Great Barrier Reef Questions

[Cruise Vanessa]

We just booked Auckland to Sydney cruise on Celebrity Millennium for 2009. We are considering extending our trip and heading to Cairns/Port Douglas area to snorkel GBR. Any thoughts on best way to do this? Any recommendations?

 

Thanks.

 

Cruise Vanessa

[vozzie]

Could I first ask you:

 

1. What time of year?
   
2. How much time do you have available?

[JEBurton]

Here's what I'm doing: fly from Sydney to Cairns (3 hour flight) on Virgin Blue's discount carrier; still very expensive. Staying 4 nights at a B&B in Cairns, not Port Douglas which is not easy to get to without a car. The B&B suggested using a particular tour operator for the GBR, but said no need to pre-book, just book it when we arrive in Cairns. There are several hundred tour companies in Cairns, so the choice is great. We're also doing 2 other day tours while in Cairns. If you want specifics let me know.

 

I suggest you go to your public library and get copies of Frommers and Foders Australia travel books. There's a wealth of info there and you'll have lots of decisions to make.

 

john

[pinksuit]

We just booked Auckland to Sydney cruise on Celebrity Millennium for 2009. We are considering extending our trip and heading to Cairns/Port Douglas area to snorkel GBR. Any thoughts on best way to do this? Any recommendations?

 

Thanks.

 

Cruise Vanessa

By all means, this is a great thing to do. We are doing this but just in the reversal. We leave the States and arrive in Sydney (via Qantas) for a day and then taking a flight to Cairns (via Virgin Blue) for a few days, then coming back to Sydney for a couple of days and then setting sail......disembarking in Auckland and driving up to the No. Islands - Bay of Islands for 5 days.

 

We are staying @ The Lakes Resort in Cairns However, we booked our side trip with Swain Tours. We are going to the Reef with Quicksilver. Have fun gathering information. We planned for one-year and now we are two weeks away from departure.

 

Pinkie

[tomtal]

If you look at Sydney Opera House on this board, you will see what we did at Cairns and the GBR. As I said, it was the best day of our whole trip which consisted of so many good days (we were away 6 weeks) that it really is saying something! We flew from Sydney to Cairns and then to Ayres Rock for a day. We chose Qantas because we were told it was a more reliable airline, and all their flights were, indeed, on time. Our only regret was not spending another day in Ayres Rock. Enjoy the trip and the planning which, after all, is an intrinsic part of the trip.

[mochuck]

Her are some tours we've been looking at for some American friends of ours.

http://www.aptouring.com.au/content.asp?Document_ID=18485&Destination_ID=18838&DestinationRegion_ID=19992&DestinationCity_ID=20107&TourDuration=2-7&TourStyle=18870&TourPriceRange=0&DurationDaysMin=2&DurationDaysMax=7&action=search&submit.x=20&submit.y=9

The other thing you need to consider is the heat. It is very hot in Cairns and Port douglas but you do have the sea breeze. January, February and March are the hottest months.

[Cruise Vanessa]

Thanks for the info. We'll be in Australia in Feb. 2009. Anybody know anything about Hamilton Island as a place to stay and snorkel the GBR?

[CruisinKiki]

I am trying to coordinate something similar for a group of five adults for Feb 09. Thanks everyone for sharing your information, and those of you who are going this year, please come back and tell us how it was and what you would recommend. It's a lot to pull together so sharing information is super helpful!

[konatyme]

My husband & I (and another couple) want to visit Cairns & Uluru after a SF to Sydney Cruise on the Dawn Princess Sept. 08 (we'll be in Australia the end of Oct., first part of Nov.). We, too, have a lot of questions about which tour operator to use for visiting the reef. We would prefer a smaller boat, rather than one with several hundred people.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (As well as suggestions for Uluru.)

[vozzie]

February is the Wet (hot & humid) season. The advantages of this time are crowds are smaller, outside school holidays, costs are lower, everything is green, waterfalls will be flowing and you'll never get cold.

