Published on Feb, 2020
We flew to Cairns from Sydney to enjoy the 3 day trip outlined by Viator as a SuperSaver. Aside from the extreme heat it was super fun and a great value. The first day, the Great Barrier Reef we had to walk to the pier (5 minutes since we stayed at the Mantra Esplanade in town). The crew was thorough with instructions, we were provided stinger suits because of the jellyfish and we went to 2 areas of the reef. The sea was quite rough and I took trava calm (available for purchase on the boat) right away since I get motion sickness. Glad I did as the majority of the passengers were goners before we got to the first reef. Crew again was helpful with people being seasick. Food was provided-just okay. I didn’t like that snacks provided on the way back had people grabbing cheese and crackers and fruit with their hands to put on napkins. They should have provided serving ware and paper plates. The reef was colorful and we enjoyed the snorkeling. They have a photographer who takes photos below the water that are for sale. I bought 2 that were airdropped to my phone. A little pricey, but such cool photos!
Our train trip to Kuranda was really fun, but hot. We stopped once to stretch our legs and a photo opportunity. In kuranda we we went to the koala area (extra fee) and held a koala (extra fee). But how often do you get to do that? Well worth it. Shopping and eating took up the rest of the time in Kuranda. We took a gondola ride down with stops-beautiful views!
Cape Tribulation-we had a great guide, Mal, who took good care of us all day. We went to Featherdale Park where we got to feed kangaroos and wallabys and saw many animals! Hot sticky hike into Mossman Gorge, but so pretty! Mal pointed out all kinds of things. We took a ferry ride to a back country resort for lunch where you could opt for exotic food if you wanted. Lastly we took a river boat ride to look for saltwater crocs.
We loved all 3 days-so worth the time and expense to fly to Cairns.