for our day-trip to the Great Barrier reef. We are lodging in Palm Cove so a location there would be preferable. Our tour will be leaving from Port Douglas so I suppose that that would be the alternative location to pick up a camera. Please and thank you in advance.

Hello everyone!! My future husband and I will be spending our honeymoon in Australia and the first 4 nights we´ll be in Port Douglas. We want to do some diving, shopping, dining, sightseeing... and we´ve been told Port Douglas is one of the best towns in Australia. We would like some help/advises regarding accomodation. We would like something nice and well located. We don´t really care about luxury but it´s our honeymoon so we would love something special. Any ideas anyone? we are looking for hotels, not apartments. thank you alL!

Hello All, Does anyone kno the BEST time of year to visit Port Douglas in terms of the weather? Any help would be appreciated ;) Thanks

Hi all, We are coming to Port Douglas in January and are trying to decide on apartments to stay in. I have done a preliminary search and found three possibilities - Reflections, Verandahs & Coral Sea Villas. Any information on positives or negatives or which you think is better would be very greatly appreciated. Regards!

Hello,My fiance and I are thinking of having our honeymoon in Port Douglas/Cairns/Palm Cove area in late march early april 2010.I have heard about the jellyfish and the wet season.Is this a bad time to visit these places?If it is i will have to look elsewhere as i cant change my wedding date! Thanks for any help!

I am coming to Port Douglas in may,will be travelling alone,Looking for a very cheap apartment.I have found The mango tree,& archpelago.wonder if anyone has sayed there recently & what they thought of them.Im looking for something self contained,where I can cook for myself.I shall be there for about 7 days maybe a little more.I am awaiting the birth of my little grandaughter,after which my daughter needs me to go & help,so I am on standby from the end of May! This is a chance for me to see a part of Australia that I have wantedto see[I live in UK] Also what is the weather like at this time of year? sorry for the long message,grateful for any help. Nana in transit

I´m turning 30 in November and want to go somewhere really nice. How´s the weather there then and is it a ghost town at that time? Anni

Hi All, my parents are vsiting me in Australia for the 1st time next January. Alot of people have recommended Port Douglas to me as a must see. However they are travelling from Ireland and are not used to tropical conditions (extreme heat, humidity etc). Could someone advise whether the weather in January will significantly impact their holiday, as while they're keen to see the reef etc, they fairly senior and wouldn't handle poor conditions very well. kind regards Michael

Has anyone done any bushwalking south of Port Douglas. I'm going to have a few days spare in a few weeks and have been thinking about places like Black Mountain in the Mowbray State Forest see maps.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=32.... At about 1000m above sea level and so close to the coast the views should be spectacular. Any ideas on whether there is track to the summit?

Hello, We are planning to spend the last 10 days on our honeymon in Port Douglas(september). We are not sure wether to book accomodation for 10 nights or to travel around. Can Somebody please advice? Thanks Doug

I am looking for a day tour to the Daintree, Cape Tribulation, and Mossman Gorge area. We will have a rental car and understand we drive the area on our own, but I am thinking we might learn more in a tour. So I am thinking we will drive ourselves to Port Douglas, but I am overwhelmed with which tour to take. Here is a listing of tour companies that I've discovered, and I am sure there may be many others. Tony's Tropical tours BTS Tours Down Under Tours Heritage and Interpretive Tours Treck North Safaris & Day Tours To add to the confusion some of these tours offer either a Cape Tribulation, or Daintree tour. What I am looking for is a tour that shows me everything, Daintree, Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge, and anything else I should see. Yes, I know, it's too bad I don't have more than a day, but a day is all I have, and I need help with finding a tour where I can see and learn the most. Or, would it be best to just drive around on our own? Or, what criteria should I look for in a tour? Any information and advice is greatly appreciated, thanks.

I might be reading too many reviews about the hotels and resorts in Port Douglas but I can't seem to find a really wonderful one. Can anyone highly, without any hesitations recommend the best hotel there! thanks

I shall be spending five nights in Port Douglas in a few months. Shall be there in my own car, which is not a 4wd. Wondered how far north it is possible to drive in a normal 2wd car? How far north does the made road go, before it turns to dirt/gravel 4wd-only territory. The Daintree, Cape tribulation, Cooktown?

Hi, Can anyone recommend this resort, or is Oaks Loaggoon better? Thanks!

Hi, My husband and I are going to PD for a long weekend. Since we won't be there for long, I was hoping to get some advice to make the mot of our time in PD. What would be the better option? A drive to Cape Tribulation/Daintree, the skyrail/scenic train trip or a day trip to Low Isles? We are planning to do a dive on the reef and would like a smaller group that does three dives at three different locations. Who would you recommend? Also, (sorry!) has anyone done the Flames of the Forest? Is it worth the200 price? Thanks so much for all your advice, I really appreciate it. Zoe

Hi, We are considering booking our honeymoon in Port Douglas and would be there for the first week of January. I understand that this is the wet season, any advice on whether it will rain everyday and not be the right location for lazing by the beach/pool etc???

We are travelling to Port Douglas the first week of September for one week, we would like to go on a Great Barrier Reef Cruise but would prefer to stay away from Quicksilver cruises, who, I believe are fab, but are usually overloaded with tourists and can be expensive. Can anyone recommend another cruise (with snorkelling)with a good crew who can teach us about the Reef? Thanks a lot Kaz (Manchester, UK)

greetings! any recommendations for a hotel that is close to everything (marina, beach, shops), that does not have golf or cater to families (we're a young couple) AND will enable us to give our brains a complete rest (i.e. they have high-end service oriented, will arrange our dive trips for us, clean our clothes and has good food on site. we don't care about TV and such). We're arriving in a week!

I will be flying into Cairns aiport. I am staying in Port Douglas. What dose the shuttle cost from Cairns to Port Douglas?

Hi everyone, Our travel agent has moved us to the Portsea ,due to her recieving complaints from other memebers of our travel club about Le Cher Du Monde.We had booked a hire car for only 3 days of our 10 day/9 night stay as we were going to be in the centre of town, do we need to extend this due to being out of town? Also does anyone know what the Port sea day spa is like re prices etc. Thanks in advance Merry xmas Flossyflo

Hi has anyone stayed at the Le Cher Du Monde, if so what is it like , we are coming to Port Douglas the last week of December and staying 10 days. Also what are the best drives around. Thanks heaps Flossyflo