Cairns is the gateway to Tropical North including Palm Cove and Port Douglas.

Port Douglas and Palm Cove are perfect bases for exploring the region, and the towns are definitely a good place to spend some time, with its fabulous shopping, markets and cafes you may find it hard to leave.

Cairns boasts a vibrant marina and a magnificent rainforest backdrop, and by popping into a few of the restaurants that line the esplanade you can try all of Australia's gastronomic delights, from weird and wonderful seafood and highly unusual tropical fruit to Crocodile steaks and Kangaroo burgers.

All of this simply has to be washed down with the coldest of cold Australian beer in the warm, sticky Queensland sunshine. The Great Barrier Reef has a delicate reef ecosystem that evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, and gave life to more than 6,600 species, plants and beasts.

It's still home to many endangered species including the green loggerhead turtle, and is a breeding site for humpback whales. While it is protected, there are a myriad ways to enjoy it. Dive sites are dotted up and down the reef, and it's easy to charter a boat for a day or a longer dive trip, suiting beginners, intermediate or advanced divers.