Best places in Queensland Australia for a wedding/honeymoon?

Question

My husband are already legally married (stationed overseas)but are going to have a ceremonial (beach) wedding in Australia. Either in Cairns or Sydney, It will be in September 08, small either just me and him our members from our immediate families they said they would save and try to come.

Iam having a hard time trying to find a good place to stay. Iam looking for a nice hotel for the wedding night...say 4 star. What are the "star ratings" compared to U.S "star ratings". Where Iam a "5 star hotel" is like a (1 star hotel in the states).
I would like to be in an area that is close to everything so we dont have to spend alot of time getting to where we want to go...like cairns is close to Portland, and Kanadurra (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). But is there alot to do in that area...what do you recommend. Is there a tourist hotline so to speak that we can call and talk with a travel agent or someone who can help us figure out what we want to do. The inet is kinda scary

Answer 1

Yes, Cairns is close to Port Douglas and Kuranda (We won't say anything about your spelling LOL.)
The Northern Beaches are great for weddings; the most popular is Palm Cove. http://www.spb.com.au
http://www.paradiseonthebeach.com/weddings.htm
http://www.palmcoveaustralia.com/weddings.html to name a couple.
Port Douglas is also very nice. http://www.portdouglasweddings.com.au http://www.tropicalbrides.com.au and http://www.cityofcairns.com/portdouglasaccommodation/weddings.html

Kuranda, The Village in the Rainforest is http://www.kuranda.org That is where you can take the skyrail takes you up to the village - or take the skyrail up one way and train back down to the city. Kuranda Scenic Railway http://www.ksr.qr.com.au

Cairns Tropical Zoo even does Weddings (Near Palm Cove) http://www.cairnstropicalzoo.com.au click on Wildlife Chapel.

I would recommend researching yourself online, going through a tourist agent, they would only take their 'cut' and leave you more confused. The Internet is not scary LOL, you will be right.

Kewarra Beach has a great 'Rainforest Beach Resort' http://www.kewarra.com - 15mins from town and just before Palm Cove.

Not far from Port Douglas is Daintree Eco Lodge - 5 star and beautiful, as well as very unique! http://www.daintree-ecolodge.com.au/

The Whitsunday Islands would be my second choice - 74 islands to choose from! http://www.whitsundaytourism.com

If you are 'well off' or want a whole island to yourself, have a look at Double Island http://www.doubleisland.com.au/home.htm (Opposite Palm Cove, Cairns)

For info on The STAR Rating System see http://www.accommodationguide.com.au/StarRatings.asp

Good Luck on what ever you decide.

Answer 2

I agree that the Whitsunday Islands are extremely beautiful. Hamilton Island is gorgeous, it's off the coast of Airlie Beach, which is roughly half way up the QLD coast and close to Hamilton is an island called Whithaven, which has the whitest sand you'll ever see. If you want something very classy, you could try Hayman Island, which is lovely, and the accomodation glorious. They should have have websites, esp as Hamilton is VERY popular for weddings - it has a little chapel that overlooks the water, and it is just beautiful.
If you're not keen on the internet, I would recommend having a read of a Lonely Planet Guide, they make one for Queensland, and it will give you a basic outline of the places you can go, and what to see there.
If you do visit the islands, you can do things like snorkelling and scuba diving, visit the Great Barrier Reef on a day trip, go on a glass bottomed boat (so that you can see the fish below you), feed the local wildlife like parrots, and on some islands, koalas, kangaroos, play golf, swim, and lots of beach activities. You can also fly cheaply into that area, using Jetstar to fly into Mackay (from Sydney or Cairns), or using VirginBlue I think you can fly into the whitsunday coast. It is about a two hour flight from Sydney to the Whitsundays, and hardly anything from Cairns, so don't be worried about travel times, unless you're going from coast to coast it won't take you too long to get where you want to go.

Answer 3

Whitsunday Islands... It is a beautiful place. There are many different islands to pick from, each with a unique setting, very romantic. I love this place. The star ratings are the same. If you want an island with everything close by I would suggest Hamilton Island, close to Cairns. Have a great honeymoon. I was married to an aussie for 14 years, and we went to Whitsundays several times. I will always cherish the memories.

Answer 4

I live on the Whitsunday Coast - it's beautiful. Someone mentioned Hamilton Island was close to Cairns. It's about 600km away!
However, since you are talking about either Cairns or Sydney - I would definitely go Cairns/Port Douglas. You just can't beat North Queensland especially at that time of year - gorgeous!

This is the official tourism website for Queensland - it's good. http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/

Answer 5

I am not sure where you are from, firstly Sydney is in New South Wales.I live on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland and it is very beautiful. 4 star is lovely, all our resorts have swimming pools, restaurants etc, Go to google, look up sunshinecoast.com.au and the choice will be hard, but if you want beach may I suggest any on the coast and see if Maleny, Mapelton, Montville are there, they are in the mountains and very lovely, we are only an hour from Brisbane the capital. You won't be dissapointed

Answer 6

Try Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands, Or try this nice little unknown beach resort. Find out more on this site

Answer 7

Mackay is the best we have everything you want and we are the key to the whitsunday islands. dont worry we have lots of 5 star motels you can stay at which will make you feel welcomed. we also have good beaches and friendly people.

Answer 8

I think Tully, Mission Beach and Innisfail all vie for the title... I think it's actually Tully though.

Answer 9

http://www.cairnscelebrations.com.au/
http://www.cairnsceremonies.com.au/venues.php
http://www.thetourspecialists.com/weddings-venues.html
http://www.queenslandbrides.com.au/planning/directory/?sl=14&ssl=7