A road trip of almost 4 months caravanning (and camping) in Queensland gave us the chance to visit many destinations, seeing some stunning sights and having unforgettable experiences along the way.

Quite a few of the places we stayed in left a big impression and are on my top 16 picks to visit in Queensland. Save this list if you’re planning on visiting and you can thank me later. 🙂

1. Cape York

Absolutely above and beyond my expectations, this was my number 1 pick because it was both a real adventure to get to the tip of the country and an experience that is unforgettable.

It rates so highly because we gave up the comfort of the caravan for a three man tent and survived! Going back to basics was surprisingly fun and we easily slipped into a routine for setting up, cooking and creating a comfortable campsite.

The road trip itself is unbelievable with every type of road condition imaginable, animals roaming wild and free, the campsites were basic but had some of the best views in the country and the people we met along the way – amazing. The camaraderie you make with fellow travellers is quite something. Put it on your list and DO IT!

2. Ellis Beach

The best tropical oasis and the closest we could get to the beach, literally with the van parked on sand. In this caravan park we stayed in an unpowered site and had the best location, with a row of palm trees for shade over the beach furniture provided and a white sandy beach stroll each day.

This stop had a beautiful simplicity about it which was surprising seeing as it’s between Port Douglas and Cairns on the scenic Captain Cook Highway. Once here, the only thing to do is relax, enjoy the scenery and wander across the road to the Ellis Beach Bar & Grill for friendly service, great food and drinks and they often have live entertainment.

3. Townsville

There is much to see and do in Townsville and our base at Rowes Bay gave us easy access to a walking path leading around a headland before joining up with The Strand, the hub of dining and entertainment on this part of the coast.

Because Townsville is also home to an RAAF base, it’s a daily occurrence to see Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters flying overhead and occasionally other military aircraft, all which seem low and loud when they’re unexpected.

The waterfront dining areas are many and the views are fantastic. You can walk the length of the strand which is a little over 2 kilometres, with playgrounds, sculptures, a water play park and more to enjoy along the way.

Go into the city of Townsville for shopping, street art, and the bustling Cotters market held on Sundays. Townsville is also the spot to jump on a ferry to Magnetic Island where you can easily spend a day or longer exploring. My tip would be to hire a car on the island (book well in advance) and take your time to explore all the beaches and localities at your leisure.

4. Port Douglas

Hugely popular with lots of accommodation in and near the central hub of Macrossan Street. Our pick of places to stay was the beautiful lush, tropical caravan park at Glengarry which is a resort in itself.

When in Port Douglas, take a stroll on Four Mile Beach and enjoy a drink at ‘The Surfy’, surf club bar and bistro then shop and grab something to eat down Macrossan Street as you make your way towards the wharf area.

On the waterfront, Hemingway’s Brewery is the spot to taste local brews overlooking the yachts and reef tour boats in the marina. For unbeatable views, dine at the Tin Shed, a Community and Sports Club where you can watch boats of all sizes coming and going and enjoy a drink or two as the sun sets.

From here it’s just a short stroll to the old sugar wharf and the iconic St Mary’s by the Sea Chapel, a beautiful quaint restored chapel and popular wedding venue. Make sure to visit the Port Douglas markets which are held in the park next to the chapel every Sunday from 8am to 1.30pm. They are the best.

5. Cairns

You can spend all day in and around the Esplanade of Cairns, with restaurants, cafes, bars, and the Cairns lagoon to enjoy. The lagoon has different size and depth pools for all ages to enjoy, and lifeguards are on duty.

Visit day and night time so that you can stroll through the Cairns night markets. These indoor markets are open every day of the year from 4.30pm and there are more than 70 market shops and a food court which has cheap, plentiful and delicious Asian (and other) food.

The best time to be in Cairns is when the Cairns Festival is on which this year had live music, interactive art displays, street theatre and indigenous dance group all outdoors, all free and all world class. Be there for the 2024 festival from 23^rd August to 1^st September and you won’t be disappointed.

We stayed at the Cairns Coconut Resort, a place that truly deserves the title of resort. There’s enough in place with swimming pools, movies, the best stocked shop I’ve ever seen in a caravan park and loads of entertainment for kids – you may never want to leave this caravan park.