 

Link to Tropical North Queensland information:

 

http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/tropical-north-queensland/

 

Link to Whitsundays (including Hamilton Island) info:

 

http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/whitsundays/

 

I would suggest that you don't discount the Virgin Blue website. If you go to the Holidays page, you can book a whole package, including Flights, Transfers, Accommodation, Tours & Hire Car.

 

QANTAS also have a similar setup on their Holidays page ... but it's limited to Flight & Accommodation packages.

[vozzie]

KONATYME,

 

September is the best time to travel to Ayres Rock (Uluru).

You will be limited to flying with QANTAS, so there won't be too many airfare specials. Did a quick check and, picking a couple of days this September, it would cost around A$600 for your Cairns/Uluru/Sydney flight.

 

Here is a link to Central Australia (including Uluru) info:

 

http://www.holidaysnt.com/default.asp

[mochuck]

Thanks for the info. We'll be in Australia in Feb. 2009. Anybody know anything about Hamilton Island as a place to stay and snorkel the GBR?

 

I've been to Hamilton Island twice for conferences. There are no cars on the island. You can hire a golf buggy to get around or you can walk (its not that big). I wouldn't recommend the Reef View Hotel - last time I was there the rooms were quite run down and shabby. They may have refurbished. Here is a link with accomodation choices and info on snorkeling and scuba diving.

http://www.h2osportz.com.au/H2Olocation.html

[konatyme]

Thank you very much, Vozzie! I appreciate the information. I'm already super excited about this trip & we still have 8 months to wait! Oh, well, lots of time to plan.:)

[Globaliser]

fly from Sydney to Cairns (3 hour flight) on Virgin Blue's discount carrier; still very expensive.

To clarify: Virgin Blue is a single airline - it doesn't have a separate "discount carrier". It was originally set up as a low-fare airline, but it has crept up the market in the last few years, and is more of a mid-market player now. Its prices are often very similar to those charged by Qantas. When flying domestically in Australia, I've seldom found a big enough price difference to make it worth my while to change to Virgin Blue from Qantas.

 

Qantas, however, does have a "discount carrier" called JetStar, whose fares are often distinctly lower than those charged by both Qantas and Virgin Blue.

 

Of course, few routes are flown by all three airlines; in particular, Qantas has a tendency to pull mainline service off routes onto which it's introduced JetStar.

[Globaliser]

Sorry, double post.

[pinksuit]

To clarify: Virgin Blue is a single airline - it doesn't have a separate "discount carrier". It was originally set up as a low-fare airline, but it has crept up the market in the last few years, and is more of a mid-market player now. Its prices are often very similar to those charged by Qantas. When flying domestically in Australia, I've seldom found a big enough price difference to make it worth my while to change to Virgin Blue from Qantas.

 

Qantas, however, does have a "discount carrier" called JetStar, whose fares are often distinctly lower than those charged by both Qantas and Virgin Blue.

 

Of course, few routes are flown by all three airlines; in particular, Qantas has a tendency to pull mainline service off routes onto which it's introduced JetStar.

 

What do you consider expensive in way of fare from Sydney to Cairns (roundtrip)? We paid $250 per person. I thought that was pretty good.

Pinkie

[mochuck]

What do you consider expensive in way of fare from Sydney to Cairns (roundtrip)? We paid $250 per person. I thought that was pretty good.

Pinkie

Thats a very good fare!

[Globaliser]

What do you consider expensive in way of fare from Sydney to Cairns (roundtrip)? We paid $250 per person. I thought that was pretty good.

Even at USD 250 per person, that's a very good fare. At the moment, Qantas' current sale fare amounts to almost USD 390 per person. Jetstar's lowest fare looks like it's somewhere around USD 271 per person, and Virgin Blue's lowest fare is somewhere in between.

