The tourist village of Palm Cove is located in the tropical area of far north Queensland, approximately 30 kilometres north of Cairns. The village nestles between the main Captain Cook Highway and the wide, curving, sandy Palm Beach along which it stretches for 1.5 kilometres. This magnificent beach is lined with palm trees and native bush, hence the name Palm Cove, and the village overlooks the sparkling waters of the Coral Sea, which forms part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Palm Cove is a popular tourist destination as it is ideally located just 20 minutes by road north of Cairns International Airport and provides visitors with easy access to the major attractions of the Great Barrier Reef and the nearby Daintree Rainforest National Park both of which are listed U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Sites. Building on its ideal location and excellent weather, Palm Cove has grown to become a busy tourist village and offers visitors numerous accommodation alternatives and a comprehensive range of food outlets with many providing an insight into the multiculturalism which permeates the local society. Home to only 1,200 permanent residents, Palm Cove village extends along Williams Esplanade which is managed to complement the local ambiance and provides beachside access to several international resort style hotel complexes, numerous cafes and restaurants, galleries, souvenir shops and boutiques as well as a variety of essential services which include a supermarket and a pub.
The wide sandy beach is one of Palm Cove’s major attractions and offers all year round swimming opportunities although care must be taken during summer ‘stinger season’ when appropriate safety barriers are used to protect swimmers. For enthusiastic fishermen the Palm Cove jetty and the beach provide the chance to throw a line in; while the jetty is also used by tour operators taking visitors out to the Great Barrier Reef. Looking out from the beach to the north-east visitors can see Double Island, so named for its two peaks; and just a little more to the east can be seen the appropriately named Scout Hat Island, both of which lie approximately one kilometre offshore. On a clear day just over 25 kilometres out into the distance, visitors can also see Green Island which is surrounded by submerged fringing coral that forms part of the Great Barrier Reef and is protected through the Green Island National Park.
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