Brisbane to Cairns: a 13-Day Queensland Coast Road Trip
Thirteen days up the Queensland coast from Brisbane to Cairns: the Sunshine Coast, K’gari and a coral cay, the Whitsunday Islands, and the rainforest at the end of the road
The Queensland coast changes as you drive it. For the first few days the Pacific breaks on long surf beaches. North of Noosa the surf thins, because K’gari and then the Great Barrier Reef stand between the shore and the open ocean, and after Agnes Water it is gone: the sea becomes something you look into rather than ride. This route follows that change north, all the way to the rainforest above Cairns.
You walk the headland at Noosa, where koalas sleep in the trees above the track, and ride a four-wheel-drive bus along the beach highway of K’gari, the largest sand island in the world. Then you fly forty minutes out to Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay at the southern tip of the reef, to snorkel among turtles and rays from the beach.
Further north you sail to the white silica of Whitehaven Beach, eat lunch on the long seafront Strand at Townsville, and look for cassowaries at Mission Beach. The last day is the rainforest railway to Kuranda; one more night gives you the reef as well.
Hervey Bay gets three nights, the longest stay on the route, because K’gari and Lady Elliot each need a full day. One day further north is long at the wheel; the page says which, and how to soften it.
13 days · 12 nights · eight bases · by car · one way, Brisbane to Cairns, about 2,000 km.
It suits travellers with two weeks who want the tropical half of the east coast. For the New South Wales half, see our Sydney to Brisbane road trip; for every route, our Australia itineraries.
How this page was madeWe have driven from Brisbane up the Sunshine Coast, staying at Caloundra, and on to Maryborough, near Hervey Bay. We stayed three nights on Lady Elliot Island in 2023, and we know Brisbane and Cairns. North of Hervey Bay neither we nor the New South Wales reviewers who checked this route have driven it, so those days are researched from the pages of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the operators and the tourism bodies named here. Distances are from OpenStreetMap, without stops.
Last updated 1 November 2026
The itinerary, day by day
Open one day, or all of them.
Day 1Arrive in Brisbane — the river cityNo drivingSouth Bank → The river
Arrive, collect the car tomorrow, and spend the afternoon on foot by the river.
- AfternoonSouth BankSeethe parklands·Streets Beach·the river walk
People start at South Bank, the riverside parkland across from the city centre, with its gardens, galleries and Streets Beach, a free, patrolled lagoon with sand, in sight of the towers. It is the easy first afternoon after a long flight.
- EveningThe river and its bridgesSeethe CityCat ferries·Kangaroo Point Bridge
Brisbane is best seen from the water or from its bridges. Ride a CityCat ferry along the river at sunset, or walk the two new footbridges, Neville Bonner, opened in August 2024, and Kangaroo Point, in December 2024, which joined the city centre to the south bank in a walkable loop.
We rode the long river loop by bike before those bridges were built, so we know the river but not the new circuit.
Sleeping here · Brisbane, night 1. Stay in the city centre or at South Bank, so the river is a walk. Our where to stay in Brisbane compares the areas. Collect a hire car in the morning rather than on arrival: you will not need it tonight.
- Drive
- None
- Stay
- City centre or South Bank
- Check
- One-way hire to Cairns usually carries a fee; see Before you commit
Day 2Brisbane to Noosa — the Glass House Mountains and the Sunshine CoastAbout 155 km · about 2½ hoursGlass House Mountains → Caloundra → Noosa
North out of the city, a detour to the volcanic peaks in the hinterland, then the Sunshine Coast to Noosa.
- MorningThe Glass House Mountains lookoutSeethe volcanic plugs·the view to Moreton Bay
People stop here for the strangest skyline on the coast: a cluster of steep volcanic plugs rising out of flat pine forest. From the stonewall lookout, signs name the peaks, and on a clear day the view runs to Moreton Bay and Caloundra. The roads in are sealed, and there are picnic tables and toilets.
- MiddayCaloundra and the surf coastSeethe beaches·the Pumicestone Passage
Back on the coast, Caloundra is the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, where we broke our own drive north and stayed a night. From here the beaches run almost unbroken to Noosa.
Our reviewers on the New South Wales coast tell us the surf is good up as far as Coolum, just south of Noosa. North of Noosa, K’gari and then the reef shelter the shore and the surf thins, so this is the stretch for a surf lesson if you want one.
