20+ Best Things to do in Port Douglas, North Queensland Australia

Hi Travellers, Chris here and welcome to the beautiful North Queensland town of Port Douglas and where we'll be exploring the things to do. Welcome to the tropical North Queensland town of Port Douglas which is known for its luxury lifestyle, endless beaches and nearby rainforests. There are many different things to do in Port Douglas and we're going to venture some of those in today's video. Things like day tours, free things to do, adventure and relaxation. So let's get started with everything Port Douglas has to offer. Starting off today with the Flagstaff Hill Walking Trail. The track isn't that long, only 1.5km stretching from Four Mile Beach to Rexmeal Park. This means you can enter at each side, return on the same track or try entering at each end. There is also a third entrance at Flagstaff Hill Lookout around the middle. Choose your option and walk the coastline. The Four Mile Beach end does have a few stairs to climb but over pretty quickly. However, some brilliant overall lookouts at the beach. Funny that it also has a phone holder for that perfect position photo point. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing when everyone all has the same photos. All in all, it's a great view to see Port Douglas in its entirety. Next up we have the Rexmeal Park, located on the northern side of Port Douglas and consists of a grass area lined with palm trees. Consequently it's one of the favourite Instagram photo spots, especially at sunset or sunrise. Apart from that, you'll find groups and families coming for a lunchtime picnic or to use the playground, catch up with friends, watching the fishing boats come in or even host your next wedding ceremony under the trees. You can see the rainforest mountains in the distance or watch the waves crashing over the rocks. Either way, it's some free entertainment for you to enjoy and entrance to the Flagstaff Walking Trail mentioned before. While you're close to Rexmeal Park then check out the St Mary's By The Sea Chapel. It was first built in 1811, destroyed by a cyclone about 30 years later and rebuilt a few years after that. It was moved from her current location in 1988 and currently used for wedding ceremonies by the beach, funerals and christenings 7 days a week. It's a Queensland Heritage listed building and can be hired under several different packages. Other than that, the tourists can admire the architecture and have a look around. One of the day tours we completed was for the Mossman River Drift Snorkelling Tour. It had a hotel pick up from the area and takes around 2 to 2.5 hours door to door. All the gear is supplied and all you need to do is wear your swimsuit. Then it's a point of braving the crisp water temperatures and jumping in for some fun. Most of the tour is actually pretty tame and suitable for all ages but variations to this would be in the summer season and higher rainfalls. There are some snorkelling sections on the tour but I really went for the river rafting in the white water section. This was a lot of fun but also calming, peaceful and relaxing just drifting through the rainforest. I have a video that goes into more detail of this tour linked below. The Port Douglas Marina will be your starting point for several of the tours for the Great Barrier Reef. But not only that, you have some specialty shops, restaurants, a beer factory or even an ice creamery. Indulge in some of the local delicacies with a brilliant sea view. The sunset sailing expeditions will also leave from here and you have plenty to choose from. Enjoy a romantic or adventurous night on the water. Mossman Gorge can be seen in a couple of different ways by taking an organised tour or wandering around yourself. There is a tourist information centre available with a cafe and souvenir store. This is where the free bus transfers start from to get to the gorge. They run about every 15 minutes and take you in and out of the gorge all day. Once at Mossman Gorge you have a few different things you can do including the hiking trails around the forest, across a suspension bridge and various different lookout points. Apart from that you can go swimming in the beautiful cool waters or just walk around and take a look at the gorge. It's just 20 minutes from Port Douglas itself, free to enter, but also a different area to the Mossman River mentioned before in the River Drifting. Although if you take an organised tour you're more than likely going to venture further north into the Daintree National Park as well. This brings us to the Daintree National Park and one of the more popular areas to explore from Port Douglas. This one can sometimes be easier on a day tour, especially if you don't have your own vehicle. It requires a ferry transfer, seeing the Discovery Centre and hiking through the ancient rainforest. While this is easy to navigate yourself, an organised tour will save you the hassle. I'll link a video in the description below with more detail on this one, but essentially you'll be hiking some short trails, seeing the different parts of the rainforest, looking out for the wildlife and maybe even seeing a cassowary. While you're in the Daintree National Park, don't forget to stop off at the locally made Fruit Ice Cream Farms and try some of their products. It's a great morning or afternoon tea stop for a break and a quick coffee. Crocodile tours are run by many different companies and close by to the Daintree