This sanctuary endeavours to keep and showcase native animals in enclosures that mimic their natural environment, while allowing you to get up close to…
Matt Munro
Port Douglas
Welcome to your holiday. Port Douglas (Port or PD) is equal parts flash and fun, from the million-dollar marina to the dreamy Four Mile Beach and the five-star resorts big enough to warrant their own postcode.
The peninsula was the traditional home of the Yirrganydji people until European settlement turned it into a remote port and fishing village. Port Douglas really developed in the 1980s, thanks largely to the late entrepeneur Christopher Skase, becoming a sophisticated and upmarket resort town that's quite a contrast to Cairns' tourist scene. PD is well connected: the outer Great Barrier Reef is less than an hour offshore, the Dickson Inlet and estuary is packed with fish and crocs, and sunset sailing from the marina is too good to pass up.
A growing number of flashpackers, cashed-up couples and fiscally flush families choose Port Douglas over Cairns as their Far North base, and for good reason.
Explore Port Douglas
- WWildlife Habitat Port Douglas
This sanctuary endeavours to keep and showcase native animals in enclosures that mimic their natural environment, while allowing you to get up close to…
- FFour Mile Beach
This broad stretch of squeaky sand wraps around the eastern side of the peninsula in a near-perfect arc of sand and swaying palms – access is off the…
- TTrinity Bay Lookout
Head up to Flagstaff Hill for sensational views over Four Mile Beach and the Coral Sea. Drive or walk up via Wharf St, or there's a walking path leading…
- CCrystalbrook Superyacht Marina
The hub of waterbased activities in Port Douglas, Crystalbrook Marina is also attempting to be a social hub with a few restaurants, bars and boutique…
- SSt Mary's by the Sea
Worth a peek inside (when it’s not overflowing with wedding parties), this quaint, nondenominational, white timber church was built in 1880, rebuilt after…
- CCourt House Museum
The quaint and quiet 1879 Court House contains historical exhibits, including the story of Ellen Thompson, who was tried for murdering her husband in 1887…
- IIsland Point
You can walk to the former Island Point lighthouse, via Wharf St.
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Port Douglas.
See
Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas
This sanctuary endeavours to keep and showcase native animals in enclosures that mimic their natural environment, while allowing you to get up close to…
See
Four Mile Beach
This broad stretch of squeaky sand wraps around the eastern side of the peninsula in a near-perfect arc of sand and swaying palms – access is off the…
See
Trinity Bay Lookout
Head up to Flagstaff Hill for sensational views over Four Mile Beach and the Coral Sea. Drive or walk up via Wharf St, or there's a walking path leading…
See
Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina
The hub of waterbased activities in Port Douglas, Crystalbrook Marina is also attempting to be a social hub with a few restaurants, bars and boutique…
See
St Mary's by the Sea
Worth a peek inside (when it’s not overflowing with wedding parties), this quaint, nondenominational, white timber church was built in 1880, rebuilt after…
See
Court House Museum
The quaint and quiet 1879 Court House contains historical exhibits, including the story of Ellen Thompson, who was tried for murdering her husband in 1887…
Featured videos
Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef: from the reef to the rainforest
3:21
Guidebooks
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