Palm Cove, is a relaxed but busy beach town with predominantly low rise resorts. It has a permanent population of around 2500 but is really much bigger when you count tourists, so it has plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars. Cairns is a city of over 150,000 people with predominantly higher hotel style accommodation with some resorts, has plenty of restaurants, bars and cafes and is also the hub from which many of the reef trips and day tours depart.You can still catch tours and do some reef trips from Palm Cove without a car as some companies offer the option to be picked up from Palm Cove for an extra fee or can drive yourself back to cairns for any of them if you have your own vehicle.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eOf course, you always have the option of splitting your holiday between more than one destination if you are on a longer trip. This will enable you to choose the best accommodation for your needs in both spots rather than compromising and not truly getting either. u003cbru003eu003cbru003eIf you are really looking to relax and spend a lot of time around the pool it’s most important to pick the kind of accommodation that will give you that experience.