Insight Guides - Insight Guides Explore Queensland (Travel Guide eBook)

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Adventure-seekers

4WD the worlds largest sand islands Moreton (), and learn to scuba-dive.

iStock

Animal-lovers

Hand-feed a wild dolphin at Tangalooma ().

Tangalooma Island Resort

Children

Whether youre based in Brisbane, with its urban beach and Big Wheel ().

Warner Village Theme Parks

Culture

For music, international exhibitions, or indigenous and modern art, Brisbane () have galleries and art centres that showcase Queenslands culture.

Cairns Regional Gallery

Food and drink

Visit Brisbanes standout bistros ().

Murray Fredericks Photography

National parks

Strap on your walking shoes and hit Queenslands lush national park trails on the Sunshine Coast ().

Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications

Night owls

In Brisbane, enjoy a night at the theatre in South Banks renowned Queensland Performing Arts Centre () visit the casino and the Tanks Art Centre.

Tanks Art Centre

Robinson Crusoes

Find peace and solitude on an almost deserted tropical beach in the Whitsunday Islands ().

iStock

Explore Queensland

From the glittering Gold Coast and bustling capital city of Brisbane to the verdant Wet Tropics, where prehistoric rainforest meets the greatest coral reef on earth, Queenslands coastline is an incredible adventure playground.

Size isnt everything, but it is a factor when considering Queensland. This may be only the second-largest state in Australia (after Western Australia), but its 1.73 million sq km (667,000 sq miles) would comfortably swallow several European countries. However, within this vast area there are only around 5 million people roughly equivalent to the population of Sydney or Barcelona. In cosmopolitan Brisbane and amid the high-rise high-gratification zone of the Gold Coast it can still seem busy, and people-watching is all part of the pull, but travel anywhere else and youll discover a relaxed, uncrowded and friendly place.

Brisbanes Story Bridge at night

Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications

Geography and layout

The region covered by the routes featured here is the coast, hinterland and offshore islands between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the south and Daintree and Cape Tribulation in the north. The routes begin with two walks exploring the historic, entertainment and scenic precincts of the Queensland capital. On Brisbanes doorstep, the natural sand islands of Moreton and North Stradbroke offer scenic 4WD exploration and marine wildlife encounters. Two further easy day trips from Brisbane are provided by the high-rise-backed beaches of the Gold Coast and their counterpoint, the verdant Gold Coast hinterland. The Gold Coast is also the setting for a cluster of theme parks (for more information, ).

Heading north, the Sunshine Coast combines an idyllic climate and landscape with gourmet culture, while Fraser Island has a highway of sand for 4WD enthusiasts. In the picturesque Whitsunday Islands, leave your car behind as you island-hop by ferry, camp under the stars and spend your days kayaking and snorkelling.