- EveningNoosa HeadsSeeMain Beach·Hastings Street
Noosa is a resort of low buildings at the mouth of the Noosa River, with a north-facing beach, rare on this coast, and a national park on the headland behind it. Walk Main Beach at sunset, then eat on Hastings Street.
Sleeping here · Noosa, nights 2 and 3. Stay at Noosa Heads, near Hastings Street and the beach, or in Noosaville, along the river, which is quieter and often cheaper. Pick a holiday apartment or a motel. It suits two nights with the car parked. Watch the school holidays and long weekends, when Noosa is full and minimum stays apply; book early. We have no Noosa guide yet.
- Drive
- About 155 km via the Glass House Mountains and Caloundra · about 2½ hours
- Stay
- Noosa Heads or Noosaville
- Eat
- A picnic at the lookout; Hastings Street for dinner
- Check
- Swim between the flags: the ocean beaches have rips
Day 3Noosa — the headland walk and the marketsShort drives onlyCoastal walk → Eumundi or the river
A day out of the car: the coastal track in the morning, and the hinterland markets or the river after lunch.
- MorningNoosa National Park: the coastal walkSeeDolphin Point·Hell’s Gates·koalas in the trees
The coastal walk is why people come to Noosa. It follows the headland from the day-use area at the end of Park Road past a string of small bays: Dolphin Point is 1.2 km on, and Hell’s Gates, a cliff-edged gap where the sea surges, is 2.7 km. Go early, before the car park fills.
Look up as you walk: koalas sleep in the trees beside the track. Dolphins pass the points, and whales from June to November. The whole track, to Alexandria Bay and Sunshine Beach and back, is 10.8 km, about four hours.
- AfternoonEumundi Markets, or the Noosa RiverSeethe hinterland markets·the river by kayak or ferry
On a Wednesday or a Saturday, drive about 25 minutes inland to the Eumundi Markets, a sprawl of craft, food and produce stalls in a hinterland village; on Fridays only part of it opens. Any other day, give the afternoon to the Noosa River: hire a kayak, or ride the ferry upriver through the calm water behind the beach.
Sleeping here · Noosa, night 3, as on day 2.
- Drive
- Eumundi, about 20 km each way
- Stay
- Noosa Heads or Noosaville
- Eat
- Eumundi’s food stalls; Noosaville by the river
- Check
- Eumundi Markets run fully on Wednesdays and Saturdays
Day 4Noosa to Hervey Bay — by way of MaryboroughAbout 180 km · about 2½ hoursMaryborough → Hervey Bay
Inland up the Bruce Highway through cane and forest country, through the old river port of Maryborough, and down to the calm water of Hervey Bay.
- MiddayMaryboroughSeethe heritage streets·the Mary Poppins statue·the Mary River
Maryborough is one of Queensland’s oldest towns, a river port of the 1840s, with streets of colonial banks, hotels and wide verandahs. It is also where P. L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, was born, and a statue of the nanny stands at the corner of Kent and Richmond Streets, outside the old bank where she was born, which is now a museum of her life, the Story Bank.
We stayed here, at the Lamington Hotel Motel, rather than in Hervey Bay. It is a quieter base, about 40 minutes from the Hervey Bay airport.
- AfternoonHervey BaySeethe Esplanade·Urangan Pier
Hervey Bay is a string of beach suburbs on a sheltered bay, with K’gari lying across the horizon. The water is calm and shallow, good for swimming and for watching the sunset over the sea, which is rare on the east coast. Walk the long Urangan Pier at the end of the day.
Sleeping here · Hervey Bay, nights 4 to 6. Stay along the Esplanade, at Scarness, Torquay or Urangan, so the beach is across the road and the K’gari pick-up and the airport are close. Pick a motel or a holiday apartment. It suits three nights and two early starts. Watch the whale season, July to October, and the school holidays; book early. If Hervey Bay is full, Maryborough, where we stayed, is the quieter alternative. We have no Hervey Bay guide yet.
- Drive
- About 180 km via Gympie and Maryborough · about 2½ hours; the coloured cliffs at Rainbow Beach add about 80 km and an hour
- Stay
- The Hervey Bay Esplanade, or Maryborough
- Eat
- Maryborough for lunch; the Esplanade for dinner
- Check
- Book the K’gari tour and the Lady Elliot day before you set out
Day 5K’gari — a day on the sand islandA guided 4WD day, no drivingRiver Heads → Lake McKenzie → 75 Mile Beach
A day on a four-wheel-drive bus, because K’gari has no sealed roads and its beach is a highway that floods with the tide.
