Where to eat in Port Douglas as we enter 2026? There are new restaurants and some have closed. The best restaurant for you in Port Douglas depends on the time of day, your budget, and what type of food you’d like to eat. Port Douglas has pub food, relaxed dining and quite a few top-end …
Waterfalls to visit from Port Douglas The wet season is the best time to see waterfalls near Port Douglas. After heavy rains, the falls can be dramatic. But you can see waterfalls at any time of year. This post tells you about the best, most beautiful waterfalls to see, waterfall tours to book, plus a …
Cooktown is north of Port Douglas and Cairns on the northeast coast of Queensland Australia. Cooktown is very much worth visiting as a place of historical interest and as an interesting Far North Queensland Town. In this post, we’ll share photos of Cooktown and share our insights, so that you can decide if Cooktown is …
We last visited the Sheraton Mirage for breakfast in 2024. Non-residents can buy the breakfast buffet at this hotel. At peak times it may be wise to book by phone, but you can also turn up on the day. It’s a good buffet breakfast, fairly expensive, but there is a discount for locals, with proof …
Cairns has numerous great attractions within easy reach of the city and CBD but there are also loads of things to do in the surrounding area. In this post, we’ll cover things to do in Cairns first, then add nearby day trips from Cairns. All these “things to do” are available to you if you …
The best time to visit Cairns is broadly considered to be Australia’s cooler months, avoiding the wet season, tropical cyclones, and stinger season. If you’d prefer to avoid these natural phenomena, you should visit between May and October, these are the months many people consider “ideal” for visiting Cairns. However, you can visit Cairns and …
The Atherton Tablelands, known locally as “The Tablelands” covers a huge area in Far North Queensland, close to top holiday hotspots, Cairns and Port Douglas. There is a vast amount to see and do on the Tablelands and your average visitor probably won’t be able to do it all. So once you’ve been to the …
Feeding George the groper used to be a daily event in Port Douglas, but sadly, it doesn’t happen today. I originally wrote this post several years ago, we were regulars at the groper feeding and we have photos. This post is republished on our new site, portdouglasaustralia.com.au, with a few current updates, like, what happened …
If you walk the Flagstaff Hill walking trail and look out to sea, you will see low-lying islands to the northeast of Port Douglas. These are the Low Isles and they are a popular half or full-day trip from our town. In this post, we cover your options for visiting The Low Isles to help …
Stinger season in Port Douglas, Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef area and the whole of Far North Queensland is something you need to be aware of if you plan to visit our part of the world. Some insider knowledge on how to be safe, for you and your kids, is essential. We live up here, …
The Great Barrier Reef is about an hour and a half by boat from Port Douglas. Our town is one of the very best places to see the reef and the team here at portdouglasaustralia.com.au spend a lot of time out there. We know the reef well. If you need any help in choosing or …
The only way to get from Cairns to Port Douglas is normally by road and The Great Barrier Reef Drive is one of the most beautiful drives in the world. The Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas hugs the coast offering stunning views of the Coral Sea and various beaches along the way. …
The best time to visit Port Douglas is of course when you can visit. Never let the weather put you off too much, but should you choose summer or winter, wet season or dry and should you factor in stinger season? A lot depends on which of the things to do in Port Douglas appeal …
Where are the best places to see crocodiles in Port Douglas? There are wild crocodiles in Port Douglas, plus some in captivity. There are several ways to see them on your Port Douglas holiday or vacation. We give you the best way to see (or swim with) crocodiles from Port Douglas. Saltwater crocodiles and freshwater …
Where To Start Planning Your Port Douglas Trip? Port Douglas is a stunning destination in Far North Queensland, Australia. It’s one of Australia’s very best vacation spots, with great hotels, abundant restaurants and access to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. Visitors to Port Douglas come here to enjoy a tropical climate, the beach, …
There are plenty of places to eat pizza in Port Douglas in 2026, but where can you find the best pizza in town? As a Port Douglas local, pizza-lover, and former head chef, I make it my business to try every pizza I can. Here are my findings on the best pizzas in Douglas Shire, …
Port Douglas has almost none of the big takeaway fast food chains except Domino’s Pizza, which was at the Port Village Shopping Centre until recently. But there are plenty of other places to buy takeaway food, and this post will give you all of the best fast food and take-out food options. A lot of …
The Shannonvale Swimming Hole is north of Port Douglas in Shannonvale. To get there, take Port Douglas Mossman Road (Captain Cook Highway, Route 44) north for about 20 minutes, take the left just before you enter Mossman. This road bends around to the left through countryside and cane fields, it will take you straight to …
In Port Douglas the sun rises over the Coral Sea and sets behind the mountains to the west of Port Douglas. The best place to see sunrise in Port Douglas is Fourmile Beach, the best place to see sunsets is Rex Smeal Park or anywhere along Dickson’s Inlet. We give you times and activities on …
Sadly, our site, portdouglasaustralia.com.au was closed because of a tech mishap in early December 2025. Luckily, my amazing hosts had full backups, and we were able to move this site to a new domain at portdouglasau.com within 24 hours. That’s the website you’re on right now, our travel blog is intact. Everything is working just …
Lake Eacham is a beautiful crater lake on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, Australia. It’s one of the crater lakes making up Crater Lakes National Park, in the very interesting landscape of The Tablelands. We visited in October 2025 to check out the area and take some photos. You can easily visit Lake …
We were just in Herberton Australia for the 2025 Herberton Jacaranda Festival, so this post is freshly updated with still more photos and information, we even got to see the steam train in operation at Herberton Station. The Herberton Historic Village is one of the best things to do “near” Port Douglas, Cairns or Palm …
Ravenshoe is the highest town in Queensland and home to the highest pub in Queensland. It is located on the Tablelands, the Cairns hinterlands, at 920m, it’s cooler, lusher, and greener than the coastal strip. It’s a nice rural town to visit, and we think you should add it to your itinerary, particularly if you …
Kuranda, “the village in the rainforest,” is a big tourist draw for visitors to Cairns and North East Queensland. Cairns is the closest city and airport to Kuranda, and there are multiple ways to visit Kuranda from the coast. We’ll go into your options on this page. If you are visiting Kuranda from Palm Cove …
Hartley’s Creek Falls are a series of waterfalls and swimming holes off the coast road north of Cairns and Palm Cove, and south of Port Douglas at Wangetti. You will need to park just off the highway and hike to the falls, through the bush. The path is good and not very difficult, it’s an …
There are currently no liveaboard dive trips departing from Port Douglas for The Great Barrier Reef. If this changes, we’ll do our best to let you know. But there are plenty departing Cairns, just an hour or so to the south. In this post, we’ll give you a few options and show you how to …
There have been a lot of changes around kids’ playgrounds in and near Port Douglas, Queensland, in recent years. New play equipment has been installed, some of the old playgrounds my kids enjoyed have gone, and excitingly, the new water play area is about to open in 2025. If you’re visiting Port Douglas with kids, …
