Cairns

Escaping to the Tropical North promises warm weather, exciting cuisine and the only place on Earth where two World Heritage listed sites, the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforests, meet.

You'll find Australia's largest concentration of resorts and guesthouses catering exclusively to gay and lesbian travellers, and many gay and lesbian friendly ones.

Generally, accommodation houses are very gay and lesbian friendly (many are GALTA/IGLTA members) and the number of gay and lesbian resorts signal the warm welcome in store.

You'll find plenty of places to stay in Cairns, Cairns' northern beaches, Port Douglas, Atherton Tableland and beaches just south of Cairns.

Nu-trix Nightclub in Spence Street Cairns is where you'll meet the local boys and girls and see some entertaining drag. And with more tours than you can count operating out of Cairns and Port Douglas, a few gay and lesbian recommendations will not go astray.

One of the best reef and island trips is a day on Normanby Island with Frankland Island Cruise and Dive. Just a few steps from the shore you'll see tropical reef fish, turtles and breathtaking coral.