- Early morningThe barge to K’gariSeethe Great Sandy Strait
People come to K’gari, the Butchulla name for Fraser Island and now its official one, for the largest sand island in the world: rainforest growing out of sand, lakes of clear rainwater, and a beach that runs for 75 miles. It has been World Heritage since 1992.
Day tours collect you from Hervey Bay between 7 and 8am and cross from River Heads by barge. Our reviewers on the New South Wales coast have done the four-wheel-drive tour and rate it very highly.
- MorningCentral Station and Lake McKenzieSeerainforest on sand·a lake of clear rainwater
Central Station, the old logging camp, is the place to see rainforest growing on pure sand, with a clear creek running through it. Lake McKenzie is the island’s famous swim: white silica sand and water so clear it looks blue over the shallows and black over the deep.
- Afternoon75 Mile BeachSeethe Maheno wreck·Eli Creek
Then the beach, driven at speed on the hard sand below the tide line. The rusting hull of the Maheno, a liner wrecked here in 1935, lies in the surf. At Eli Creek, fresh water runs out of the dunes, and people float down it on its current. The order of the stops changes with the tide.
Sleeping here · Hervey Bay, night 5, as on day 4. The tour drops you back between 6 and 7pm.
- Tour
- K’gari Explorer, 8.30am daily from River Heads; from $279 an adult, lunch included (October to December 2026)
- Stay
- Hervey Bay
- Eat
- Lunch on the tour
- Check
- Dingoes: keep children within arm’s reach and never feed them
Day 6Lady Elliot Island — a coral cay on the reefA day by air, no drivingHervey Bay airport → Lady Elliot Island
Forty minutes in a light aircraft from Hervey Bay to the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef, and seven hours on it.
- MorningThe flight outSeethe reef from the air
Check in at the Lady Elliot counter at Hervey Bay airport by 7.40am for the 8.10am flight. Luggage is a small backpack of 4 kg at most. From the air you see the cay before you land on it: a ring of white sand and pale lagoon in deep blue water, with a grass airstrip across the middle.
- Late morningThe lagoon and the reefSeeturtles·manta rays·coral from the beach
People fly to Lady Elliot because the reef starts at the beach. You walk into the lagoon with a mask and snorkel and swim among coral and reef fish, often with turtles, and the island counts its manta rays as residents. The day includes a glass-bottom boat or a guided snorkel, the gear and a short wetsuit, lunch, and a guided activity in the afternoon.
We stayed three nights on the island in 2023. We snorkelled, and walked the reef flat with one of the island’s marine biologists, who turned the shallows into a lesson in what we were looking at.
- AfternoonRound the island on footSeethe nesting seabirds·the old lighthouse
The island is small enough to cross on foot in minutes, and what stays with you is the birds. Terns, noddies, shearwaters and tropicbirds nest here, most of them from about October to the end of summer (see Pause and notice). The flight back leaves at 4pm.
Sleeping here · Hervey Bay, night 6, as on day 4. Our Lady Elliot Island guide has more on the island, and on staying the night there.
- Flight
- 8.10am from Hervey Bay, back 4pm; $595 an adult, $445 a child aged 3 to 12, lunch included (April 2026 to March 2027)
- Stay
- Hervey Bay
- Eat
- Lunch on the island
- Check
- Book months ahead; weather and tide can change the activities
Day 7Hervey Bay to Agnes Water — whales, rum and the first landingAbout 240 km · about 3¼ hoursHervey Bay → Bundaberg → Agnes Water
In whale season, a morning on the bay; then north through the cane country round Bundaberg to the last surf beach on the coast.
- MorningWhale watching on Hervey Bay, July to OctoberSeehumpback whales resting on their way south
From July to October humpback whales rest in the calm water of Hervey Bay on their way back south, often with calves, and come close to the boats. Half-day cruises leave Urangan Harbour early, from about 7am or 8.30am, and are back by about 1pm, from about $130 an adult. Book the cruise, then drive straight north after lunch: in winter it is dark soon after 5.30pm, so on a whale day, skip the distillery and the sunset and aim to arrive by dusk.
Outside whale season, leave Hervey Bay in the morning and give the time to Bundaberg instead.
