Port Douglas: Things To Do

This incredible beach stretches alongside the whole town, so is easily accessible and great for a walk or to relax and soak up the sun. The northern end, closest to the town centre, is where you will find safe swimming with life guards on duty and with a stinger protection net. The beach has a rocky outcrop at the north where rock pools can be found as well as the start of a walking trail that climbs up to a great viewing platform that overlooks the beach.
Wind and Kite surfing are popular.

Whilst there are plenty of action packed activities to do in Port Douglas, you wouldn't want to go to paradise without planning some time to rest and relax. The beach is a great place to do this but the majority of hotels have great pools to lounge beside in between meals.
If you want to take your relaxation even further, there are plenty of day spas to choose from (see below) for a massage or treatment.

One of the most amazing natural attractions on the planet is right on the doorstep of Port Douglas. Several companies offer diving and snorkelling tours. The outer reef is a full day tour with many operators visiting and this is where you can go diving - beginner or licenced. Some have underwater viewing from pontoons or boats. The Low Isles offers a half day snorkelling option, as it's much closer. You can also find tours that cater specifically to diving that have much smaller guest numbers with multi-day liveaboard options too.
An alternate option, if you are visiting Cairns, is to visit Green Island.

This is the main street in Port Douglas, where you can find the majority of the shops and restaurants on offer. It stretches across the end of the town, ideally located between four mile beach and the marina. Despite being busy with commercial activity and plenty of tourists, it still retains a quaint relaxed feel due to the abundant greenery.

On the western side of the town, on the inlet, is the marina, which in addition to being the place to go for trips to the great barrier reef, is also a lovely place to get something to eat or look in some shops. North of the marina you can find the Tin Shed social club - another waterside eatery - and the Sugar wharf, a great spot for a walk, sunset views and boat watching.

The Daintree is the oldest rainforest in the world at 180million years old. Located just north of Port Douglas, you can spend a day driving the winding scenic roads, crossing the river on an old ferry, dropping into the Daintree ice cream company, taking short rainforest walks and seeing the pristine beaches. The Discovery centre is a good place to start for information and a tree top canopy walkway. Many tours are available (see below), eco lodges, river cruises too, and you should always be looking out for the elusive cassowaries.

North of the Daintree is this stunning location, a tropical paradise of a beach that, when you wander along it, you will feel like you're in another world. The cape was named by Captain Cook after he came into trouble here trying to navigate the reef.
There are two beaches to walk along, a lookout, rainforest boardwalk, tours and a settlement that has some cafe's, restaurants, accommodation, camping, shops and a fruit farm you can tour. An interesting fact is that this is the only place in the world where two world heritage sites touch - the Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef.

Far north Queensland is famous for it's crocodiles and there's no better way to see them than in their natural habitat.
There are several operators on the Daintree river - the river you must cross by ferry to reach the main part of the Daintree forest - and tours typically last for 1 to 2 hours. Solar Whispers boats are zero emissions and quiet. Cape Trib Cruises also has a tour close to Cape Tribulation on Coopers Creek. If you can't get to the Daintree, Lady Douglas River Cruises go looking for crocs among the mangroves around Port Douglas itself, straight from the marina.

There are a multitude of tours available to the Daintree direct from Port Douglas - taking you to Mossman gorge first, on a croc cruise and to Cape Trib, for example - plus many individual activity tours within and around the Daintree rainforest. Aboriginal dreamtime walks at Mossman gorge and Kuku Yalanji crab hunting tours give a fantastic insight into the culture and history of the area. Janbal arts centre in Mossman offers boomerang painting. River drift snorkelling is available, as are rainforest night tours and Horse riding in Cape trib.
See the below tips section for links for all these tours / activities.

This pristine wilderness area is nice place to visit to walk along rainforest paths, across a bridge and observe the river gently flowing over the rocks. Clear pools of water or good places to splash around in or take a swim.
There is a visitor centre and dreamtime aboriginal walks are available that give a fascinating insight into the rainforest and how it was lived in (1.5hr, $80).
Note that to get to the boardwalks and river you need to take a shuttle bus from the visitor centre for $13 return, unless you are on a tour.

This lookout point is well worth the short uphill trek to get there. Positioned right above the town centre and with a fantastic view down four mile beach, it is a picture postcard view no matter what time you go.
Access us via Island Point road from the northern end of Macrossan street. If you can't handle the climb, the viewpoint is accessible by road too.

St Mary's By The Sea is a charming chapel and bell tower and a must to stop by just to get a photo. Located past the northern end of Macrossan street, the chapel sits within the lovely Rex Smeal park. Take an hour or two to stroll up to Little cove and along the waters edge to take in the views, then back along to Sugar Wharf to boat watch. Great at sunset.
The popular Sunday markets are held next to here.

Every Sunday from 8am to 1.30pm, next to St Mary's By The Sea Chapel, you will find a delightful market full of arts, crafts, food, fruit, clothing - all made by the store holders themselves. Musicians are often accompanying the market that help creates a lively atmosphere. Try some sugar cane juice, coconut, ice cream, or pick up some jewellery.
A sister market is also held on Wednesday afternoons at the marina.

