I had an amazing week in Cairns in October, staying at Trinity Links Resort with Club Wyndham. It was just before stinger season, the weather was fantastic, and the water temperatures were fabulous.
Below are my recommendations for 5 trips and 5 great places to eat, based on my experiences.
Flight to the Reef
I'd been up to North Queensland several times but I'd never done a scenic flight to the reef. Having tried something similar in the Whitsundays I thought I'd try again and was so pleased that I did. The views from the water are amazing but you simply cannot get the same views as you can from the air. The tones of blue, aqua, and turquoise water are exquisite.
If you can stretch your budget to do the flight with GSL Aviation I'd highly recommend it & you might opt to combine it with the full day tour to Green Island like we did.
Green Island Day Tour
I loved the day trip to Green Island with Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises, so much so I want to go again ASAP, and next time I'd like to stay over. Why? Because it was perfect sand, there was good snorkelling straight off the beach, and we were able to see sea turtles without even being in the water, which was more than I could have hoped for - just exceptional!
I saw one turtle whilst snorkelling and had about 5 different sightings from the pier. There were lots beautiful fish as well, including Clown Fish, Trigger Fish, and Parrot Fish.
Great Barrier Reef - Michaelmas Cay & Hastings Reef
Our day tour with Seastar Cruises was excellent. We chose them as they take a maximum of 36 people. I did 3 guided snorkelling experiences seeing lots of fish and the staff were very safety focused which was great to see. This was a wonderful way to experience the Great Barrier Reef.
Fitzroy Island
Initially I expected the Fitzroy Island day to be one of my favourites. It wasn't, due to poor visibility when snorkelling and the current stronger than I was comfortable with, but it wouldn't be like that every day, so I'd still recommend people visit if they have time. I'd also recommend packing reef shoes to enjoy the beach there.
We ended up paying for a pool pass and spending some time near the pool. It's not as nice as you'd expect for a lot of resort pools, but it was ideal to cool off on a hot day. My biggest win for the day was getting to see a sea turtle from the boat.
Daintree River Cruise
We did the drive from Cairns to the Daintree River to do the Solar Whisper Crocodile Cruise. The coastal drive on a good day is one of the best I've done in Australia to date, and I picked this cruise as an eco-friendly way to see wild crocodiles.
We saw a couple of small young crocs, and a couple of larger crocs that were submerged so we only saw parts of their heads were visible. However, we were told that the warmer summer months are the worst for viewing, as the crocs spent most of their time in the water.
A surprise highlight of the cruise was seeing two beautiful green frogs that had taken up living on the boat!
5 Great Places to Eat
Calypso Club - great for drinks and a light lunch with ocean views.
Dundee's at the Waterfront - broad mix of Australian cuisine, ideal for lunch or dinner with water views, it was good we booked as they were completely booked out the night we went.
Ollie's Italian - also on the waterfront, great service, and fantastic pizza.
Hemmingway's - massive brewery perfect for casual dining with the beer, wines and pizza all highly recommended, water views are definitely possible but they were blocked by a cruise ship on the day we visited.
Osprey's Restaurant - this was our favourite dining experience of the trip, Osprey's is about 1 hour north of Cairns and in the Thala Beach Nature Reserve, the coastal views from the restaurant were superb and the food was wonderful. We would love the opportunity to stay there on another trip.
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