6. Etty Bay

THE best place to see wild cassowary. We stayed in a lot of locations that promised cassowary roaming wild but we only caught the odd glimpses until our stay at Etty Bay.

For starters the caravan park is in a fantastic position, right on the bay on a no through road, with views to the water. The bay is not wide but has beautiful views of the rainforest coming down to meet the sea. But the reason to stay here is for the cassowaries.

Every day at various times, a cassowary or two would roam out from the rainforest behind and surrounding the caravan park, wandering along the beach and through the park, unafraid of the presence of humans. These were the closest encounters we had with the big prehistoric looking birds and an experience to remember forever.

7. Cooktown

An easy going far north Queensland town which hasn’t been spoilt with too much development. What was so nice about Cooktown was its laid back, country town kind of feel, where the locals were so friendly and welcoming.

There has been some development at the end of the foreshore and Webber Esplanade which includes a lovely green park area, and gives visitors and locals, great platforms for fishing, a water play park and picnic and BBQ areas.

Highlights to visit in Cooktown are the botanic gardens, waterfront fish and chips at Cooks Landing Kiosk, the Milbi Wall a mosaic story of Cooktown, take a drive to Elim Beach, Quarantine Bay, Isabella Falls and Endeavour Falls, and visit the Lion’s Den Hotel 30 kilometres south of town for a unique Aussie pub with huge meals.

Other recommendations would be to have dinner at the RSL club and take advantage of their courtesy bus, visit the historic cemetery for some remarkable stories of Cooktown’s history, and visit the Cooktown market held every Saturday from 7am to 11am on the waterfront. A must do is the sunset cruise where you’ll learn comprehensive details of life in Cooktown and get a spectacular sunset view from the water. You can BYO drinks and a cheese platter is provided in the very reasonable price.

8. Mossman Gorge

 A 22 kilometre drive from Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge is a beautiful look into a part of the Daintree Rainforest. There are lots of easy walks to do within the gorge and safe swimming areas to cool off.

After a day exploring the spectacular gorge and forests, dine at the onsite Mayi café which uses locally sourced products and indigenous bush ingredients. The café also trains and employs local indigenous people, providing them with tourism and hospitality skills which they are excelling at.

9. Daintree Rainforest

For easy access to the World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest, we stayed at Wonga Beach caravan park, another perfectly situated beachfront park.

The car ferry which you have to take to get to the Daintree is only a 15 minute drive from here, and then once on the other side you enter the magical lush, green world of this ancient rainforest.

Apart from the incredibly beautiful scenic drive, visit the Daintree discovery centre for a self-guided audio tour to learn about the plants and environment, stop at all of the beaches along the way and round off your day with a visit to the Daintree Ice Cream Company – absolutely delicious.

10. Mission Beach

A lovely laid back town with scenic drives and typically beautiful beaches. You’ll find lots of awesome, colourful street art around including many by local artist Lavinia Letheby @art_by_lavinia

We found the best bananas to buy at roadside stalls, direct from the growers and loads of great places to eat and drink in the easy to walk around town. There’s an easy access jetty for fishing and for a scenic coastal walk, take the Kennedy Walking track boardwalk which leads to even more serene beaches and bays.

11. Paronella Park

This place is worth all the hype and accolades you read about it. It’s a must to visit day and night, where both times you join a guided tour to get all the background on the amazing castle buildings and park like grounds.

During the daytime you can also wander at your leisure around this peaceful space and buy from the café and shop. At night the park is transformed with a light and sound show that is mesmerising and changes the appearance of the gardens and waterfalls.

The owners, staff and guides are all really passionate about the story and retaining the history of Paronella Park and it rubs off on visitors, when you leave feeling that you’ve been part of a fairytale.

Stay at ‘The Paddock’, the well laid out caravan park with impressive amenities, just behind the Mena Creek Hotel. You can easily walk from here to Paronella Park and then conveniently stop in at the hotel for dinner after the evening show. A perfect night, even if it is drizzling slightly as it was during our visit. Take a torch and umbrella and everything will be perfect.

12. Cardwell

Stay at Beachcomber Cardwell for a caravan park complete with an onsite restaurant and bar, as well as a pool, camp kitchen and usual amenities. From here you can discover the peaceful town, go fishing from the jetty, visit the Sunday markets along the foreshore, and wander through the Rainforest and Reef centre inside the Information Centre.

