date published
25.03.2009

Which part of the Marine Park is best for you?

A quick and easy condensed table to show you which parts, islands and experiences in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are ideally suited to your budget, marital status, lifestyle and interests.

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Blow the Budget
Qualia, Hamilton Island	Australia’s Number One high-end luxury resort	$$$$$*
Lizard Island	Remote, secluded and indulgent	$$$$$*
Peppers Bale @ Port Douglas	Tropical lushness with loads of space	$$$$$
Singles
Port Douglas	For the those born before 1980, a load of options with good day and night activities	$$-$$$$$
Long Island Resort	Stuffed with activities and stimulation, accom ranges from dorms to suites	$-$$$
Airlie Beach	Anyone born after 1980 will have a ball	$-$$$
	Robinson Crusoe
Pumpkin Island	Four simple, well-equipped cabins, it’s the Robinson family in Australia	$$$-$$$$$
Haggerstone Island	Even Tom Hanks would feel marooned	$$$$$
Voyages @ Wilson Island Resort	Princess Crusoe, lavish but bare bones	$$$$$*
	Sailing/Yachting
Palm Islands	Undeveloped and pristine option for laidback sailing	$$-$$$$$
Gloucester Island	Salty yachties have hoarded the spot for too long	$-$$$
Hamilton Island & The Whitsundays	With the best infrastructure for sailing and most options for all tastes, it’s the risk-free option	$-$$$
	Romance
Orpheus Island	Private, with extravagant touches for couples	$$$$$*
Bedarra Island	Exclusive and lush, the island has been drawing quiet A-listers for years	$$$$$*
Peppers @ Palm Bay, Long Island	Beachfront villa with private day bed and hammock plus romantic options	$$$$
	Eco Friendly
Hinchinbrook Island Wilderness Village	Treetop bungalows in forest canopy on a pristine island	$$$
Bungalow Bay, Koala Village, Magnetic Island	A backpackers with a Koala sanctuary, volunteers help the critters out	$
Lady Elliot Island	Amateur eco-warriors flock here for pristine waters and coral and to help in research	$-$$
	Family (kids under 12)
Hamilton Island	Purpose-built to cater to all tastes and ages, easily has the most to engage all types	$$-$$$$$
Magnetic Island	A seaside spot that happens to be on an island, it’s grown to cater for all laidback clans	$-$$$$
Heron Island	The under 12s will get an eye-popping education while mum and dad explore	$$$
	Camping
Hook Island	Campers spoilt for choice, some of the best snorkelling in the Whitsundays	$
Keppel Islands	Seven islands, relatively pristine with varying levels of infrastructure	$
Flinders Island	Remote and picturesque, not for novice campers	$
	Snorkelling & Diving
Low Isles, Port Douglas	For the novices, a great short trip minus the heavy seas, coral not as good as outer reefs but turtles guaranteed	$
Lady Elliot Island	Best snorkelling on the reef for its colour	$-$$
Flinders Reef	The secret is out, experienced reefers have kept it to themselves for too long	N
	Affordable
The Elandra, Mission Beach	Cool digs for a fraction of the older and less plush places in the area	$-$$
Montes Resort, Cape Gloucester	Simple style accom that ranges from motel to suites	$-$$$
Mantra 1 @ Bright Point, Magnetic Island	Brand new self-catering apartments with specials at even better rates	$-$$