[susierailroad]

Can you please help me with some car rental info for the GBR as well as other points within AZ? It appears our US insurance as well as our AmEx card won't cover anything in AZ or NZ. Can you advise if there is a thread (which I haven't been able to find) regarding this issue. We plan to rent cars in a number or locations during our month long stay, but I'm in a quandry as to whom to go to for the best rates as well as good comprehensive and liability coverage. Thanks for suggestions.

 

One more thing, we'll be in the Cairns and Port Douglas area in late March, '08. Is it better to book a snorkle excursion now or wait til we get there to check for the best weather conditions? I was thinking one night in Cairns, then drive to Port Douglas for the next two nights. Thanks,

[vozzie]

Susierailroad,

 

Just so you don't offend any of the locals, I've never seen Australia abbreviated to AZ (only Arizona). I don't think many people would know what you are talking about. Try AUS or even the Land of OZ.

 

Hire cars are plentiful and they all come with a certain level of Insurance ... enough to cover hurting someone, hurting their car or hurting yours. The basic cover comes with a hefty "excess" ... usually about A$3,000. You can reduce the excess by paying an extra premium... usually about A$10 - A$20 per hire day, depending on the type of car. You can book cars online from the usual places.

 

March isn't prime time in Cairns, so I daresay you could come up before booking a cruise.

[susierailroad]

Since we just returned from Arizona a couple of weeks ago, guess my fingers still want to type that. Sorry, OZ it is! Appreciate the input. I understand late March is still "monsoon" season in the Cairns area, and we'll risk some rainy weather. The rain forest area sounds wonderful as does the reef. Any specific suggestions for an itinerary for a full three days. At this point, we're open to arrangements, accomodations, locations. Specifics instead of my generalities would help greatlyl!

[vozzie]

March is getting towards the end of the Cyclone season, however it's a fact that a Cyclone (hurricane) has crossed the coast of Australia, somewhere, in every month of the year ... so anything can happen. It is definitely the "green" season ...read afternoon showers or storms. But that is what makes a rainforest area ... a rainforest.

 

It's been a while since I've been to Cairns, others might have more recent experiences. But here are my suggestions for a 3 day stay:

 

Day 1: Cairns Skyrail trip through the treetops to Kuranda .. for a bit of shopping.

http://www.skyrail.com.au/index.html

 

Day 2: Outer Barrier Reef Cruise, from Port Douglas

http://www.cityofcairns.com/portdouglasaccommodation/t-great-barrier-reef.html

 

Day 3: Daintree/cape Tribulation Tour. You can drive some of it yourself, but I would go on a tour that can get into out of the way places

http://www.daintreeinfo.com/tour_index.asp

[susierailroad]

Vozzie: Thanks for the help. There's so much to digest!

[vozzie]

Just to add to the confusion .....

 

This trip to Cape Tribulation got a good review in another thread: http://www.garyssafaris.com.au/site/cape-tribulation/

 

The Quicksilver Cruise to Agincourt Reef also gets good reviews on the forum:

http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com/wavepiercer.htm

[track2traveler]

We just returned from a cruise on the Sapphire Princess from Bangkok to Sydney, with several port stops in this area. Yes, we were warned in advance that this was the hot, humid, rainy, monsoon, cyclone season, and to expect the worst.

 

We anchored off Yorkey's Knob, which is somewhere between Cairns and Port Douglas, I think, and did a shore excursion including Kuranda, the railway, skyrail and Tjapukai Aboriginal Park, and we highly recommend it. Although this makes for a busy day, it is doable. The best part, however, was that we had a perfect day, weatherwise. No rain or clouds and very clear air. There was a beautiful view of the shore and surrounding countryside with our "tiny" ship anchored offshore, as we came down from the rainforest on the skyrail.

 

We went out to the GBR from Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, and that was also a perfect day with calm seas, but that's another story. We didn't even have any rain in Darwin, if you can believe that! In all three of these ports, our guides and the local people said that we were very fortunate. :)

 

Keep your fingers crossed and enjoy your trip, susierailroad.