Port Douglas
Reef and Rainforest in One Town
On the lands of the Yirrganydji and Kuku Yalanji people.
schedule 1 min read / Updated Apr 2026
An hour north of Cairns, Port Douglas is the more upmarket alternative gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. Four Mile Beach, the Saturday market, and the closest reef edges to the mainland make it the better base for a quieter Far North Queensland trip.
Port Douglas sits at the northern edge of Trinity Bay, halfway between Cairns and the Daintree River. The town was founded in 1877 during a gold rush and grew briefly to 12,000 people before fading. It was rediscovered in the 1980s when developer Christopher Skase built the Sheraton Mirage resort, and has since become the more upmarket alternative to busy Cairns.
Four Mile Beach runs the full length of the town's eastern side. It's a stinger-net protected swimming beach during the wet season (November to May) and an open beach the rest of the year. The Sunday Port Douglas Markets at Anzac Park, beside the beach, are one of the best regional markets in Queensland.
The town is the closest mainland point to the outer reef in this stretch of the coast, with a half-hour shorter boat ride than Cairns. The Quicksilver and Calypso reef boats depart from the marina daily. The Mossman Gorge in the Daintree National Park is 20 minutes north and offers Indigenous-led Dreamtime Walks with the Kuku Yalanji people.
The Captain Cook Highway from Cairns is one of the most scenic coast drives in the country, hugging the foothills of the rainforest as it climbs to Rex Lookout above Wangetti Beach.
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2 bookable experiences at or near Port Douglas.
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