Brisbane/Cairns Experiences

Likely to have a break in Brisbane or Cairns for a long weekend soon. Wanting to do a rail journey or two to cover some lines, my second in Oz-land. First experience was 2000 from Perth to Fremantle.

Looking for ideas from those with experience and can give me ticketing and timetable advice. Basically looking for a couple of day journeys likely to be Friday/Saturday.

When I was in Queensland, there was a great journey from Cairns to Kuranda, it is a touristy train, but the ride is quite spectacular. I think it may still run, just Google Cairns Kuranda Railway. I think it's mainly diesel, but they may have the odd steamer still too. There used to be an option to return by cable car as well as train.

Your tour operator or hotel should be able to help you.

There is also another journey to a place called Forsayth, plus a few options from Townsville and Brisbane. Again tour operator or hotel should be able to help you, or contact the tourist board.

You could also take the train from Cairns to Brisbane or vv, but it is about 24 hours I think.

Have fun.

The Kuranda Railway out of Cairns is a must, runs every day and is a great day out.

In Brisbane, I like the Citytrain rides out to Gympie (Sunshine Coast Line) and to Rosewood (Rosewood line).

Timetables: https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/timetables/train

Fares: https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares

If you intend to spend a day riding the suburban services in Brisbane, I would suggest you buy a Go Card, makes it easier and you save a lot on the fares (especially on the longer routes).

Would personally recommended staying in Port Douglas (in the town rather than hotel strip) over Cairns. Its a far nicer place imho with less drunkeness & crime. There is also a steam hauled narrow gauge train that (I think) operates on Sundays from the town port along the hotel strip along an old sugar cane line.

If you are there during the cane harvest there are loads of narrow gauge operations in the area, many which parallel the roads to photograph.

If you take your break in Brisbane I also suggest getting a GO card. This is good on trains, buses and ferries.

In Cairns, the Kuranda Tourist Train is a must. There are 2 services each way every day. The Savanahlander is a 4 day trip. Over the next few months there should be no problems in Cairns with weather. Should there be heavy rain the Kuranda train can be cancelled.

LesS said:

If you take your break in Brisbane I also suggest getting a GO card. This is good on trains, buses and ferries.

In Cairns, the Kuranda Tourist Train is a must. There are 2 services each way every day. The Savanahlander is a 4 day trip. Over the next few months there should be no problems in Cairns with weather. Should there be heavy rain the Kuranda train can be cancelled.

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Thanks for the advice from you all. - I'm planning on Cairns in June and Brisbane in July during PNG National Holidays.

If you are flying in to BNE, you can buy the Go card at the airport but it requires an initial outlay of $30 as the airport line train is overpriced - elsewhere I believe it is only $10

But you don't have to take the airport train - you can take a free bus to Skygate and then get the bus 590 to Toombul station from there

If you buy the Go card with cash you can refund it as soon as you are done (if you don't want to keep it - I spent about 6 hours taking trains in Brisbane and refunded my card straight away since I can just buy a new one next time I go)

If you buy it with card then it is not refundable for some time

At machines, it can only be topped up in increments of $5 and with notes only (unfortunately for me as I wanted to use up lots of coins)

The email customer service is useless - I asked them some questions and 3 weeks later they replied saying "I hope you managed to find the answers to your questions"

theageofthetra said:

Would personally recommended staying in Port Douglas (in the town rather than hotel strip) over Cairns. Its a far nicer place imho with less drunkeness & crime. There is also a steam hauled narrow gauge train that (I think) operates on Sundays from the town port along the hotel strip along an old sugar cane line.

If you are there during the cane harvest there are loads of narrow gauge operations in the area, many which parallel the roads to photograph.

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Took the words right out of my mouth! Port Douglas lovely little town about 1.5 hours North of Cairns by road (sadly ....).

Can anyone advise what i can do in Port Douglas just booked a Luxury stay for me and my girlfriend with a swim up bar i don't mind if it's not train related.

Head out onto the barrier reef: there are plenty of snorkelling or dive boats that head out onto the reef from Port Douglas, and despite the coral bleaching is still fantastic.

The Daintree rainforest is superb: we organised a guided tour with a local into the Mossman Gorge which was well worthwhile: tripadvisor has recommendations but I'd do it again. Mossman also has the advantage of having a rail-served sugar mill: the cane trains run down the main street in the town, and its pretty busy. There is info out on the web about where the trains go but there are shots to be had at the entrance to the mill (if narrow gauge is your thing!).