A lovely quiet town to chill for a few days and while you’re there try Jesse’s Pies, a family business that’s been making pies for more than 40 years, operating from a food van on the Cardwell foreshore. Get in quick, they sell out fast.

13. Bowen

One of THE best caravan sites we had was at the NRMA beachfront park at Bowen, facing the ocean and in the perfect spot to see sunrises and sunsets.

The park is also right next to Hansen Park and the start of a walking path that leads all the way along the coast and ends at Horseshoe Bay, a distance a little over 2.5 kilometres. It’s an easy and picturesque walk with the highlights being Grays Bay Beach and Horseshoe Bay Beach at the end.

While at Grays Bay, dine in at The Cove Restaurant for fabulous Asian food and sunset views and another dining experience that shouldn’t be missed is Birds Fish Bar. Whilst the front entrance to this Bowen Fishermans Seafood Co looks pretty unassuming, put your order in and wander out the back of the building to a pretty stunning view over the fishing boats and enjoy the freshest, tastiest fish and chips you can get.

14. Yeppoon

A good place to base yourself and take scenic drives along the coast with lots of bays, beaches and lookouts to find as well as lots of amazing street art on public buildings. Yeppoon has some interesting shopping in the town centre and the Yeppoon Lagoon, another waterfront public swimming pool which is patrolled by lifeguards.

Must do’s include a drive to Emu Park and then walk along the Anzac Memorial Walk which hugs the coast and ends up at the singing ship. In Yeppoon dine at the Waterline Restaurant for delicious Asian food overlooking the Keppel Bay Marina.

15. Noosa

Crazy, busy Noosa. The place in Queensland that it seems everybody goes to! Make sure to visit the shops to ‘see and be seen’ in Hastings Street. Continue on to the end of Hastings Street to the Noosa Spit area and a walking path which takes you to more great views of where the river meets the sea.

The Noosa coastal walking path which starts at the other end of Hastings Street, gives the best views over Main Beach and bays, providing you’re not knocked over by over enthusiastic joggers that is. The path goes all the way into the Noosa National Park and continues on to dolphin point and around the headland to Hell’s Gate and beyond for a more than 10 kilometre return trip if you’re keen. Keep your eyes peeled for whales and dolphins while you’re watching surfers, paddle boarders and surf ski paddlers.

Stop in at the Noosa Surf Lifesaving Club for a meal and a drink and to people watch over the bustling Noosa Main Beach.

Noosa Junction is a separate suburb and a bit more chilled and relaxed, with more shopping, street art and trendy boutique breweries to discover, and Noosaville on the river also has a relaxed vibe. The Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club is worth stopping in to enjoy a drink and the river views at sunset.

One of the best ways to experience a Noosa sunset is to take a river cruise on the Noosa Queen with great commentary and banter from Captain Dan. You can buy drinks on board and see a beautiful sunset as you cruise along the calm waterway.

The Eumundi Markets are around 25 kilometres from Noosa and I’d recommend being organised to be there at the start of opening time to enjoy them before the huge crowds start to descend on the town. There’s a mind boggling amount of craft, clothing, art stalls and food vans and it will take best part of a day to take it all in.

16. Atherton Tablelands

A nature lover’s heaven. Take the waterfall circuit near the town of Millaa Millaa and drive a to see the Millaa Millaa falls, Zillie falls, Ellinjaa falls and then into Malanda to the visitor centre to see another waterfall and take the rainforest walk where it’s possible to see the elusive tree kangaroo. We did!

This is also the region to see the amazing Cathedral Fig Tree and Curtain Fig tree, visit lakes Barrine, and Eacham, Tinaroo dam, and the quaint and pretty town of Yungaburra.

For the foodies there is Gallo Dairyland for all things cheese, chocolates and ice-creams. Visit Billycart Brewing for local beers and Mt Uncle Distillery for gin infused with local botanicals.

These were my standout locations in Queensland and the ones that I would revisit in a heartbeat. In future trips no doubt more will be added, but for now other travellers may want to give these destinations some consideration and add them to the list of must see Queensland.

Enjoy!

Glenys