River. This is what makes it an easy day trip from Port Douglas. There's not much difference between the companies that run these tours, but some are run out of wildlife parks instead of in the wild. I do prefer to see these deadly creatures actually in the wild, but no, you're probably going to see crocs on any of the tours. My biggest tip would be to book this tour at low tide and on sunny days. This is your optimal time to have flexibility with your schedule, although I still manage to see some at high tide and on a cloudy day. I would also bring a high zoom lens if you want to capture the moment, they're sometimes small or far away for capturing on a normal phone. The Daintree River has fresh water and the perfect conditions for crocodiles. It's about 140km in length and one of the longest rivers on the east coast of Australia. There are about 70 adult crocs living in this river alone, which can be anything from 3.5 metres to 5 metres in size. They are very territorial and you won't find them hanging out in packs. The waters are very murky, which are the perfect conditions for crocs to hide from their prey. Most of these tours run for about an hour and easy to get to from Port Douglas. Your second best thing to do in Port Douglas is day tripping to the Great Barrier Reef and maybe a snorkelling tour. These venture into the outer reef and will take you about 2 hours to get there. The waters are deep but you are provided all the gear and you can choose to snorkel on your own or with a group tour. If the snorkelling is not your thing, then a semi-submarine ride will give you a brief look without actually getting wet, along with the underwater viewing chamber. The kids are going to love this one and come home absolutely exhausted. The wildlife habitat is located on the highway as you're coming into town. They have some local Australian wildlife like kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and saltwater crocodiles. If you can't get out of town for some of the wild experiences, then this could be a good option for a more controlled environment. While Karanda Village is best explored from Cairns, you will see many tourists driving south on their own and taking an organised tour from Port Douglas. The small village of Karanda contains locally made products from clothes, food, arts and crafts and souvenirs. You'll also find some cafes and restaurant options for your day trip lunch. On your way to Karanda, there will be an option to see the amazing Barron Falls from the platform and the lookout points. You can choose between a self-drive option, an organised tour or maybe even driving yourself to Smithfield and catch a return pass on the Skyrail gondola. The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is an amazing experience to enter a gondola and soar above the trees while admiring the views. If you want to find out more about my experience on the gondola, I will link my day trip to Karanda video in the description below. Four Mile Beach runs obviously four miles down the edge of Port Douglas. While it's not a popular swimming spot because of the crocs, there are plenty of people using it to splash around in the shallows. This is also great for walking along at sunrise or sunset, relaxing on the beach, riding a bike, catching some rays, walking the dog or just hanging out for the day. It's lined mostly with beautiful palm trees and some of the rainforest bushland. As this is known as a luxury destination, some of the beachfront property can be expensive and sometimes hard to get in, so make sure you book early. Want a cool way to tour Four Mile Beach, then you might want to check out the Sedgway Tours. It's always an interesting ride. Also, if you do manage to see a sunrise or sunset, you won't be disappointed. If you're looking for arts, crafts, food or local products, check out the Sunday Markets which are on from 8.30am to 1pm every week. You're sure to pick up a deal to your liking. If you have your own vehicle, the Great Barrier Reef Drive might be a nice day out of town. It stretches all the way from Cairns to Cape Tribulation, so you could choose to go north or south to explore the scenes. Either way, this highway hugs the coastline of two World Heritage listed areas, with waterfront views of the Great Barrier Reef, while the wet tropics of Queensland rainforest is on the other side. You can check out some of the other nearby beaches and smaller towns like Palm Cove, another beachside town lined with palm trees, and the famous Cobblestone Pathway. This will be one of your more special road trip areas in Australia. This road trip also includes passing by Wrecks Lookout and one of the best lookout spots over the coastline. You'll also see the Fowler Beach Nature Reserve which is 20 minutes south of Port Douglas and contains thousands of coconut palm trees growing in a field. These are all perfectly lined up and the ultimate spot for a photo on a tropical North Queensland holiday. Cape Tribulation is only two hours away from Port Douglas, which means you can use it as a day trip, seeing everything along the way, or stop for an overnighter. It's smaller than Port Douglas, but quiet and secluded with rainforest resorts bordering on the beach. One of their more popular tours would be their horse riding on the beach too. Looking for other things to do in the area, then make sure you check out these Things to do in Cairns video. Otherwise, thanks for watching today's entry and I'll see you in the next one.