Cities, beaches, islands, tiny towns, rugged national parks, buzzing metropolitan life, rainforest and culture. Queensland has it all - including the awesome Great Barrier Reef, the jewel-like islands of the Whitsundays and the lush rainforests of the Daintree.
In a nutshell
A lovely surprise is Brisbane, officially 'Australia's most liveable city'. It's Queensland's state capital and has a thriving arts scene with great galleries and museums.
Just an hour's drive south of Brisbane is the Gold Coast, a pleasure-seeker's destination with miles of sandy beaches. The liveliest and maybe most famous stretch is Surfers Paradise - great for swimming, sun seeking and family attractions.
An hour north of Brisbane is the Sunshine Coast, where the funky town of Noosa is the focus of laid-back fun, with great beaches, boutique hotels and hip restaurants.
There are also wonderful island resorts in southern Queensland, including Fraser Island - the world's largest sand island, and Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort on Moreton Island - where you can meet and feed the wild dolphins.
The Whitsundays archipelago of 74 islands is scattered in the Coral Sea, between the Great Barrier Reef and the Queensland coast. It's a world of perfect blue, interspersed with lush green islands, sandy coral quays and the white sails of passing yachts.
The Great Barrier Reef is quite simply one of the great natural wonders of the world, spanning more than 2,000km of Queensland's coastline. Accessed from Cairns, Palm Cove or Port Douglas, the diving and snorkelling is sensational, with a breathtaking world of colourful tropical fish, turtles, sea anemones, starfish and clams.
Tropical Cairns, a beautiful little city, is much more than a base for reef excursions. Walk the famous esplanade or go shopping in the fantastic Pier Marketplace.
Just north of Cairns is Palm Cove, a quiet resort with a stunning, palm-fringed white sand beach. A little further along the coast is the former fishing village of Port Douglas, with a stunning 4-mile beach and wonderful, lush resorts.
Inland from Port Douglas and Cairns is the amazing Daintree Rainforest, with its treetop canopy walks, cascading waterfalls, other-worldly bird life and rivers patrolled by estuarine crocodiles.