Daintree River ferry times and ticket costs

The Daintree River ferry in Queensland is open from 5am to midnight. It costs $26 per car one way, or $45 return. Passengers, bicycles and pedestrians cost $3 one way, or $4 return.

What is the Daintree River ferry?

The Daintree River ferry is a cable ferry that crosses the Daintree River near Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia.

The ride on the Daintree River ferry may be short, but the journey feels like it crosses an important boundary.

saltwater crocodile on Daintree River Cruise — A saltwater crocodile suns itself on the banks, as seen from a Daintree River cruise. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

On the south side of the crocodile-heavy Daintree River is tamed, managed, tourist-focused Queensland. Here are resort town Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef tourism hub Cairns and the food producers of the Atherton Tableland.

9 Port Douglas experiences to boost your holiday

Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tour – visiting three amazing snorkelling sites on the Outer Reef. This is the one for seeing the very best of the Reef.
Visit Agincourt Reef – with a cruise, underwater observatory and coral viewing in a semi-submersible. This is the best Port Douglas Reef tour for less confident swimmers.
Half-day Low Isles snorkelling tour – ideal for those with less time.
Daintree River wildlife cruise combo – see lots of crocs, then visit the cascades of Mossman Gorge.
Sunset sailing cruise – with welcome drinks and appetisers aboard a luxury catamaran.
Scenic helicopter flight – see the Great Barrier Reef from above.
Go fishing at a barramundi farm – with lunch included.
Aboriginal cultural walk – including bush tucker tasting and traditional hunting techniques.
Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas – meet all manner of native Australian animals.

Daintree River ferry: Crossing the Daintree River

To the north of the Daintree River is largely untouched World Heritage-listed rainforest. It is where aggressive cassowaries and deadly crocodiles hang out, and the Cape Tribulation Road is pretty much the only one that’s sealed.

If you’re driving from Cairns to Cape Tribulation, you’ll have to go along the Cape Tribulation Road. And that means taking the Daintree River Ferry from the Daintree Gateway, 106km north of Cairns.

Why you should do a Daintree River cruise

You ARE going to see crocodiles. Probably several of them.
It’s not just crocs – it’s a glimpse of the whole Daintree ecosystem, with snakes and birds too.
The tours take an hour or so – you can fit in plenty more on the same day.

BOOK YOUR DAINTREE CRUISE HERE

The Daintree River ferry is not a glamorous thing. It is pure functionality, operated via cables. Cars and buses drive on to it at one end, squashing up as close as they can to maximise the numbers that can get across. The crossing takes about ten minutes, then everyone drives off at the other end.

The Daintree River ferry crossing may well be short, but it can still take a long time to get to the other side of the river. That’s due to demand – at the tourism peak during the dry season (May to October), there can be queues waiting to board. This is particularly the case in mid-morning going north, and mid-afternoon going south.

5 Daintree experiences worth booking in advance

Daintree Discovery Centre tickets.
Hour-long Daintree River cruise.
Mossman River drift snorkelling.
Daintree River late afternoon cruise.
Barramundi fishing experience.

When are the Daintree River ferry times?

If you want to get straight across the river, go outside these peak Daintree ferry times. You’ll find the Daintree River ferry open at 5am, and closing at midnight. According to the Daintree Ferry web page, return tickets are comparatively cheaper.

Daintree Ferry fare prices

The Daintree River ferry costs $26 to take a private car across one way, or $45 return. And, frankly, if you’ve hired a rental car from Cairns, you’re going to need to return it.

Passengers, bicycles and pedestrians need to pay $3 each, one way, or $4 each return.

7 Cape Tribulation experiences you should book in advance

▶️ An attraction-packed Cape Tribulation day tour from Cairns or Port Douglas.
▶️ (Highly recommended ✅) Small group reef snorkelling – on the Ocean Safari Great Barrier Reef tour.
▶️ See the Daintree come to life – on a guided rainforest night walk.
▶️ Uncover jungle secrets – on a small group rainforest trekking adventure.
▶️ Whizz through the trees – on a thrill-a-minute zipline adventure course.
▶️ Saddle up, and go horse-riding along the beach.
▶️ Stretch those legs on a full day waterfall hike.