There
is a fair bit of Cooktown accommodation to choose from.
Cooktown used to be
a lot more remote,
but things have gradually changed and particularly since the road was
sealed in 2006, a lot more people started to come up here.
Nowadays there is a fair bit of accommodation
to choose
from.
In the main street are some old country pubs, there is a resort,
a few motels, even a backpacker hostel, bed and breakfast
accommodation,
and four caravan
parks.
Cooktown
Accommodation -
Places to Stay
Cooktown
Hotels
There are two good old hotels in Cooktown - the so-called Top Pub or Cooktown Hotel, and
the West Coast Hotel.
Both are in the main street, and have hotel rooms as well as a public
bar, and both serve meals. The Top Pub puts live music nights on
sometimes.
Cooktown
Motels
There are four motels - the Seaview
Motel in the main street has views over the river front.
The River
of Gold Motel is one block back from the main street, not
far
from the Top Pub. A little further south is Alamanda
Inn; and even further is Pam's
Place.
Cooktown Resorts
There is a great resort in town - the Sovereign
Resort,
which is in the main street, across the street from the town's
post office. It is very nice, and it also has a great restaurant
upstairs, and a bar downstairs that is very popular.
Cooktown
Hostels
There are usually not many backpackers in town, but if you happen to be
one,
there
is the Pam's Place
in the southern end of the main street. It also has motel rooms, units,
and a few different kinds of hostel rooms, self catering
kitchen, a bar, laundry, internet and a salt-water
swimming pool.
Cooktown
Lodges and Bed and
Breakfast
There are a few lodges
and bed and breakfast
accommodation. Milkwood Lodge is just south of the town. Mungumby Lodge
is further south, closer to the famous Lions
Den Hotel. And
the Shadows of Mount Cook B&B is in the southern end of the
town.
Cooktown
Camping
Cooktown
Caravan
Parks
There are four caravan parks in town. The most central one is
the Cooktown Orchid
Caravan Park, the cheapest is the Cooktown
Caravan Park, and the most expensive is the Big 4 Caravan
Park. About 30km north of the town is also the Endeavour Falls Caravan
Park.
Cheap Camping in Cooktown
It used to be that there was no cheap camping amongst Cooktown
accommodation, but that has changed to the better :-) There is now also
cheap camping
at the Racecourse.
There is no power, and no facilities, and your van has to be totally
self contained which means own toilet and shower.
Cooktown
Farmstays and
Safari Camps
There are some great farmstays outside
Cooktown, such as Hill
Top Farmstayand
Hazlemere Farmstay; and Hilltop Farmstay also has a safari
tent.
Another place to safari camp is Endeavour River Escape near
Cooktown Airport, north of the town.
Cooktown
Hotels
Cooktown
hotels are great historical places to stay.
In
Australia,
the old country hotels
are also pubs, and more than anything they are drinking
establishments.
But if you want to stay in one, there
are hotel rooms upstairs.
Just remember that they can be noisy if you want to have an early
night,
but other than that, they
are good places to stay.
There are two
of them in Cooktown.
Both Cooktown
hotels
are old and they are some of
the most historical amongst all Cooktown
accommodation.
The Top Pub
is the most popular, and it does have hotel rooms
upstairs. It is an old building, which has changed name a few
times, but is now commonly known as the Top Pub.
It has a nice beer garden and serves both lunch and dinner. Every now
and then on the weekends there is a live music night that can get a bit
noisy (if you stay upstairs).
The other one, the West
Coast Hotel,
is not far - just a few buildings up along the same street. It's also a
nice old building with rooms upstairs. Downstairs is a public bar, and
it also serves meals. UPDATE - this hotel lost
the roof in cyclone
Ita and and is currently closed (May 2014).
Cooktown
Motels
Cooktown
Motels are all great places to stay.
All have
good facilities,
including a swimming pool, and all are fairly central. Seaview
has the best
location and is the largest one, but there is nothing wrong with the
others.
Seaview
Motel
This Cooktown motel is large, and it is right on the waterfront in
Charlotte Street. Rooms
have bar fridges, colour TVs, coffee and tea making facilities, direct
dial phones and balconies with views over the water.
There is a
swimming pool, a BBQ area, and off street parking.
River
of
Gold Motel
This motel is two streets back from the main street, but still walking
distance to the waterfront, pubs and the supermarket.
There are self
contained units, a saltwater swimming pool, a bar and a restaurant, off
street parking and laundry services.
Alamanda
Inn
This place is a little further down the same street as the one above.
It has motel rooms, self contained units, and guesthouse rooms. The
rooms have air conditioning, TVs, fridges, and outside there are BBQs,
a swimming pool, a guest kitchen, laundry, and spacious
parking.
