Brisbane Travel Forum

Hi all,

This is our first post.

We're thinking of travelling from Brisbane to Cairns. We were going to travel by car but have had mixed reviews. We understand it's about 1700km so were going to spend a few days doing it but are limited as we want to see other parts of OZ.

Has anyone done this or know if it's a good idea? Should we fly instead? We've heard that the Whitsunday islands are unmissable so we would love to see them....we also want to see the Great Barrier Reef but the get the feeling that we don't have to travel all the way to Cairns to do this.

Thanks in advance

Hey how's it going.
Big coincidence - my partner and I are currently doing exactly that. We left Brisbane 6am yesterday, got into Rockhampton around 1, got into Mackay around 5 or so where we stayed last night with a friend. Today we are hanging around Mackay, then at around 3pm we're driving to Townsville which should take roughly 3 hours. When we get there, we're ferrying it over to Magnetic Island where we're staying til Sunday night/Monday morning doing a Scuba Diving course - REALLY cheap.
Then beyond that.. We'll probably drive past Cairns to Port Douglas and stay there for the cheaper accommodation, and drive to the Daintree for 2 day trips. Then we'll leave probably early Wednesday next week and head for Airlie Beach, where we are hopefully doing a 3D/2N sailing trip, also quite cheap. Then doing the loooong drive back to Brisbane at the end of that.
So that's our itinerary so you have a rough guide of times. The drive from Brisbane to Mackay (which is roughly 1000km) really wasn't that bad. We just got a WHOLE lot of music together for the trip, and it was all fine. Bring pillows for the car seats though!

So in response to your questions.. We chose to drive rather than fly due to driving being much cheaper if you want to see a lot of places. Also it gives you a lot of flexibility. After already doing the biggest part of the drive, I'm quite confident the rest will be a breeze (one 3hr drive to Townsville, then another 3hr drive to Cairns). You definately don't have to go all the way up to Cairns to see the great barrier reef, in fact I'd probably think the best of it would be around Airlie.
But Cairns does have the Daintree nearby, which was the thing that got me.

Best of luck with it, I'm sure you'll have a blast. I'll post back during and at the end of the trip and let you know how it all went.

If you are pressed for time you can see the most southern point of the reef near Bundaberg which is only 380kms N of Brisbane.

You can take a tour out to Lady Musgrave Island, which I have done and can recommend.

I recommend you drive up and take the plane from Cairns to wherever you want to go next. The Drive up north is great and I would take at least a week to do it. Firstly, you should go to the Sunshine Coast (Noosa / Mooloolaba) which is just over 100klm from Brisbane. Its worth a day there if not more. Then to Hervey Bay (perhaps over to Fraser Island) onwards via Bundaberg to Rockhampton (perhaps stay in Yeppoon), Mackay and on to Airlie Beach (Whitsunday Islands). Stay here for a couple of days - Airlie is good for backpackers and the Islands have more exclusive accommodation. From there via Bowen to Townsville. Go to Magnetic Island from there for some nice beaches and rainforest. Then via the coast to Mission Beach. from there turn inland and drive towards Atherton, not to miss the Millaa Millaa Falls, and on to Cairns. Don't just stop there, the Beach towns north of Cairns are too good to miss, go to Trinity Beach, Palm Cove and finally Port Douglas. Oh, while there you should not miss a drive vis Mossman to the Daintree NP - the list just goes on! Try the following site for more info: www.queenslandholidays.com.au/
or Google the individual towns/ area. By the way, to get to see the reef you need to go to one of the Islands or take a boat trip out to the reef. Have a great time.

I have done it many times. make sure you dont speed, local police love to ticket. also when going from Rockhampton to mackay make sure you fill up as there is nothing between, no matter how much fuel you have. Definately stop at whitsundays and go to the islands. Also Mackay has a great rainforest and rockpools called Eungella and finch hatton gorge.

