Information Hostel Accommodation Cairns

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| Cairns |  Cairns Beaches |  Palm Cove |  Port Douglas |  Daintree River |  Cape Tribulation |  Hostels | 

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Tropical North Queensland is like another world. It's one of those must-do holidays and if you've never seen it, then you're in for a pleasant surprise. It's home to the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics Rainforests and the magnificent Great Barrier Reef. Cairns city is a laid-back, yet cosmopolitan-style escape, offering access to exotic tropical cuisine, shopping, a taste of Aboriginal culture, and a range of adventure touring options for backpackers. With hundreds of day tours operating out of Cairns each day, you will never be short of something to do. You can learn to snorkel or dive, go white water rafting, reef fishing, or take the bungee jump plunge. Or you can indulge in more laid-back pleasures like floating over the lush rainforest of the Atherton Tablelands in a hot air balloon or teeing off amid swaying palm trees overlooking the Coral Sea.

The palm tree-studded Esplanade overlooking Trinity Harbour simply buzzes. The choice and quality of restaurants and cafés is amazing. You will find everything from coffee shops and ice creameries to bistros, wine bars, seafood restaurants and colourful night markets.

Backpackers with a shopShoppers should head for the new Cairns Central complex and the Pier Marketplace - a shopper's heaven providing a range of international and local wares.

Rusty's Market on Grafton Street  is a blaze of colour and activity. You'll find tropical fruits like mangoes, jack fruit, black sapotes, rambutans and avocados as well as locally grown tea, coffee, and fresh herbs.

Top of the list for culture vultures should be Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and Cairns Regional Art Gallery, arguably the country's finest regional gallery. There's always an exhibition of fine local art and often a major travelling exhibition on show.

Tjapukai is amazing, combining culture, entertainment and education. Visitors are treated to authentic dancing, demonstrations of traditional foods and medicines, and can even learn how to throw a boomerang so that it comes back! Alongside Tjapukai is the environmentally stunning Skyrail, which glides silently just metres above dense rainforest to the quaint mountain village of Kuranda. From here you can board the famous Kuranda Rail for the trip back to Cairns over the spectacular Barron Gorge.

Accommodation in Cairns is plentiful, with everything from quality backpacker lodges and self-contained apartments to beachfront B&Bs and world class resorts on offer.

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Cairns Northern Beaches

The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas affords some of the best coastal scenery in Australia. En route you will discover Cairns' idyllic northern beaches. Drop into Yorkey's Knob, Machans, Trinity, Holloways and Ellis Beaches, or the stylish village of Palm Cove for a paddle, a cold ale and freshly cooked fish and chips overlooking the water. If you feel like a few quiet days of relaxation on the beach, accommodation ranges from well-appointed, self-contained beach front or beachside units and apartments, to comfy cabins and caravans with uninterrupted water views.

Palm Cove - a cove of your own

At just over 20 minutes drive north of Cairns, Palm Cove is the perfect low key getaway. It's the kind of place where the locals rub shoulders with the rich and famous without any fuss. Hugging the coast and lapped by the Coral Sea, the village captures apartment and resort-style accommodation, relaxed beachfront dining, art galleries, and the Novotel Palm Cove Resort championship golf course. It also offers easy access to the Great Barrier Reef and nearby rainforests.

Accommodation is plentiful. You'll find everything from luxury resorts to family resorts and self-contained units. Rest assured wherever you stay, you are no more than a minute's walk to the water.

If you're a foodie, Palm Cove won't let you down, with more than a dozen restaurants and cafes, many specialising in local seafood and tropical produce.

Three Great Barrier Reef trips leave Palm Cove Jetty daily providing a range of options from half-a-day exploring Green island, to a day snorkelling, diving and glass-bottom boat coral viewing at the outer Barrier Reef. When the time comes, you'll leave Palm Cove energised and refreshed, albeit reluctantly.

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Port Douglas

Over the last 30 years, Port Douglas has grown from a seaside village to an international standard resort town. There are more than 50 restaurants and more than 150 tours on offer, many to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree, Mossman and Cape Tribulation rainforests. Much is to be said for unwinding on Port Douglas's own Four Mile Beach. It is a gorgeous stretch of golden sand studded with shady palm trees just perfect for lazing under.

An experience not to be missed is breakfast with the birds at the Rainforest Habitat, an amazing park showcasing the natural inhabitants (both animals and plants) of the Tropical North.

