by Kim Coconuts
3 Generations Travelling Together
We recently had a family holiday to Far North Queensland, wow what a great time! All seven of us, my husband and I, along with our three children (twin boys, teenage daughter), and the grandparents. We booked two villas at Villa Beach Palm Cove (both villas were on the same level and we had the whole floor to ourselves, so it worked really well & they had lift access too).
Staying in the heart of Tropical North Queensland, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage rainforests was a perfect destination for a multi-generational family holiday.
I'm so excited to share our idyllic 11 day Far North Queensland Itinerary with you, packed with our top recommendations of things to do, where to eat and much more! With Palm Cove recently being awardedWorld’s Best Beach by Conde Nast Traveller magazine, I thought it was a perfect time to reflect on our holiday there – so good!
Itinerary Summary
Day 1 - Arrive - Edge Hill - Botanical Gardens & relax at Villa Beach
Day 2 - Palm Cove & Stoney Creek
Day 3 - Great Barrier Reef - epic day!
Day 4 - Kuranda Skyrail
Day 5 - Daintree / Cape Tribulation
Day 6 - Palm Cove (relaxing at Villa Beach Palm Cove)
Day 7 - Mossman Gorge & Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures
Day 8 - Atherton Tablelands & waterfall chasing
Day 9 - Port Douglas
Day 10 - Cairns
Day 11 - one more idyllic walk
Day 1 - Arrive - Edge Hill - Botanical Gardens & relax at Villa Beach
After landing at the airport and picking up our hire car (8 seater van), we headed Noa café restaurant for brunch just near the botanical gardens approximately 7min from the airport- worth stopping for a coffee/drink/something to eat (their artisan sodas are really good). Then we enjoyed walking through the Cairns Botanical Gardens, the Watkins Munro Martin Conservatory where there were many butterflies and the Aboriginal Plant Use Garden. A great stop while filling in some time before checking into our accommodation.
We stopped by Jonsson’s Fruit & Veg market for some local produce and snacks (when travelling with children/teens it’s always a good idea to have snacks!) Then headed to our accommodation at Villa Beach Palm Cove. Wow - what a location! Stunning views & our villa was spacious and had everything we needed and more. Wifi, Netflix, full kitchen, two bathrooms and own laundry (very handy when travelling as a family).
Dinner for night one was at The Cairns Surf Club at Palm Cove, which offered great casual dining, nightly specials - a good selection of kids meals and delicious seafood too (I do recommend the king prawns- yum!). As an added bonus, we watched the bats fly in from Double Island at dusk.