# Brisbane to Cairns



## Jescam

Hi,

I have booked flights to Brisbane for April, cannot wait! I will be travelling up to Cairns along the beautiful East Coast. To begin with I looked at busses and trains, but decided for the full flexibility I would drive. I want to stay a few nights on the way up and take at least a week getting to Cairns. Is a car really the best option?

I would love any advice on where to stay on the way up, Is Rainbow Beach a good choice, Whitsunday or Rockhampton? Any suggestions welcomed.

Also as I will be hiring a car around the 11th April from Brisbane, is anyone else hoping to travel this journey, or part?

Thanks, Jessie


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## Wanderer

Not wanting to dampen your enthusiasm but in early April you'll most likely find it a bit damp as you get further north, there having been record rainfalls in Queensland this summer and they have just copped another bucketing this week and it may not yet be over for them as wet seasons as summer in the far north is referred to can extend right through into April and even significant rain in May with even the possibility of another cyclone for March/April and localised flooding that can cut the main north south highway as has happened this week again.

You could get lucky and we could be having a few weeks of good sunshine before and about by then to help dry the state out a bit but still expect it to be very humid and mossies extra prevalent so have long sleeves and plenty of repellant for evenings and even buy yourself some mosquito coils, $2/box of then and they smoulder for a few hours.

That beautiful coast you rarely see from the road without a few excursions and certainly not from the bus or train either, so yes it is best to allow a good week and duck into the coast here and there to stop off.
You've got regional cities all along the route, it being about 1700 km. plus the excursions so say allow another 500 km. and many snaller towns and features like Fraser Island you could do a day trip to for about $150.
It is best to be experienced with a longer visit but if you have limited time, you can still get a good look in a day and seeing as there could have been some reef churn up with the cyclone right up Cairns way, you could also have a look at the reef further south which you can do from either Bundaberg, Agnes Water or Gladstone to either Lady Musgrave Island or Heron Island.
I'd suggest you make for Noosa for night one and on the way, take a detour up to Maleny and drive to Montville, stopping off at some roadside scenic lookouts for some of the best distant coastal views you'll get to see.
Noosa has a YHA Australia Hostels - YHA Australia hostel right in the Noosa Heads national park if that is your liking and aside from a nice walk to the headland and som great beaches you could do Fraser Island from there - Fraser Island - fraserisland.net - Fraser Island Australia - World Heritage Listed and perhaps a Dolphin experience - Dolphin Eco Tours:Noosa,Sunshine Coast, Australia, Hand Feed a Wild Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin and Great Barrier Reef Day Tours or Noosa Dolphin Adventures

If you have a vehicle and are looking for a travel buddy, somewhere like the YHA is probably not such a bad place to start.

For some potential cheaper vehicle use you may want to check out doing a campervan relocation closer to time of departure - Rental Relocations Australia New Zealand United States Canada - Hire Now at StandByCars
Though they only allow four days for the Brisbane Cairns run, if there are additional days possible between earliest pick up date and latest drop off date, it is usually possible to book an extra three days which you'll get at a discount rate so it could be you would pay about $250 for a week and still not too bad, especially if a fuel allowance is provided and you now have your bed for any night you choose, there being plenty of places easy enough to find along the way where it'll be safe to pull up for a night.

For the GBR, you might want to pop into Agnes Water for Lady Musgrave Island | Great Barrier Reef Cruises | Scuba Diving and Snorkeling | Town of 1770 , LMI being one of the best island lagoons you'll find anywhere on the reef and the last surf beach heading north.
Alternately, if you're up for spending a bit more, you could want to consider a night on Heron Island - Heron Island Resort - Heron Island

Rockhampton itself has limited attractions but a very nice tropically influenced botanical gardens with a free/donation box min Zoo adjacent complete with some Crocs so it can make for a lovely morning tea to lunchtime stopover, the BT being on the southern side of Rocky and you'll see a sign on the highway within a kilometre of one of the biggest roundabouts you'll likely ever come across.
If you want to stay in Rocky, also on the southern side is the Great Western Hotel which has its own inside rodeo ring and if it is a Wednesday you're there, you could be lucky for some action, a nice feed there too.
On the northern side you have a turn off to Yepoon and nearby you can take a day trip ferry across to Great Keppel Island and some glorious sandy beach there, second only to Whitehaven at the Whitsundays and that is a lot more expensive to get to.

After Rocky, you start to get into more of the land of big open spaces with longer distances, there not being a great deal between Rocky and Mackay, a bit over 300 km. on and then again, not a great lot until you get the Whitsundays, about a further 200 km. on but if you're looking for somewhere to O/N with a Campervan, Cape Hillsborough just north of Mackay is supposed to be nice.

The Whitsundays is all about doing island trips and if time and money permits, have a look for a good standby deal on an overnight sailing trip or at all the other day trips on offer for there'll be a stack of them displayed on Specials boards outside various travel shops in the main street of Airlie Beach which is kind of Backpacker Hippie Central for many but a nice vibe to the place.

From there on is where you'll most likely have flooding issues if you are to find them, particularly in the stretch north of Townsville and a great GBR HO walk through aquarium display there as well as Magnetic Island which can be accessed by vehicle ferry.
There're places like Hinchinbrook Island which is something of an island wilderness as you head further north, Mission Beach and Dunk Island which both copped a hammering with Cyclone Yasi earlier this year but if you stop there, the locals will love you for whatever business you provide and as you get closer to Cairns and possibly wetter, it becomes the hinterland and places like the The Curtain Fig Tree and various waterfalls that become the attractions.
Ma Mu Rainforest Canopy Walk
Cairns Curtain Fig Tree - Cairns Attractions
Yungaburra has a great looking old timber pub, reputedly largest timber hotel in Australia, maybe even SH and On The Wallaby to go back to if you have more time for the Cairns area but have run out of travelling time.

One week is probably far too little time as you can imagine and two better and three even far better and you may even be better off to buy a bus or train pass and make use of some localised transport/tours, perhaps even hiring a vehicle here and there to drive yourself on some days.
There are pretty cheap hop on/hop off bus passes available through Welcome to Greyhound Australia and plenty of buses on the N-S run to make use of and also a similar rail pass with Queensland Rail but not as much choice with numbers of trains.


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## rayeric

The road route from Brisbane to Cairns is a very beautiful and picturesque. Although it takes around 20 - 22 hours to complete this drive but most of the travelers opt for driving by their own to explore the various spots along the way. In fact there is so much to see and do on the way and you can devote a good deal of time to explore the towns and coastal islands. The main stops that you can plan for this route are Hervey bay, Bundalberg, Rockhampton, Whitsundays, and Townsville. Recently some of our knowns did the same trip by renting a car from http://www.australiarentcar.com/. This company offered them a quite nominally priced car in a good condition and they were very happy with the services of this company. So you may go through their website to book a suitable car of your choice.


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## Jescam

Thank you for the great advice, I am looking forward to getting there. I have booked the car, it was a super cheap deal too. It is good to know you can hire a car for not far off (even cheaper compared to some options) than the train or bus, and have the flexibility to tour and stop off where ever.

Does anyone know if there is an Australian site where you can check the latest travel news, what roads are closed due to flooding etc? It would be great to check this information as it may effect the journey, in particular the Bruce Highway.

Also I heard news of not driving at night due to the possibility of hitting kangaroos, as they are active after dusk. The drive between Brisbane and Cairns is quite urban, is this still the case?

Thanks, Jess


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## Wanderer

You will probably find Road Conditions | Travel | RACQ as good as any and along the way there are plenty of Visitor Information Centres where you can always get local updates as well as free maps and brochures, information on various attractions and accommodation etc.
Keep a look out for a big i

I am not too sure about what you mean re Brisbane to Cairns being quite urban for whilst you have a few regional cities and local smaller towns along the way, there will also be many stretches of nothing but forest, farming or grazing country and certainly outside of cities and towns no street lighting as in an urban sense.

But yes, do take care anywhere in the evenings if driving for you can have kangaroos, cattle, horses, wild dogs etc. even close to townships and also even leading up to the dusk hour for you can have kangaroos and other animals up and about from even early in the afternoons as well as for a few hours after dawn.
The flooding may have made them even more active in movements.


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## gpoau

I have never driven the it as one but I live in Brisbane and driven to Mackay many times. But I have also flown up to Cairns and driven back to Mackay.
My advice take your time its a beautiful part of the world.


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## Manon

Hi Jescam

I just arrived in Sydney and I like to travel in australia but I don't want to be lonely. I've see you're ready to travel with someone else, if you still ok, I'm in ! So tell me ! 


Thanks, Manon


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## Jescam

Manon said:


> Hi Jescam
> 
> I just arrived in Sydney and I like to travel in australia but I don't want to be lonely. I've see you're ready to travel with someone else, if you still ok, I'm in ! So tell me !
> 
> Thanks, Manon


Hi Manon,

Sorry I saw your post too late and have already planned out my trip now. I am sure you will meet plenty of travellers on your way and have an ace time!

Thanks, Jescam


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