- AfternoonBundabergSeethe rum distillery·the cane fields
Bundaberg is a sugar town in a sea of cane, and its rum is the reason most people stop. The distillery runs guided tours on the hour, from 10am, about $30 an adult. From November to March, Mon Repos beach, 14 km away, is the evening place for nesting turtles (see Make it yours).
- EveningAgnes Water and Seventeen SeventySeethe surf beach·the headland at sunset
Agnes Water has what the State Library of Queensland calls the state’s most northern surf beach, patrolled and backed by bush. Seventeen Seventy, on the headland a few minutes north, is named for the year: James Cook came ashore here on 24 May 1770. Watch the sun go down over the water from the headland, one of the few west-facing views on this coast.
Sleeping here · Agnes Water, night 7. Stay in Agnes Water, near the beach, or at Seventeen Seventy, on the water; both are small, a few minutes apart. Pick a motel, a holiday apartment or a beach resort. It suits one night before a long-ish drive. Watch the school holidays, when the town fills; book ahead. We have no guide to Agnes Water yet.
- Drive
- About 240 km via Bundaberg · about 3¼ hours without stops
- Stay
- Agnes Water or Seventeen Seventy
- Eat
- Bundaberg for lunch; Agnes Water for dinner
- Check
- Whale cruises July to October only; book them
Day 8Agnes Water to Yeppoon — across the Tropic of CapricornAbout 270 km · about 3¾ hoursRockhampton → Yeppoon
Inland through cattle country to Rockhampton, where the road crosses into the tropics, then out to the Capricorn Coast.
- Late morningRockhampton and the Tropic of CapricornSeethe Tropic of Capricorn Spire
Rockhampton is a beef town on the Fitzroy River, and its southern entrance is marked by a spire on the line of the Tropic of Capricorn. From here north you are in the tropics. The visitor centre at the spire, on Gladstone Road, opens daily: 9am to 5pm, and to 3pm on Sundays.
- AfternoonYeppoon and the Capricorn CoastSeethe foreshore·the islands offshore
Yeppoon, 40 minutes east, is a small seaside town with a long foreshore park and the Keppel islands on the horizon. It is the place to stop for the night before the long drive north: an easy afternoon, a swim, and an early night.
Sleeping here · Yeppoon, night 8. Stay near the foreshore, so the evening is a walk by the sea. Pick a motel or a holiday apartment. It suits one night and an early start. Watch the school holidays; at other times there is usually room. We have no Yeppoon guide yet.
- Drive
- About 270 km via Rockhampton · about 3¾ hours
- Stay
- Yeppoon
- Eat
- Rockhampton for lunch; the Yeppoon foreshore for dinner
- Check
- Fill the tank and go to bed early: tomorrow is the long day
Day 9Yeppoon to Airlie Beach — the long dayAbout 525 km · about 7 hoursMackay → Cape Hillsborough → Airlie Beach
The longest drive on the route, through the emptiest stretch of the coast. OpenStreetMap puts it at about seven hours without stops; other routing services say nearer six. Either way it is the hard day: leave early, stop every two hours, and arrive before dusk. To split it, see Make it yours.
- Back to Rockhampton, then north on the Bruce Highway through cattle and cane country to Mackay, about 375 km, a sugar and coal city that is the halfway point and the place for a proper lunch.
- AfternoonCape Hillsborough, as a side tripSeewallabies on the beach at sunrise
Cape Hillsborough, about 45 minutes north of Mackay, is famous for wallabies and kangaroos on the beach at sunrise. The animals come at dawn, not at lunchtime, so on this day it is only a walk on a quiet beach. To see them, sleep at the cape (see Make it yours). Do not feed them.
- North through Proserpine and down to the coast at Airlie Beach, about 150 km from Mackay.
- EveningAirlie BeachSeethe lagoon·the marina
Airlie Beach is the town on the mainland for the Whitsunday Islands: a strip of bars, booking offices and backpacker hostels round a free swimming lagoon on the foreshore. After a day in the car, the lagoon is the reward.
Sleeping here · Airlie Beach, nights 9 and 10. Stay in the town, within walking distance of the lagoon and the Port of Airlie, where the boats leave. Pick a motel, a resort or an apartment. It suits two nights and an early start for the islands. Watch the school holidays, the winter peak and race week in August; book early. We have no Airlie Beach guide yet.
