Two weeks in North QLD, what should we do?

[Lipsiensis]

Possibility of a holiday of a lifetime has arisen c/o my very lovely and generous mum.

She wants to take us all to QLD next April for two weeks.

DC will be 10 and 12.

Obviously the barrier reef is a must, so we were thinking of having a week on an island so we can walk from the beach straight out to some snorkelling.

What should we do for the second week? Daintree forest? Atherton Table lands?

I travelled around this area over ten years ago, but am struggling to remember what was beyond fantastic and just moderately fantastic

Obviously having kids with us will make it a different type of holiday.

Any advice on places to visit or accommodation gratefully received.

Daintree is lovely. We went quite a few years ago when dd was 2. We stayed at Crocodylus. I'd definitely include it.

check the stinger situation - April is still the season so you'll need netted places.

Cape Tribulation, you can ride & swim horses in the sea. We did have to wear stinger suits though. Also take a trip along the Daintree River to spot crocs and other wildlife. Mosman Gorge is another great place to visit & cool off in the water.

Speak to Nick at Daintree Safaris - we had the best day of our trip with them - he spots so much, and knows so much about the rainforest, and shares the knowledge in a really interest way. Our DC thought the day spent with him was the best of our holiday.

We stayed in Port Douglas and loved it.

Thanks all for your replies.

Oh yes Cape Tribulation. Glorious place. It was years ago but I did a guided night hike in the rainforest there,it was amazing.

Just back from 8 days in North Queensland (DC also 10 and 12). The reef was a fantastic experience and we did two days snorkelling. I'm not sure whether I'd spend a whole week on it with so much else to see and do. We did a day in the Daintree (having done a day last year), which wasn't really enough. If we had our time again I'd stay for a few days at Cape Tribulation and do Mossman, kayaking, jungle surfing as well as the board walks and croc cruise. We did 3 days in the Atherton Tableland, mostly doing lovely waterfalls, crater lakes (lots of swimming for DCs), and a bit of rainforest walking, which we did really enjoy, and the platypuses are really cute, but it's not quite as spectacular as the Daintree if you had to choose. Kuranda was fun but a bit touristy (though DD got to hold a koala - her holiday highlight) and Green Island was great until we experienced the Outer Reef. We also loved Port Douglas - much nicer than Cairns. Having been in April, when we were chased out by a cyclone, though that really shouldn't have happened at that time of year, and had variable whether in July/August, I wouldn't assume the weather will be brilliant every day.

*weather