FAQ

Do I need to rent a car?

Well, that depends on where you stay.  You can be 25 kilometers from the city centre and still be in Cairns and taxi fares over that distance would soon mount up .  If you are closer in, have restaurants within easy walking distance and are on a regular bus route (eg. Lilybank - 8kms from city centre) a car isn't necessary.    So ask your potential host how far they are from the city centre; what's the regularity of the bus service; what's the cab fare to the city centre; what restaurants are locally available and do tours pick up at their door, to help you decide whether to rent a car.

Can you snorkel off the city beaches to see the Barrier Reef?

No.  Cairns beaches are tropical and good to walk on or sunbake (if it's not too hot) but not suited to snorkelling and are a long way from the reef.  This is true of all North Queensland beaches until you get half way up Cape York - and that's a heck of a long way away.

The magnificent Barrier Reef must be accessed by boat - a 45 to 90 minute trip depending on the boat and the destination. From Cairns there are many tour boats going out every day and Cairns is unquestionably the premier jumping off point for reef diving and snorkelling. (As well as the many dozens of alternative tour destinations - rainforest, wildlife, outback, rafting, etc.etc.)

I've heard that you should go to Port Douglas to get a boat to the Barrier Reef.

Port Douglas is a lovely small resort town but wouldn't lay claim to being the only place to depart from when visiting the reef.  Cairns is at least as good and has more tour choices.

The Barrier Reef is over 2000 kilometers long and is composed of thousands of smaller reefs, sand cays and islands. Boats leaving for the reef from Cairns each day can choose from dozens of different reef systems off Cairns. As each boat is licensed for particular reefs (up to 10) this ensures that any of the reefs are only visited by small numbers at any one time.  Another advantage of having so many reef systems within day touring distance of Cairns, is that  boat skippers can take the prevailing weather conditions into account when deciding which reef to go to that day.

I understand the summer season is the wet season - is the diving any good at that time of the year?

Many divers and snorkellers come to Cairns in the summer season for some very good reasons.  The summer trade winds usually come from the north-east and are generally very mild breezes.  This leads to calm seas and great diving.

The summer is typically tropical - warm days and nights and high humidity with a lot of our rain falling in the evenings with days being either partly cloudy or sunny.   Sure, you can get periods where it might rain in the daytime for several days or more and this happens if the equatorial monsoonal trough decides to head south, or if there is a cyclone in the vicinity.  Our summertime is particularly favoured by folk from the northern hemisphere.  Cairns is a great place to escape to when the snow starts falling up there.

Links to other great sites

Don't forget to add Lilybank to your "Favourites Folder" before visiting these links.

You really should go to "Reef Teach" before visiting the GBR  --Click here

Heritage & Interpretive Tours - Daintree, Tablelands & Outback --Click here

Carrowong Fauna Sanctuary - nocturnal wildlife spotting --Click here

For quality and economy rent your car from Sugarland Car Rentals --Click here

Historic Queenslander B&B accommodation in Townsville -- Click here