Pam's
Place Motel and Hostel
This place is in the other end of Charlotte Street, along the main
road that goes north
from Cooktown.
It is
a popular backpackers accommodation too, and has all modern
amenities.
There are motel rooms, self contained units and hostel
rooms. Also
laundry facilities and a swimming pool.
Other
Cooktown
Accommodation
Sovereign
Resort
This
fantastic resort is in the main street in Cooktown. The guestrooms are
tastefully
decorated and have mini bars, coffee and tea makers, TVs, direct dial
phones and room service. Amongst the palm trees in the landscaped
gardens there is a swimming pool. There is also a bar and a restaurant,
conference rooms and free parking.
Seagrens
Inn Another beauty Cooktown
accommodation in the main
street, this old queenslander building is full of character. It was
built in 1880 and named after P E Seagren, the mayor at the time. Rooms
are all unique and have views from the large balcony. Downstears there
is a pub and a dining room.
Hillcrest
Guesthouse
This guesthouse is on the base of Grassy Hill, still walking distance
from the main street. It is a lovely Cooktown accommodation with big
verandahs, beautiful gardens and a swimming pool. There are eight
different types of bedrooms inside, as well as a shared kitchen and
bathrooms.
Endeavour
View Cabins
This small Cooktown accommodation has a great location in the main
street, right across the Charlotte St from the Endeavour Lions Park.
The
cabins have air conditioning, and TVs, there are also barbeques, off
street parking and laundry facilities.
Riverview
Holiday House
Right next door - also in the main street and with the views of the
river/beachfront park, is another nice Cooktown accommodation. It is
a fully self contained holiday rental house that you can have all for
your own mob of travellers. Enquire at the cafe next door - the
Capers.
Milkwood
Lodge
Milkwood Lodge is a few kilometres outside the town, and
another
lovely place.
It has six self contained ensuite cabins with a/c, fans,
TVs, fully equipped kitchenettes and large private verandahs.
There is
a BBQ area, a saltwater swimming pool, a tour desk, laundry service,
car hire, breakfast packs and airport pickup.
Mungumby
Lodge
This lodge is near the famous Lions
Den Hotel, 35km south of Cooktown.
There are 10 wooden bungalows with mini bars, tea and coffee makers and
spacious
living areas.
There
is a swimming pool, a spa, high speed internet, large tropical gardens,
free parking, a bar and a restaurant.
Cooktown
Caravan
Parks
Cooktown
caravan parks are all nice places to stay.
They are
all well maintained
and looked after, with clean
amenities and friendly service.
There is four of them in
town,
and further down the page are also three that are north of the town.
Cooktown Orchid is the most central one, and Big 4 is the most
expensive.
Cooktown
Orchid Caravan Park
This caravan park is in the main street, and as often with centrally
located places, is not so cheap.
There are camping sites, on site
vans, and a
swimming pool.
The grounds are small and can get packed during the high
season. The old managers are lovely.
Peninsula
Caravan Park
This caravan park is in the end of Howard Street in eastern
Cooktown.
There
are cabins,
and
powered and unpowered camping sites, and the basic camping sites are
good value.
There is a swimming pool, laundry
facilities, showers;
and all other
amenities are good too.
Cooktown
Caravan Park
This caravan park is not far from Pam's place in the southern end of
the
town. It is a great park with very friendly service.
There are powered
and unpowered sites,
cabins, laundry area, and a small shop in the reception area. And it's
the cheapest caravan park in town.
Cooktown
Holiday Park
This is a G'Day Parks holiday park, and it is the most expensive caravan park
in Cooktown. There are only powered sites - no unpowered sites
available. One
and two bedroom cabins, and standard and family units. Very nice, large,
green grounds, a swimming pool, a camp kitchen and all other amenities.
Endeavour
Falls Caravan Park
This is a very nice and friendly caravan park at Endeavour Falls, about
30km north of Cooktown. Powered and unpowered camping sites, laundry
and showers, and a great shop that sells almost everything. In the back
of the park are Endeavour waterfalls, but no swimming due to crocodiles.
Cheap
Camping in
Cooktown
There is
now some cheap camping in Cooktown.
There is
officially no free
camping in or around Cooktown, and if they catch you, you
risk heavy
fines, according to the signs at least.
So for years there used to be no option except caravan parks
and other
accommodation.
That has thankfully changed, for fully
self sufficient travellers who want to
get it cheap. In
Adelaide Street - one
street back from the main street, walking
distance to everywhere in
the central town, there is now
a cheap camping ground.
There is no power,
and no showers or toilets,
so you have to have a fully
self contained vehicle. The other thing is that there
is 48 hours max stay, during which you do manage
to see all the most important things in Cooktown.
UPDATE
this camping ground has since moved, all detail and all other cheap /
free camping grounds are in the Destination Guide.
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