Above: On the idyllic sandy beach at Palm Cove.
Cairns may be a fast growing city with every facility required by a modern metropolis, but there's still a strong country-town feel about the place. Much of this can be attributed to the laid back attitude of its resident population - they live life at a much slower pace than the state capital cities - and that's a good thing!
Our weekend visit started off at high noon, Friday with a smooth (and on-time) jetstar flight from Brisbane, arriving in Cairns at just after 2pm - ideal timing for an immediate check-in at the harbourside Cairns Hilton - a five star property that has it all, location, excellent facilities, friendly staff and, of course, nice rooms.
We booked and paid for a waterview room and it didn't disappoint - sixth floor with a sweeping view up the Trinity Inlet, past the cruise ship terminal.
The spacious room featured a huge flatscreen LCD, twin double beds and a cosy balcony - ideal for enjoying a cuppa (or something stronger) whilst soaking up the great vistas.
Across the road from the hotel is The Reef Casino, which has a bistro/grill that has unbelievably low prices - highly recommended. I can't eulogise about the gambling part of the 'pokie palace' - it was disappointing, but them's the breaks. You win some (but lose even more).
On Saturday morning we caught the Sun Bus (route no 1X) which runs from the Cairns Transit Mall in Lake Street to Palm Cove with limited stops enroute.
One of our favourite places in the world, Palm Cove has great accommodation, a beautiful setting and it's the picture of peace and tranquility. On our next visit to Cairns we will probably opt for a stay in this heavenly spot. We have previously stayed at Mantra Amphora apartments on the esplanade and greatly enjoyed that experience. It must be close to being time for a repeat 'performance'.
There was no time for reef cruises or Kuranda day trips on this occasion as we had to catch a 3.05pm return flight to Brissie on Sunday - but, we've been there and done that, so just enjoying a more leisurely Cairns weekend was quite acceptable this time around.
Our weekend visit started off at high noon, Friday with a smooth (and on-time) jetstar flight from Brisbane, arriving in Cairns at just after 2pm - ideal timing for an immediate check-in at the harbourside Cairns Hilton - a five star property that has it all, location, excellent facilities, friendly staff and, of course, nice rooms.
We booked and paid for a waterview room and it didn't disappoint - sixth floor with a sweeping view up the Trinity Inlet, past the cruise ship terminal.
The spacious room featured a huge flatscreen LCD, twin double beds and a cosy balcony - ideal for enjoying a cuppa (or something stronger) whilst soaking up the great vistas.
Across the road from the hotel is The Reef Casino, which has a bistro/grill that has unbelievably low prices - highly recommended. I can't eulogise about the gambling part of the 'pokie palace' - it was disappointing, but them's the breaks. You win some (but lose even more).
On Saturday morning we caught the Sun Bus (route no 1X) which runs from the Cairns Transit Mall in Lake Street to Palm Cove with limited stops enroute.
One of our favourite places in the world, Palm Cove has great accommodation, a beautiful setting and it's the picture of peace and tranquility. On our next visit to Cairns we will probably opt for a stay in this heavenly spot. We have previously stayed at Mantra Amphora apartments on the esplanade and greatly enjoyed that experience. It must be close to being time for a repeat 'performance'.
There was no time for reef cruises or Kuranda day trips on this occasion as we had to catch a 3.05pm return flight to Brissie on Sunday - but, we've been there and done that, so just enjoying a more leisurely Cairns weekend was quite acceptable this time around.
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