The Great Barrier Reef in 4 days
Some 2,300 km of reef along the Queensland coast, with about 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, the largest coral reef system on Earth. You snorkel over coral gardens, sleep on a sand cay and swim among turtles, manta rays and reef sharks.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- All day
Agincourt Reef off Port Douglasa full dayRibbon reefs on the edge of the continental shelf 60 km off Port Douglas, where no river runs in and visibility often tops 25 metres.
Day 2
- All day
Michaelmas Caya full dayA sand cay 40 km from Cairns where tens of thousands of seabirds nest, fringed by a gently sloping reef with giant clams.
Day 3
- All day
Green Islanda full dayA 12-hectare coral cay 27 km from Cairns, one of the few on the reef covered in true rainforest, crossed by a short boardwalk.
Day 4
- All day
Fitzroy Islanda full dayA mountainous continental island 45 minutes by boat from Cairns, whose Nudey Beach of broken coral is often named among Australia's best.
Further afield (over 130 km from the base hotel), best as a separate stop: SS Yongala wreck, Heart Reef and Hardy Reef, Whitehaven Beach, Lady Elliot Island.
Where to sleep in the Great Barrier Reef
- Cairns Central YHA · €40 a night
- Travellers Oasis · €65 a night
- Mad Monkey Waterfront · €70 a night
- Pacific Hotel Cairns · €110 a night
- Rydges Esplanade Resort Cairns · €125 a night
- Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort · €140 a night
- Crystalbrook Riley · €220 a night
- Crystalbrook Bailey · €200 a night
- Hilton Cairns · €210 a night
Plan this trip
Hotel prices per room per night, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.