- Drive
- About 525 km via Mackay · about 7 hours without stops
- Stay
- Airlie Beach
- Eat
- Mackay for lunch; Airlie Beach for dinner
- Check
- Do not drive at dusk: animals are on the road. Crocodile country from here north
Day 10The Whitsunday Islands — Whitehaven Beach and Hill InletA day by boatPort of Airlie → Hill Inlet → Whitehaven Beach
A day on the water, to the beach that most people come to the Whitsundays to see.
- MorningAcross the Whitsunday PassageSeethe islands from the water
The Whitsundays are 74 islands, most of them national park. Day trips leave the Port of Airlie early: Cruise Whitsundays’ day to Whitehaven, for one, leaves at 7.15am and is back at 6pm, from $255 an adult.
- MiddayHill Inlet and Whitehaven BeachSeethe lookout over the inlet·the silica sand
Hill Inlet is the view on the postcards: white sand swirling through turquoise water as the tide runs in and out. The lookout track is 1.3 km return, about 40 minutes; the patterns are clearest around low tide. Then Whitehaven Beach, seven kilometres of sand so pure that it squeaks underfoot and stays cool in the sun.
- AfternoonIn the waterSeesnorkelling·stinger suits
Most trips stop to snorkel. Marine stingers, box jellyfish and Irukandji, are in these waters mainly from November to May. Wear the stinger suit the boat provides, whatever the month.
Sleeping here · Airlie Beach, night 10, as on day 9.
- Boat
- Day trips from the Port of Airlie, roughly 7am to 6pm; from about $255 an adult
- Stay
- Airlie Beach
- Eat
- Lunch on the boat
- Check
- Hill Inlet is best near low tide: ask your operator about the day’s timing
Day 11Airlie Beach to Townsville — Bowen and the StrandAbout 280 km · about 3¾ hoursBowen → Townsville
An easier day after the islands: a swim at Bowen on the way, and the evening on Townsville’s seafront.
- Late morningBowenSeeHorseshoe Bay·the Big Mango
Bowen is a quiet fishing and mango town. People stop at Horseshoe Bay, a small cove on the cape with a reef close enough to snorkel from the beach, and at the Big Mango, ten metres of fibreglass fruit at the visitor centre on the highway south of town.
- EveningTownsville: the StrandSeethe seafront·Magnetic Island offshore
Townsville is the largest city in the tropical north, and the Strand, its long seafront of palms, beaches and parks facing Magnetic Island, is the reason to stop. In stinger season, November to May, swim inside the netted enclosures. Reef HQ, the city’s reef aquarium, is closed for rebuilding and not expected to reopen before 2029.
Sleeping here · Townsville, night 11. Stay on or near the Strand, so the seafront is a walk. Pick a motel or a hotel; the city has plenty, and it is rarely full. It suits one night. We have no Townsville guide yet.
- Drive
- About 280 km via Bowen · about 3¾ hours
- Stay
- Townsville, on the Strand
- Eat
- Bowen for lunch; the Strand for dinner
- Check
- Reef HQ is closed. Swim in the Strand’s nets; crocodiles live in the creeks
Day 12Townsville to Cairns — cassowary countryAbout 375 km · about 5¼ hoursMission Beach → Paronella Park → Cairns
North through the wettest country in Australia, where the rainforest comes down to the sea.
- MiddayMission BeachSeethe long beach·Dunk Island offshore·cassowaries
Mission Beach is a quiet stretch of beach villages hidden in rainforest, and this is cassowary country: the tall, blue-necked bird of the northern rainforest. If you see one, keep well away, and never feed it; it is against the law, and fed birds have been killed on the roads. Slow down where the signs warn, and never stop on the road to look. Crocodiles live in the creeks and estuaries here: read the signs before you swim.
- AfternoonParonella Park, as a detourSeethe castle ruins in the rainforest
Paronella Park, a short detour inland, is the ruin of a Spanish-style castle and gardens built by a migrant in the 1930s, now half taken back by the rainforest. Guided tours run every half-hour from 9.30am to 4.30pm.
Sleeping here · Cairns, night 12. Our where to stay in Cairns compares the city with the northern beaches. Stay on the Esplanade if your flight is early; we stayed on the northern beaches, which are quieter. Our where to eat in Cairns has the city’s food.
- Drive
- About 375 km via Mission Beach · about 5¼ hours without stops
- Stay
- The Cairns Esplanade, or the northern beaches
- Eat
- Mission Beach for lunch
- Check
- Cassowaries on the road; floods in the wet season close the highway
Day 13Cairns — up to the rainforestNo drivingKuranda → Fly out
The last day: the railway up to the rainforest, and an evening flight home.