Nic

Stonesourscotty said:

Can anyone advise what i can do in Port Douglas just booked a Luxury stay for me and my girlfriend with a swim up bar i don't mind if it's not train related.

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Definitely do a couple of reef trips- one inner & one outer reef at least but choose your operator & day for weather conditions carefully. Do good research before you go don't just chance it at PD dock on the day as the good operations fill up well in advance.

Spending a bit extra on this once in a lifetime experience is really worth it.

Avoid all large vessels- you want no more than 15-20 on board & if just snorkling choose a snorkle only operator. Those that mix divers & snorklers are a waste of time as you just sit around for ages waiting for the divers to kit up.

The good operators also split ability groups- there is a big problem with Asian tourists saying they can swim when they can't & then ruining the trip for others by holding the group back.

Also get some good sea sickness medication - ideally purchased on your Asia stopover as the stuff sold in the EU is rubbish.

A great little trip is Granite Gorge rock wallaby park. Its run by a lovely but batty old hippy & is about an hour from PD & is wonderful. There is a huge colony of rock wallabies who you can feed and there is some good walking amongst the granite outcrops.

As has previously been said Daintree is well worth a visit though leave v early or go late in the day to avoid queues at the car ferry.

I personally found nothing to like about Cairns at all & other than using it as a transport hub I wouldn't waste your time.

The gorge railway is one that I chose to avoid. It is massively overpriced, too hot and packed with tour groups from the cruise ships. You can visit the area anyway in your rental car and get better views at your leisure.


Don't forget to have a ride on the sugar cane steam train which runs in PD on Sundays (though check their website if that has changed)

Definitely rent a car whilst you are there to explore though I strongly advise taking out an annual excess cover policy in the UK(£30 or so) as rental excess in Aus are v high due to the number of uninsured drivers plus roo strikes- though they are less of an issue in that area than say WA.

The best bits of advice I was given in Aus was don't drive at dusk (as the roos are most active) & if you have to, tuck yourself up behind a truck or tour bus as they will hit the roo not you!

Whatever you do don't swerve to avoid hitting one. Sadly there are many incidents where a tourist has swerved and then hit a very hard and going nowhere tree.

One QL also said you will never see a local swimming in any river or rock pool however inviting. Think you can work out why!

I went to Queensland in October/November 2015; flew into Cairns and hired a car there and stayed one night to do the Kuranda scenic railway. In retrospect I didn't think it was all that impressive and would have preferred to spend an extra day in Port Douglas relaxing on the beach or by the pool, I did the Railway both ways but you can buy a ticket to get train one way and then cable car/coach back to Cairns on the other. I booked it through Expedia as they were offering quite an impressive cashback rate that meant it better than buying it from the official website. Train was very hot as no air con in the normal "Heritage class" carriages!

I then drove up to Port Douglas on the evening after the Kuranda railway and spent three nights at Verandahs apartments on Davidson Street (booked through Hotels.com) which was absolutely fantastic and really great value; the lady on reception was brilliant and really friendly. We did a daytrip on the "Quicksilver" to the Agincourt reef which was fantastic too.

After that, I drove down to Mission Beach and spent the night there; that was a bit disappointing but speaking with others they told me that it never really recovered from Cyclone Yasi in 2011, so I'd recommend picking another beach resort, perhaps somewhere a bit more half way to stop off at.

Carried on to Airlie Beach and spent a couple of days there; that was quite nice and also did a daytrip on a boat over to a couple of the Whitsunday Islands, then it was just a short drive to Proserpine Airport where I dropped the car off and flew down to Brisbane.

I bought tickets online for the Airlink train to the city centre; if there's 2 of you it's AUD28 each for a return ticket and also other reduced fares apply to individual eTickets bought online in advance, this is cheaper than paying on the day or using the "go" card; I did however buy a "go" card once I got into Brisbane and was pleasantly surprised that you can get a full refund of the deposit and any unused credit afterwards, something I've not experienced anywhere other than London.

Enjoyed the "Streets Beach" in Brisbane as well as exploring their busway system which was quite interesting.

I have been making regular visits to the Cairns area for over 20 years.

Cairns itself is a tourist trap. In town it is impossible to avoid some of the overpricing.

There is little to do in Port Douglas except lie on the beach; so long as there are no crocodiles around. It is a fashionable place and priced to match.

The cost of day trips to the outer reef can be in excess of $200.

The cane harvest season is from the last week in June until late November. If visiting during this time, hire a car to get around the mills and cane lines. The mills are at Mossman and Gordonvale. Further afield there a 2 mills in the Innisfail area.

