We decided that we would stay in Port Douglas, about an hours drive north of Cairns. There seemed to be better hotels and it was closer to the great Barrier Reef and Daintree rainforest. We considered booking a hotel transfer but that didn’t give us flexibility and was a bit pricey. I checked when we left and an Uber to the airport would have been about AU$110.

In the end I booked a small SUV from Avis via American Express Travel for £160 for 4 days which I was happy with. It was the same price and I wanted to put some money towards the ‘Spend £600, get £200 back’ offer that runs quite frequently on the Platinum card. What I like is that even though it’s not a direct booking, it will show in Avis’ app and earns credit and bonuses for the tier you’re at.

I had been President’s Club last year, but can’t honestly say I noticed the difference in terms of service. I’m now Preferred Plus and so far am very happy.

On arrival to the Avis desk we were greeted by the very chirpy Fiona who took about 2 minutes to process us and send us on our way to the Toyota Kluger parked just outside the terminal door. It was brilliant!

The car was an upgrade to a full size SUV and had more than enough space for our small amount of luggage. It was easy to drive, automatic, and came complete with in build SatNav. It was also pretty good on fuel, needing about £20 of petrol before we returned it. The filing station was just outside the airport on the main Captain Cook Highway before turning in to the airport access road.

On Fiona’s instructions, we returned the car to the domestic terminal rather than the international terminal we had picked it up from. Again, this process was very slick and credit to how well thought out the car hire set up is at Cairns.

Avis is my go-to place for car rental, and with service this smooth, there is no reason to look elsewhere.