- MorningKuranda by rail and cablewaySeethe Scenic Railway·Skyrail over the rainforest
Ride up to the rainforest village of Kuranda on the Scenic Railway and come down over the canopy on the Skyrail cableway. We have done both, and they make a fine last day. Our Kuranda guide has the times.
- Day 14The outer reef, with a night moreSeecoral·reef fish·marine biologists aboard
A full reef day returns around 5pm, so it needs one more night in Cairns (see Make it yours). We went out from Port Douglas, snorkelled and dived, and found the marine life as much the point as the coral. Our Great Barrier Reef guide compares the boats.
- Drive
- Return the hire car
- Check
- Book Kuranda ahead in the dry season; the reef needs another night
Noosa, Hervey Bay, Agnes Water, Yeppoon, Airlie Beach and Townsville have no where-to-stay or where-to-eat guide on this site yet, so their days name the areas without links. The sleeping advice is from our own stays on the Sunshine Coast and at Maryborough, and researched from Hervey Bay north; for individual places, use the tourism bodies linked at the foot of the page. Brisbane and Cairns are covered by our Brisbane and Cairns guides.
Stop on the sandy path between the huts and stand still. Notice that the island is not really yours: it belongs to the birds. What we remember most is the nests, around the huts and under them, and the birds coming and going over our heads. Terns and noddies wheel above the trees and call without stopping. Listen to how loud a small island can be. If you stay the night, listen again after dark, when the shearwaters come in from the sea.
The route at a glance
| Base | Nights | The leg in | What these nights are for | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | 1 | Arrive by air | The river and South Bank | None |
| Noosa | 2 | About 155 km via the Glass House Mountains | The headland walk and the best of the surf | Holiday minimum stays |
| Hervey Bay | 3 | About 180 km via Maryborough | K’gari and Lady Elliot Island | Lady Elliot books months ahead |
| Agnes Water | 1 | About 240 km via Bundaberg | The last surf beach and the 1770 headland | School holidays |
| Yeppoon | 1 | About 270 km via Rockhampton | A rest before the long day | Low |
| Airlie Beach | 2 | About 525 km via Mackay, the long day | Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet | Boats and beds in the holidays |
| Townsville | 1 | About 280 km via Bowen | The Strand at sunset | Low |
| Cairns | 1 | About 375 km via Mission Beach | Kuranda; the reef with a night more | Reef boats in the dry season |
The shape of the route
The route is one way, north up the coast. It starts slowly, with two nights at Noosa and three at Hervey Bay, where the days are spent off the road. Then it speeds up: four one-night stops, with the long drive from Yeppoon to Airlie Beach between them, and two nights for the islands. It ends in Cairns. About 2,000 km in all.
Before you commit
The hardest thing on this route is a place on Lady Elliot Island, not the driving. It has to be booked months ahead, so fix day 6 first and build the rest round it. The hardest day at the wheel is day 9, about 525 km and some seven hours without stops; day 12, about five hours, is the only other long one.
Day trips fly from Hervey Bay daily except Christmas Day, 8.10am out, 4pm back. Book months ahead; weather can cancel a flight.
Daily from Hervey Bay, collected 7 to 8am, back 6 to 7pm. Lunch is included. The order of the stops depends on the tide.
July to October only, half-day cruises from Urangan Harbour. Outside the season there are no whale cruises.
November to late March, ranger-guided, booking essential; tickets go on sale in September. About $29 an adult.
Day trips every day from the Port of Airlie. Stinger suits are provided on most boats; wear them in any month.
Closed for rebuilding. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority expects it to reopen in 2029.
Guided tours every half-hour, 9.30am to 4.30pm, and a night tour. Closed on 24 and 25 December.
The one road north. Floods in the wet season can close it for days; check QLDTraffic before each long drive.
Prices and hours on this page were checked in November 2026 and change often, so confirm them with the operator when you book.
The bookings, in order. First, the Lady Elliot day for day 6. Then the K’gari tour for day 5, and the Whitsundays boat for day 10. Then beds at Hervey Bay and Airlie Beach in the school holidays. Then the one-way car hire: a fee for dropping the car in Cairns usually applies, so check it when you book.
The seasons. The best months are the dry ones, roughly May to October. Locals call November to April the wet, with rain, heat and heavy humidity around Cairns; the Bureau of Meteorology puts most of the city’s rain in January to March.