Sunday is the day for visiting Port Douglas's local markets by the sea. You'll find everything from handwoven hammocks and fresh coconut milk straight from the nut, to exotic herbs and tropical fruits grown on the Atherton Tableland.

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Daintree River & Rainforest

Hop aboard a cruise down the Daintree River, which snakes its way through the ancient and spectacular World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest. Croc spotting, barramundi fishing and bird watching are the most popular pursuits on the river. Join local Aboriginal Hazel Douglas on a Native Guide Safari Tour of the rainforest here or in nearby Mossman Gorge. You'll see bush turkeys, timid jungle perch suspended in crystal clear pools, and water rushing over mossy rocks in this pristine wilderness. In the Daintree and Mossman, you can stay in a range of lodges and resorts from stylish treehouses perched in the forest canopy to comfortable cabins among the trees.

Cape Tribulation

Visit Cape Tribulation where two World Heritage areas merge in a mix of white sandy beaches, rocky headlands, blue sea, coral gardens and jungle clad mountains. Experience the rainforest on a self-guided walk, join a guided 4WD tour or learn about ancient bush food and medicine from an Aboriginal guide.

For more information:
Tourism Tropical North Queensland
Tel +61 7 4031 7676

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By Jane Hodges 2004
Palm Cove Qld ©2001 Photo:S.Deutscher
Photography by Tourism Queensland

Hostels

Hostels

Cairns Beach House 239 Sheridan St, Cairns, Australia

Calypso Backpackers Resort 5 Digger Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone 1800 815628

Cairns Girls Hostel 147 Lake Street, Cairns, Australia

Asylum Cairns 149 Grafton Street, Cairns, Australia

Asylum Cairns Two 155 Grafton Street, Cairns, Australia

Caravella Backpackers 149 The Esplanade Cairns, Australia

Bohemia Resort 231 McLeod Street, Cairns, Australia

c77 77 The Esplanade, Cairns, Australia

Captain Cook Backpackers Resort 204 Sheridan Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40516811

Castaway's Backpackers Cairns 207 Sheridan Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40511238

Corona Backpackers 72 Grafton St, Cairns, Australia

Gilligan's Backpacker Hotel & Resort 57 - 89 Grafton Street, Cairns, Australia

Inn the Tropics 141 Sheridan St, Cairns, Australia

JJ's Backpackers 11-13 Charles Street, Cairns, Australia

Leo's Budget Accommodation 100 Sheridan St, Cairns, Australia

Serpent Hostel & Bar 341 Lake St, Cairns, Australia

Tracks Hostel 149 Grafton Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone: (07) 40311474

Parkview Hostel 174 Grafton Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone: (07) 40513700

Jimmy's on the Esplanade 83 The Esplanade Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40316884

Bellview The Esplanade Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40314377

Billabong Backpackers 69 Spence Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40516946

Travellers Castle 209 Lake Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40312229

Hostel 89 89 The Esplanade Cairns QLD 4870 Phone 1800 061712

YHA on the Esplanade 93 The Esplanade Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40311919

Caravella's 149 149 The Esplanade Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40315680

Bel-Air by the Sea 155-157 Esplanade Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40314790

Up-Top Down Under 164-170 Spence Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40513636

Cairns Central YHA 20-24 McLeod Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40510772

Sunny Grove 42 Grove Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40514513

Tropic Days 26-28 Bunting Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40411521

Hollys Hostel 72 Abbott Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40311788

Dreamtime 4 Terminus Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone (07) 40316753

Travellers Oasis 8 Scott Street Cairns QLD 4870 Phone 1800 621353

The McLeod Street YHA 20-24 McLeod Street Cairns QLD 4780 Phone (07) 4051 0772

Cape Tribulation

Heritage Lodge Rainforest Resort P.M.B. 14 Mossman Cape Tribulation
Daintree Cape Tribulation Heritage Lodge is an Australian rainforest spa resort offering luxury boutique cabins for that perfect getaway or retreat.

Cape Trib Beach House MS 2041, Cape Tribulation, Australia
The Cape Trib Beach House puts you right in the middle of some of the oldest rainforest alive today while still being right on the edge of the coral sea.

PK's Jungle Village Cape Tribulation, Australia
Enjoy amazing surrounds, friendly atmosphere and comfort . We offer all different type of rooms including Cabin style rooms for up to 4 people per room per person / night .

Queensland

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