We've done Sydney to Cairns many times, because we enjoy road trips and stopping where we want to over a few days and seeing the sights. There are many intereesting places along the way, as the others have pointed out. It's a long way and there are some very boring stretches the further north you get. The biggest killer on our country roads is driver fatigue, so don't drive more than a couple of hours before you stop for a break. Fuel stations can be hundreds of kilometres apart so don't run low.
You can fly of course, but you'll miss all the interesting places along the way and the experience of the road trip.

Hi Catch a cheap domestic flight, look up Jetstar, Qantas, Virginblue on the internet, there are cheap flights sale on now. virginblue.com.au You could also check out cheapflights.com.au

Good Luck,
Mike

I would drive. It's not a hard drive and there is some great scenery.
I wouldn't miss Fraser Island.

No you don't have to come to Cairns for the reef. To see the best of the rainforest you travel past Cairns up to Port Douglas area. Mossman Gorge/ Daintree/Cape Tribulation. This is a good days outing from Cairns.
Roads are all sealed and in good condition.

Again as someone else said, fly from Cairns to your next part of Aus.

I actually found I liked the reef in the Whitsundays better than the outer reef - so if you don't want to go that far up, there is always the option to just snorkel and dive in the Whitsundays. It's definitely different though, and I'd say a trip to the outer reef is worth it if you have time to do both.

I would also ask when you are going - Northern Queensland might not be the greatest to head to in the summer where it is the wet, rainy and humid season. Port Douglas and some of the beach towns north of Cairns are amazing in the winter (dry season), but in the summer they are unbearably humid and it is stinger season. Best time of year is from May to Sept to head up there (and if you will be there around that time then I would definitely recommend going up there!)

Most people I know either did a bus tour, greyhound pass or rented/bought a car. It's easy enough to fly between Brisbane and Cairns...but it's hard to fly around between there if you want to be able to see everything (Fraser Island and Whitsundays are well worth it!)

I would go by car to Cairns and as Colin said...take your time and visit loads of places along the way. Then I fly back to Brissy via Jetstar. I did a random search on www.flightcentre.com and the cheapest in June was $99.
What time of year are you planning on doing your trip?
Cheers, Ann :o)

Hi All,
I'm still doing research about good places to stopover. My start point will be at brisbane. I did research brisbane to Cairns but when I did more research i'm interested to explore brisbane to melbourne. Now, i'm getting confuse which place is the best to explore. I already booked ticket for 10 days. Any ideas?

Hi
This is for inakimi.
Your trip will depend on when you arrive in Australia. If its, say, now till October/November then I would go north to Cairns. If its November till April then I would head down towards Melbourne, following the coast highway 1.

It also depends on what you want to see. Heading north will give you a tropical experience while the south has a more temperate climate.

Let us know when you are coming and we can advise.
John

Good answer John. Since the starting point is from Brisbane, I would tend to go south....but as John said, it all depends on the time of year you will be here. When choosing driving in Australia, I always encourage the Brisbane to Sydney bit because I think that has the nicest variety to see along the way. Brisbane to Cairns tends to be a bit on the boring side. Anyway, keep asking questions as we enjoy helping out. Cheers, Ann :o)

Hi, We have driven Brisbane to Sydney twice in the last 5 years, just fantastic. Then continue to Melbourne down the New South Wales South Coast over the border into Victoria and along to the Lakes District and up to Melbourne. You will find Melbourne to be a very nice city to visit, plenty to do.

Good Luck,
Mike

Thanks to winterson, aussirose & Mikebb. Your explaination made me more excited :D Actually, I've bought ticket for nxt year April. haihh, still have 10 months to go :( Here we have super saver ticket but need to buy the ticket early. It saved me about aud500 return flight.

Oh ya, I looked wickedcampers's web. its cool! anybody knows whether can park anywhere? or it has special car park for it?

I would join the Big4 club - www.big4.com.au - and stay at any number of Big4 caravan parks. They have powered & unpowered sites and you'll be able to use all the amenities.