Stingers, crocodiles, turtles and whales. From about Gladstone north this is crocodile country: obey the warning signs, keep well back from the water’s edge at creeks, rivers and estuaries, and never swim where there is no sign saying it is safe.
Marine stingers are in the water mainly from November to May, from about Gladstone north: swim between the flags, in the netted enclosures, or in a stinger suit. Turtles nest at Mon Repos from November to March, and whales are in Hervey Bay from July to October, so no single month gives you both.
What this route leaves out is the Great Barrier Reef islands with resorts, such as Heron and the Keppels; Eungella, the rainforest ranges inland of Mackay; and Magnetic Island, about 20 minutes by ferry from Townsville, which needs a night more.
Driving. Do not drive at dawn or dusk: kangaroos and wallabies are on the road, and north of Townsville, cassowaries. Stop every two hours on day 9. On K’gari, keep children within arm’s reach and never feed the dingoes: feeding them is an offence, with fines up to $27,538.
With children. The K’gari tour is $199 a child aged 4 to 17, and under-fours go free. The Lady Elliot day is $445 a child aged 3 to 12, and under-threes go free. Lady Elliot’s lagoon is gentle enough for confident young swimmers with an adult. The Noosa coastal walk is not for pushchairs beyond Dolphin Point. Put children in stinger suits whenever they swim north of Gladstone. We have no guide to Australia with children yet.
Make it yours
A day on the reef from Cairns. Add a night in Cairns and give day 14 to the outer reef, the day we remember best from our own time there. It makes the route 14 days.
Nights on Lady Elliot Island, as we did. We stayed three. Stay on the island instead of flying back, and you see it at dawn and after dark, when the day visitors have gone. One night makes the route 14 days. Book even earlier than for the day trip.
A night at Cape Hillsborough. Break the long day 9 at the cape, 45 minutes north of Mackay, and be on the beach at sunrise, when the wallabies come down to the water. It makes day 9 shorter, day 10 a longer morning, and the route 14 days.
The turtles at Mon Repos. From November to March, sleep in Bundaberg on day 7 instead of Agnes Water, and book an evening with the rangers on the turtle beach. Day 8 then runs from Bundaberg to Yeppoon, and you lose the surf beach at Agnes Water.
If the route slips
The fixed points are the K’gari tour on day 5, the Lady Elliot flight on day 6, and the Whitsundays boat on day 10.
- Safety first. In the wet season, check QLDTraffic and the Bureau of Meteorology’s warnings before each long drive. Never drive into floodwater. If a cyclone is forecast, follow the advice of the local council and stay put.
- Use the local fallback. If the forecast threatens the Lady Elliot flight before day 5, swap it with the K’gari day. If it is cancelled on the day, add a fourth night in Hervey Bay and fly the next morning. If the Whitsundays boat is cancelled, rebook it only if you can add a night at Airlie Beach: the boat takes the whole day.
- Drop the peripheral stop. Rainbow Beach first, then the Eumundi Markets, then Paronella Park, then Bowen. None is booked.
- Rebook the night. If you lose a night, give up Agnes Water and drive from Hervey Bay to Yeppoon, about 445 km via Bundaberg, about six hours. Do not try to join the long day 9 to anything else. Move the bed through whoever you booked it with.
A final word on Brisbane to Cairns
This is a road trip that keeps getting out of the car. Its best days are a walk on a headland, a bus on a beach, a flight to a coral cay, and a boat to a white beach, with the long drives between them. Go slowly at the southern end, and the north will feel like an arrival.
Andrew + Margaret
- Australia itineraries Overview
- Sydney to Brisbane road trip Journeys
- Brisbane Overview
- Lady Elliot Island Overview
- Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef Overview
- The Great Barrier Reef Overview
- Best time to visit Australia Practical
- Getting around Australia Practical
- Queensland — the official tourism site Official
- Queensland Parks — Noosa National Park Official
- Queensland Parks — be dingo-safe on K’gari Safety
- Lady Elliot Island — flights and getting here Booking
- Queensland Parks — Mon Repos turtle encounters Booking
- Queensland Parks — Whitsunday Islands National Park Official
- Queensland Government — marine stingers Safety
- QLDTraffic — road closures and floods Safety
- Bureau of Meteorology — Queensland warnings Safety
- P. L. Travers, Mary Poppins (1934) Reading