Queensland is also known as the Sunshine State. This place is one the most popular vacation destination in Australia. Queensland is a large collection of many things, for instance, golden beaches, picturesque tropical islands, fantastic surf locations, rain-forests, rivers, reef and some exotic waterfalls. For divers the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef also provides the excellent diving and snorkeling experiences. Take a drive along the cost of Fraser Island for a memorable riding experience. Other activities that could be carried out in Queensland include hiking, biking, boating, and even fishing.
Brisbane is a great place for those who are looking for small-town experiences in a capital city. Brisbane is covered with tourist attractions and holiday resorts. Surrounding areas of the capital city will send you to sleepy beach towns and rain-forest villages. So here is our list of top attractions find the best places to visit in Queensland.
Great Barrier Reef Queensland Australia
Great Barrier Reef is one of the most popular tourist destinations to visit in Australia. This is also a World Heritage wonder which is of great ecological importance to nature. This reef is so large, it could be seen from outer space. The reef in Great Barrier Reef Marine Park stretches from Mackay area as its starting point and goes up to the northeastern corners of Australia. The park protects around 3000 varieties of coral reef, 600 continental islands, and 300 coral cays.
The Reef attracts a lot of marine divers from across the globe for breathtaking diving and snorkeling experiences. In this reef, there are around 1600 different varieties of fishes as well as sharks, dolphins, turtles, and corals. There is an underwater viewing station for experiencing the underwater wonderland.
Cairns – Queensland
This place lies in the north Queensland in between Great Barrier Reef and Atherton Tableland. Cairns is one of the popular places to explore the best that Queensland has to offer. It consists of large parks, palm bordered streets and colorful gardens.
Many beautiful beaches are available at Trinity Bay, Palm Cove, and Port Douglas. But the best would the 5 Km long Cairns Esplanade that runs along the bay. It contains a saltwater lagoon and a water playground for young children.
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Daintree National Park – Queensland
Daintree National park is one of the World’s oldest surviving rain-forest and is home to worlds large population of endangered animal species. Located towards the north of Queensland, there are two main sections of this park. One of the sections includes crystal- clear waters and the other is a lush green forests of Mossman Gorge where you will find the tropical rain-forest.
This park incorporates more than 18k different species of flora and different varieties of fauna too which includes southern Cassowaries, Azure Kingfishers, Boyd’s rainforest dragons, cuscuses and rat-kangaroos.
Driving Along Fraser Island Coast
Fraser Island is one of the largest sand island in the world. It comes under World heritage sites. The four-wheel-drive along the coast of Fraser Island is always said to be the best adventurous and mind smoothing experience ever. While driving in your SUV you can experience the waves crashing onto your vehicles and that experience is as good as reading about it.
Seventy-Five Mile Beach is the island’s main tourist attractions providing views to Maheno Shipwreck, rock pools of Champagne Pools, Eli Creek and colorful stand-stones of The Pinnacles. Along the coast, you can find the tiger sharks, dolphins and whales playing at a viewable distance and the island also includes more than 300 different species of birds.
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Whitsunday Islands –Â Queensland
Whitsunday Islands lies in the off coast of central Queensland and groups together 74 stunning islands in its chain along Great barrier Reef. This collection looks like they emerging out from the sea. Out of these 74 islands, 5 are national parks and eight of them are popular resort destinations loved by maximum tourists.
The popular resort’s list includes Hayman island, Daydream resort, and Palm bay resort. The Palm resort has a 13 km walking space available to it, which makes it a good spot for long distant walks with your loved one. Out of all these islands, Hamilton has the largest island resorts.
Port Douglas – Queensland
Covered with palm and mango trees all over the town, Port Douglas consists of many holiday resorts and has a huge variety of wildlife safari adventures for the tourists. This picture-perfect town is about an hour’s drive from Cairns with a beautiful coastal road which lies in between the beaches and rain forest hills. Wildlife Habitat is one of the major wildlife attractions here.
If you love the old engines and their rides then Bally Hooley train will surely make your day. The train routes from the canes fields that surround the area and make its way into the sugar factory which is situated at Mossman. For safari adventure, the nearby Daintree National park is a paradise and if you are into fishing trips then Cape Tribulation is the best alternative.
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Kuranda – Queensland
The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway ride from Cairns to Kuranda is one of the most unique and refreshing trips one can take here in Queensland. The Kuranda is a rainforest village situated on the Atherton Tableland. This forest is a World Heritage site and also includes beautiful rivers like Barron and Gorge flowing from its heart. If you are afraid of cable car rides then you have the option of railway roads too.
The beautiful path of Kuranda railways takes you inside the rainforest and passes through rugged peaks and waterfalls. The main attraction here are the arts shop and vibrant market that specializes in local crafts. Apart from souvenirs in the local market, you can also visit nature park and wildlife sanctuaries which includes Butterfly, Birdworld and Koala sanctuary.
The Gold Coast
Welcome to the Las Vegas of Australia, Gold Coast is one of the country’s best known holiday destinations. While standing on the coast you can see the huge skyscapers and shopping malls that stretches from Southport to Coolangatta. Famous attraction here is the Surfer Paradise which attracts surfers from all around the world. The Surfer Paradise main moto is sun surf and sand. The beach is quite long and you will always find places to hide from the crowd for sunbaths and beach time with your family.
For wildlife enthusiast there is Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary situated towatrds the south of Surfer Paradise. Another attraction here includes Movie World which is famous for the old film sets which has been redesigned by Warner Bros. Visit Sea World towards the north, in Southport for seeing the favorite marine creatures.
Brisbane
Australia’s third-largest city Brisbane is the capital of Queensland. Brisbane always has excellent sunny climate and consist number of luxury parks and gardens. The city runs on a relaxed pace if compared with other major cities here and has connectivity with all the major spots for tourism. Things to do here includes visiting the Brisbane Botanic Garden which consists of more than 2000 species of plants and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where you can play with them and even get them food.
Apart from Koala, take a trip to South Bank Parklands for a smoothing riverside walking experience. You can also do biking here. The area near by has many lush gardens, shops and some big franchise restaurants. Kookaburra Queen is an old steamer which gives the tourist cruise ride in the Brisbane river. If you crave for water sports then visiting River Life Adventure Center is a must. It also offers many adrenaline filled water sports on the river. Adventure activities in Brisbane also include climbing Story Bridge, exploring the kids favorite Queensland Museum and visiting Gallery Of Modern Art.