Cairns is the best place to use as a base. There are dozens of day trips available which can usually be booked through your hotel if it has a tour desk. Examples: Chillagoe Caves; Undarra Lava Tubes, Cape Tribulation; Atherton Tableland, Fitzroy Island. There are many others. Advance bookings before you arrive are not necessary.

In Cairns a visit to the Lagoon on the waterfront is a must. There are change rooms there but they are not well marked. It is open until late evening.The waterfront esplanade walkway is over 2kms long a worth the effort to take a walk.

I urge you to make the most of any visit to the area.

England have just announced a 4 day Ashes warm up in Townsville. An thinking of watching a day up there then travelling down to Brisbane for the first test. I get the impression that driving is not an option due to silly one way rental fees and it being a very dull drive. Would anyone suggest flying from UK then an internal flight to Townsville or is it easier to go to Cairns and drive down?

After Townsville where would you fly after that? -thinking Mackey for a few days then onto Gold Coast/ Brisbane. Any thoughts?

What are the dates of this event?

Most of the car hire companies in Cairns have distance boundaries past which you cannot take the vehicle, usually about 60 miles.

The drive between Townsville and Brisbane is a good drive provided you leave enough time. The distance is about 1200 miles. Traffic will be a problem from Rockhampton south. November and early December there will still be some cane harvesting taking place.

Mackay is good for the harvest as there are several mills.

Think about your plans carefully. Late in the year the weather will be consistently hot and humid; thus uncomfortable.

LesS said:

What are the dates of this event?

Most of the car hire companies in Cairns have distance boundaries past which you cannot take the vehicle, usually about 60 miles.

The drive between Townsville and Brisbane is a good drive provided you leave enough time. The distance is about 1200 miles. Traffic will be a problem from Rockhampton south. November and early December there will still be some cane harvesting taking place.

Mackay is good for the harvest as there are several mills.

Think about your plans carefully. Late in the year the weather will be consistently hot and humid; thus uncomfortable.

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The red ball warm up v a CA XI in Townsville is from 15-18 Nov. The first Test in Brisbane is from 23rd Nov. Are both likely to be unbearably hot and humid?

I have only visited N Queensland in early Oct when it was just perfect.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I'm only going for 3 nights out of Port Moresby and so rather restricted as to how much time I'll have to do things.
I'm travelling on the 9th June weekend, so I'll be riding the Kuranda line as recommended. Done a bit of on-line research and decided to leave early and return later. I'll post a report once I've done the journey and maybe a few photos too.

Again thanks for the advice.

Please keep in mind that Townsville is in the tropics. Mid Nov is just before the begining of the wet season (the summer monsoon). It will be consistently hot with a likelihood of a heavy storm each afternoon.

The cane harvest will be winding down. From Townsville there are a number of areas close by which can be visited provided you hire a car. With 4 days to Brisbane, for comfort I would advise flying down. Driving in these conditions needs a car with strong air-conditioning.

Don't be put off by the heat & humidity, you learn to bear with it. Take precautions against sunstroke and sunburn. When driving in the tropics I wear a loose fitting long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled down but UNBUTTONED. If out in the sun wear a broad brimmed hat and use a strong sunscreen, SPF50.

If you make the trip I am sure that you will not regret the experience. The old cliche about "Travel broadening the mind" is in fact a trueism.

FYI this post is being made from a hotel room in Manchester.

LesS said:

Please keep in mind that Townsville is in the tropics. Mid Nov is just before the begining of the wet season (the summer monsoon). It will be consistently hot with a likelihood of a heavy storm each afternoon.

The cane harvest will be winding down. From Townsville there are a number of areas close by which can be visited provided you hire a car. With 4 days to Brisbane, for comfort I would advise flying down. Driving in these conditions needs a car with strong air-conditioning.

Don't be put off by the heat & humidity, you learn to bear with it. Take precautions against sunstroke and sunburn. When driving in the tropics I wear a loose fitting long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled down but UNBUTTONED. If out in the sun wear a broad brimmed hat and use a strong sunscreen, SPF50.

If you make the trip I am sure that you will not regret the experience. The old cliche about "Travel broadening the mind" is in fact a trueism.

FYI this post is being made from a hotel room in Manchester.

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As one reading this in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, I'm used to the heat and Humidity but it is also the Southern Winter. Just about to depart for Cairns - will update my Kuranda rail trip on my return.

Hi there,

Just returned from Cairns and had a great time. It was quite cool there. I did the Kuranda line up and down and the Skyrail, a different but also interesting experience. I'm attaching some of the more interesting photos of the ride.

That's to those who recommended the experience. Good Job everyone.