Experience the best of Palm Cove

Palm Cove lies on the Captain Cook Highway a short drive north of Cairns, one of a string of Northern Beaches facing the Coral Sea. The Esplanade runs behind the sand beneath tall paperbark trees, lined with low-rise resorts, restaurants and a short jetty that people stroll out on at sunrise. Behind the village, rainforest-covered ranges rise inland.

Inland and to the north lies the Wet Tropics, a World Heritage region of rainforest, and offshore is the Great Barrier Reef, whose outer reef is reached by boat from Cairns. Kuranda, a rainforest village on the plateau, can be reached by railway or cableway, and the coast road runs north to Port Douglas and the Daintree. Quieter beaches at Trinity, Clifton and Kewarra lie close by.

Barramundi, prawns and tropical fruit fill the menus, and the early morning on the sand is the cool part of the day. The dry season brings sunny, mild days, and the wet season arrives with humid heat and rain that can come in heavy bursts.