Lizard Island

Lizard Island (pictured above, left) is located right on the Great Barrier Reef and it is the furthest north of the reef resort islands, 240 kilometres north of Cairns and 27 kilometres off the coast of north Queensland. Captain Cook visited the island in 1770 and Lizard is now a National Park of 1,000 hectares with a lagoon and 24 sandy beaches and offers both inner and outer reef experiences. 
For more details visit Lizard Island National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Lizard Is.)Lizard Island is renowned for its diving and snorkelling.  
There are flights to Lizards Island taking around 60 minutes from Cairns. Luggage restrictions may apply.

Green Island

Green Island is a small coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef located off the north Queensland coast from Cairns. The island offers a range activities to both day visitors and overnight visitors staying in the resort, including snorkelling, scuba diving, a glass bottomed boat tour, freshwater pool and a rainforest walk.
The island is also a designated national park - for more details visit Green Island National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Green Is.)Green Island is only about 50 minutes by catamaran from Cairns making it a good day trip when time is limited.

Fitzroy Island

Fitzroy Island is a continental island, a drowned mainland mountain surrounded by fringing reef. Fitzroy is 35 km south east of Cairns and amazingly the main water supply is a fresh spring originating in the Tablelands near Mareeba on the mainland!
Fitzroy is approximately 3.2km (2 miles) long by 1.6 km (1 mile) wide and rises to 269m (882 feet). The island has a tropical climate and 60% of its rainfall comes during the wet season (January to March). Air temperatures range from 24-31C in summer and from 19-25 C in winter. There is a resort on the island with a range of accommodation. Fitzroy is also a national park - see the government website for Fitzroy Island National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Fitzroy Is.)
There is a 45 minute boat service to Fitzroy Island from Cairns, departing from the Reef Fleet Terminal.

Dunk Island

Dunk Island is located approximately 4 km off the North Queensland coast at Mission Beach, midway between Townsville and Cairns. It is about 6 kms long and 2 kms wide covering an area of about 1000 hectares and is part of the Family Group of Islands.
Dunk has a tropical climate with an average year round temperature of around 29 degrees C (85 degrees F) and was known to the first inhabitants as 'Coonanglebah', the Island of Peace and Plenty.
Most of Dunk is a national park (part of the Family Islands National Park) with prolific bird and butterfly life, including the brilliant blue Papilo Ulysses. For more details visit the website for the Family Islands National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Family Islands/Dunk)
Dunk has an enormous variety of activities to choose from, making it particularly suitable for families with teenagers. 
Access to Dunk Island is by launch from Mission Beach or a direct flight from Cairns. Alternatively Dunk can be reached from Cairns by coach/launch combination transfer.

Hinchinbrook Island

Hinchinbrook Island is a national park offering isolation and wilderness off the Queensland coast between Ingham and Cardwell. Cruises/ferries run from Cardwell.  See also the external website for Hinchinbrook Island National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Hinchinbrook)
The western coast, looking across the Hinchinbrook Channel to the mainland, is a maze of mangrove swamps, tidal inlets and lagoons, home to dangerous estuarine crocodiles and a great refuge for endangered plants and animals. The island is renowned for its dugong which happily are harmless large marine mammals.
Hinchinbrook has mountains and forests and several wonderful walking trails, including the 32 km Thorsborne Trail for experienced walkers and a number of shorter walks such as the 5.6 km walk from Macushla to Cape Richards. There are also some beautiful sandy beaches but remember that marine stingers (jellyfish) are present between October and March.
Bush Camping is allowed on the island and you need to bring your own supplies. There is accommodation on the island at the Hinchinbrook Island Wilderness Lodge.

Orpheus Island

Magnetic Island

This pretty, unpretentious, granite island is less than 10 km from Townsville, accessed by Fastcat car ferry. The island has a population of about 2500, with a choice of accommodation and all facilities, including watersports and other activities.  The main settlements are Arcadia and Nelly Bay, both on the east coast and arrival points for the ferry, Picnic Bay in the south and Horseshoe Bay in the north. The cost of getting to and staying on Magnetic are less than most of the other islands in north Queensland.  It is also one of the only islands on which you can drive a car.
Around half of the island is national park with a good network of walking tracks and it is a wildlife haven with prolific birdlife, bat, brushtail possums, rock wallabies and koalas.  For further information visit the external government website for Magnetic Island National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Magnetic)