What are the best things to do in Port Douglas, Queensland?

The best things to do in Port Douglas, Queensland, include Great Barrier Reef cruises, Daintree rainforest tours and wildlife experiences.

Port Douglas is one of the prime holiday spots in far north Queensland. Unashamedly a resort town, Port Douglas is built around tourism, with several plush hotels along Four Mile Beach and a massive array of attractions and activities. This guide picks out the best of them.

Things to do in Port Douglas: Great Barrier Reef cruises

The Great Barrier Reef is just offshore from Port Douglas, and most visitors to the town end up doing a reef trip during their stay. The trick is picking the right cruise for your interests and abilities, as there are significant differences.

A half-day or full-day trip to the Low Isles works for those who essentially want island time with a bit of snorkelling thrown in. You can see plenty of coral and turtles just off the beach, but the underwater scenes are more spectacular on an outer reef tour.

If seeing the most impressive aquatic action is key, pick a tour that visits multiple snorkelling sites. The Calypso day tour, for example, visits three excellent sites on the Outer Reef – and offers an introductory diving session for those that want to try it.

For weaker swimmers, the Quicksilver tour visits a pontoon moored on Agincourt Reef, and throws in all manner of extras such as coral viewing in a semi-submersible, fish-feeding and an underwater observatory.

Of course, if you really not bothered about getting in the water, you can see the reef from above on a scenic helicopter flight.

What to do in Port Douglas: Sunset sailing cruise

If just being on a boat counts for more than snorkelling, a sunset sailing cruise is a good, possibly romantic option. The 1.5 hour cruise on a luxury catamaran includes welcome drinks an appetisers, plus a hopefully majestic sunset over the water.

Sunset in Port Douglas, Queensland. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.

Things to do in Port Douglas: Daintree rainforest tours

Port Douglas is also the primary base for tours into the Daintree rainforest, with favourites such as Mossman Gorge, the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation a relatively short drive away.

You can take a transfer to Mossman Gorge, or bundle up a half day tour that combines the gorge with a wildlife cruise on the Daintree River.

But the smart option is to pick a Cape Tribulation day tour that takes in Mossman Gorge and the Daintree River cruise along the way.

Another way of experiencing the Daintree Rainforest is on an Aboriginal cultural tour. The Ngala Julaymba Dungay experience is led by a local Kuku Yalanji guide, and includes bush tucker sampling, mud-crabbing and learning traditional hunting techniques.

Port Douglas wildlife attractions

Just to the south of Port Douglas near Wangetti Beach, you can visit Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures. This is a crocodile farm that now offers a more expansive, all-round tourist experience, but it still does the famous crocodile feeding. Half day tours from Port Douglas are available for those who aren’t driving themselves.

Closer is Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas, which showcases native Australian creatures, such as koalas, kangaroos and emus, but with a particular emphasis on rainforest creatures.

Fishing in Port Douglas

If you’re big into fishing, you can head out to the reef on a fishing charter from Port Douglas. For everyone else, the Hook-A-Barra tour to the barramundi farm at Wonga Beach might be more interesting. This trip gives you an hour or so of catch-and-release barramundi fishing, followed by a fresh fish lunch.

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