This incredible oceanside drive is one of the best in Australia. It meanders along the coastline between Cairns and Port Douglas, so you can't miss it if you arrive via Cairns airport, however it is worth taking your time over it to stop at viewpoints, beaches and drop into popular Palm Cove for some lunch.

A cruise along the water at sunset is a wonderful way to end a day in paradise. Indigo does 2hr cruises whilst Sailaway offers a 1.5hr cruises with a welcome drink included - both on catamarans. Lady Douglas river cruises take their boat out for sunset too, and have an additional night cruise with live music on Fridays. Shaolin has a Chinese Junk boat that does sunset, low isles snorkelling and seafood tours. See links in tips section bellow.

There are plenty of good restaurants in Port Douglas with lots of options on Macrossan street. It's always worthwhile stepping things up though and grabbing yourself a great view whilst you eat. The marina has a few options overlooking all the parked up boats. Just north of here is The Tin Shed, a great place that the locals love and has awesome views at sunset. The Nautilus restaurant, accessed off Macrossan street, is an open air restaurant surrounded by the jungle.

Aside from the tours already mentioned above - Great Barrier Reef trips, Daintree and Cape Trib trips - there are a myriad of additional day tours and activities that may be enticing to you.
You can try horse riding, fly in a hot air balloon or helicopter, or fly in a microlight, fly to a deserted island, swim with Minke whales, Stand up paddle board or kite surf, bike 'n' hike, including riding on the bump track or rainforest, do the Devil Thumb hike, go fishing, ride on a dirt bike or motortrike or segway, take a coconut tour, do a bush tour with 'man and a dog' or do Brett's outback tasting adventure.
See links to all these tours and activities in the tips section below.

This tiny and cute historic lighthouse, just around the corner from the town centre, is worth a look for the view it has over the waters beyond Port Douglas. It also marks the start of the Flagstaff Hill walking trail (see below).

This walking trail, also known as the beach cliff walk, stretches from the lighthouse, across the cliffs to the north of the town centre and around to Four Mile beach. A great lookout point is included that gives incredible views over the ocean.

Port Douglas boat hire have simple pontoon boats available for self drive hire to take along the inlet to search for crocs, enjoy the tranquil waters or do some fishing. Fishing gear and eskys also available to hire.

Whilst you have likely come through Cairns to reach Port Douglas, the small city has a few very worthwhile things to do. Kuranda is a rainforest hill town with enough to fill a day alone, with markets, a cable car or railway to reach the top, and Baron falls - an impressive waterfall that really flows in the wet season. Reef trips are a plenty in Cairns and a trip to Green Island is an easy way to see it and snorkel amongst green turtles. The city itself has a backpacker vibe to it with a public swimming pool on the waterfront (no natural beach) and the Atherton tablelands are another worthy day out.

This wildlife park is full of native Australian animals, including koalas, kangaroos (that you can feed), crocodiles, tree kangaroos, cassowaries and lots of birds. Feeding presentations throughout the day and you can also hold and have your photo taken with a koala, crocodile, snakes and more. A popular experience is the 'breakfast with the birds', that includes a buffet breakfast and the chance to have a large bird sit on your arm. A new experience, 'swimming with the salties' is coming soon and a nocturnal tour is also offered.

This longstanding nightime show was held at the Iron Bar but has now moved to Chilly's pizza and trattoria. It starts at 5.15, so get there early.

This is a rainforest dining experience, taking place outdoors under a beautifully lit forest canopy, where you are given a cultural aboriginal experience presented by two local aboriginal brothers with knowledge of the land, didgeridoo and sharing a dreamtime story. The food is a 4 course tropical tasting menu accompanied by wine.

This historical building, constructed in 1879, houses a small museum with exhibits on local history including the only woman legally hanged in Queensland, the Chinese community and sugar cultivation.

The town is dotted with art and photography galleries with a particular focus on aboriginal art - most are on Macrossan street. The Janbal art centre in Mossman is well known and offers art classes, including painting boomerangs.

Take your relaxing break to another level by visiting a day spa for a treatment or massage. Many of the hotels have spas within them, but there are some options in town too, plus some great options outside of town in rainforest settings, such as at Daintree eco lodge.

There are plenty of yoga choices with studios in town, 'yoga on the beach' and some retreats in the rainforest, including in the Daintree. Options range from hour long classes to multi-day breaks.

After driving the road to Cape Tribulation via the Daintree rainforest, the bitumen ends and the track becomes 4 x 4 only. It's a fun ride through the continuing rainforest and described as one of the most scenic four wheel drives in Queensland and with the ultimate goal to get to the famous Lions Den pub. Along the way you will pass through Wujal Wujal, which has a waterfall and arts centre to visit. Once at the top of the track, you could return via the inland tarmac road or continue on to Cookstown. Check conditions prior to travel as it is impassable after rainfall. Tours are available if you don't have your own vehicle.

This narrow gauge steam railway run for just 20min each way as it traverses around two thirds the length of the town. You can join from either the marina station, or the St Crispin's station, which is located at the southern end of the town. They manage to find two locations for stops along the way too - at the Oaks resort and Mirage Country Club. $12 adult tickets each way or $20 return. Currently not running due to the pandemic.