Planning a Trip

Visitor Information

The Queensland Travel Centre is a great resource on traveling and touring the state, including the Great Barrier Reef. Visit the Destination Queensland website, at www.queenslandholidays.com.au, or call tel. 1300/872 835 in Australia. Tourism Queensland, which runs the Queensland Travel Centre and Destination Queensland, has offices in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Travel Online (tel. 07/3512 8100; fax 07/3876 4645) is a private company offering itinerary planning and booking services for a wide range of accommodations and tours throughout north Queensland.

For information on B&Bs and farmstays in Cairns, Port Douglas, Mission Beach, and Townsville, contact the Bed & Breakfast and Farmstay Association of Far North Queensland, P.O. Box 595, Ravenshoe, QLD 4888 (tel. 07/4097 7022; www.bnbnq.com.au).

The Floating P.O. -- Australia's only floating post office is on Agincourt Reef, about 72km (45 miles) off Port Douglas. The facility floats on the Quicksilver Connections pontoon, and your letter or postcard will be stamped with a postmark from the Great Barrier Reef.

When to Go

Winter (June-Aug) is high season in Queensland; the water can be chilly -- at least to Australians -- but its temperature rarely drops below 72°F (22°C). April through October is peak visibility time for divers. Summer is hot and sticky across the state. In North Queensland (Mission Beach, Cairns, and Port Douglas), the monsoonal Wet season is from November or December through March or April. It brings heavy rains, high temperatures, extreme humidity, and cyclones. It's no problem to visit then, and the Wet or "Green" season allows an unusual opportunity to explore this region during a truly balmy time of monsoonal calms.

When to Visit the Reef -- April through November is the best time to visit the Great Barrier Reef, although southeast trade winds can sometimes make it a tad choppy at sea. December through March can be uncomfortably hot and humid, particularly as far north as the Whitsundays, Cairns, and Port Douglas. In the winter months (June-Aug), the water can be a touch chilly (Aussies think so, anyway), but it rarely drops below 72°F (22°C).

Getting Around

By Car -- The Bruce Highway travels along the coast from Brisbane to Cairns. It is mostly a narrow two-lane highway, and the scenery most of the way is eucalyptus bushland, but from Mackay north, you pass through sugar cane fields, adding some variety to the trip.

Tourism Queensland publishes regional motoring guides. All you are likely to need, however, is a state map from the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ), 300 St. Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, QLD 4006 (tel. 13 19 05 in Australia or 07/3872 8429). In Brisbane, you can get maps and advice from the more centrally located RACQ office in the General Post Office (GPO) building, 261 Queen St. (tel. 07/3872 8456). For recorded road condition reports, call tel. 1300/130 595. The Department of Natural Resources (tel. 07/3896 3216) publishes Sunmaps that highlight tourist attractions, national parks, and so on, although they are of limited use as road maps. You can get them at newsdealers and gas stations throughout the state, or order them online at www.nrw.qld.gov.au.

By Train -- Queensland Rail's Traveltrain (tel. 1300/131 722 in Australia; www.traveltrain.com.au) operates two long-distance trains along the Brisbane-Cairns route, a 32-hour trip aboard the Sunlander or about 8 hours less on the high-speed Tilt Train. Traveltrain also operates trains to Outback towns.

By Plane -- This is the fastest way to see a lot in such a big state. Qantas (tel. 13 13 13 in Australia; www.qantas.com.au) and its subsidiaries QantasLink and the no-frills Jetstar (tel. 13 15 38 in Australia; www.jetstar.com.au) serve most coastal towns from Brisbane, and a few from Cairns. Virgin Blue (tel. 13 67 89 in Australia; www.virginblue.com.au) services Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Proserpine and Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays, Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, the Gold Coast, and Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast.