Thread: Which port to see GBR?

My cruise itinerary stops in Cairns 10am-8pm, Port Douglas 8am-6pm, Airlie Beach 7am-5pm and Brisbane 8am-6pm..... DH definitely wants to go to the Australia Zoo and beside that our goals are go snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and see the best of the best....

Where would you suggest we go to the GBR? I'm thinking we might need to book 2 different ports for this since the weather might impact the port stop...

We are going at the end of March into early April if that helps...

Such a great cruise! And great ports. I'm so pleased you are going to Cairns and Port Douglas, they are both totally different ports with very different feel so you will enjoy them both. Cairns is a little more city like, where as Port Douglas is like a lovely lazy resort town.

The Great Barrier Reef is an option for both ports and yes weather can affect things slightly. There are a couple of things to keep in mind as well.

1) The Great Barrier Reef is a lot further out than you may realise
2) Port Douglas is a tender port, so although it doesn't happen often, there are some times where if it is very rough the ship may not come in.

Your ship of course will have some amazing tours that will take you out to the reef and you will spend the entire day out there and if you are really keen snorkellers who wish to spend the whole day doing this - this is definitely an option.

Alternatively there are some great options that you can do independently that will give you time looking at the reef and also some port time.

In Cairns - there is a great tour to Green Island (they have full day and half day options) which depart at 9am and would allow you to get out to a lovely tropical island, do some snorkelling, relax on the beach etc.

In Port Douglas - there is a very fun tour to the reef. They go in a jet boat so not only is it a lot of fun but you get there very quickly - much quicker than any other tour. Then you have some time snorkelling and then you come back into port. The good thing is that like many of the other tours you aren't then stuck at the reef for a full day. The tour comes back into the tender port and it's just a short walk up to Port Douglas township, which is lovely for lunch and then you still have some time to do some shopping or there is a great nature cruise or walking tour too that are really good budget options.

Airlie Beach is another option for the reef. With this one i would definitely suggest going with a cruise tour, rather than an independent option if you decide to head out to the reef here. The times the ship comes in and then fact that it is a tender port makes it really difficult to get on board a cruise out to the reef unless it is cruise sponsored. Most of the activities at Airlie Beach are island/ water based so if there were other things you were really keen to do like rainforests etc, then this may be a good place to do it and then you can choose more land-based activities in Port Douglas and Cairns such as Skyrail, rainforest tours, ziplining or there is a private wildlife tour out of Port Douglas that is out of this world!

Thank you, that's great info. Yes, I knew it was a haul to get to the GBR and although I avoid ship excursions if it makes sense, I appreciate you info on the tendering ports and will likely look at the ship's options to see the reef now that I have your feedback. Thanks again!