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Beaches running for miles and miles, dense rainforest and one of the wonders of the world - you'd be mad to go to Australia and not visit Queensland. To some it is just beach after beach after beach, but each of these stops have their own unique features.

Accommodation:

Brisbane and Cairns are the most popular places to for more than a couple of days. Search the newspapers for accommodation. All of the other stops mentioned have numerous hostels to choose from. If you plan on staying anywhere for a while, some hostels will give you a nights stay and food for a couple of hours work. They also offer weekly rates.


Places To Go:

Surfers Paradise:
Situated on Australia's Gold Coast. This is a buzzing resort with theme parks to go to in the day and endless nightclubs to dance the rest of the night away.

Brisbane:
Queensland's biggest city. Brisbane is a lively place centered on the Brisbane River. And don't worry beach lovers -there's a small beach in the city centre.

Noosa:
A very exclusive resort with a beautiful National Park. If surfing is your thing waves can get fairly big here. Definitely worth a look.

Hervey Bay:
A quiet enough place with a nice beach and the stopping point before going to Fraser Island. If you're not going to Fraser then make sure and do some whale-watching instead.

Fraser Island:
The world's largest sand island. This is a fascinating island with a mix of windy beaches, dense rainforest and tranquil lakes.

Airlie Beach:
The gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and a really lively town that isn't easy to leave. Loads to do and easy to have a really good time doing it.

Magnetic Island:
With an average of 320 days of sunshine a year, few backpackers travel the North Queensland coastline without making a visit to 'Maggie'.

Mission Beach:
A popular place for doing skydives and a good place to do white-water rafting from. Lots of rainforest walks and you can visit Dunk Island which is only 4km away.

Cairns:
North Queensland's backpacker capital. The Great Barrier Reef is most lively here. Also a very lively nightlife to keep you busy when the sun goes down.

Work:

Due to their size, Brisbane and Cairns are again the most popular places for backpackers to stay put for more than three days. In resorts like Airlie Beach there is a fairly good chance that you might find work in one of the hostels or local bars/nightclubs. What most backpackers end up doing in Queensland for cash is pick fruit in smaller towns like Ayr and Inisfail. Whether it's bananas, zuchinis or capsicums, there is always some description of crop to pick in Queensland all year round.

Going Out:

Many hostels in Queensland have bars in the grounds. Most towns have other bars and nightclubs to choose from. If you are a party animal you'll fit into Queensland's backpacking buzz without any problems.