Port
Douglas Australia is a great holiday destination.
Port Douglas is a beautiful little town north of Cairns
in far north Queensland.
It may be a
little touristy but it's a very pretty town with colourful shops and
cafes, lovely beaches and views over emerald blue waters. It is
probably the best place in Australia
to visit the Great Barrier Reef, because the
coral reef is very close to the
coast here. On this page is some information about the town, and in the
end of the page is a Port Douglas map.
Flagstaff Lookout View,
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Four Mile Beach Port Douglas Australia
Along the Port Douglas road that enters the town from south is the
pretty Four Mile Beach with its white sands and bright blue waters.
It's a very nice beach and many people like to stay here - there are
places like Tropic Breeze Van Village, Port o’ Call Lodge, Pandanus
Caravan Park, Dougie’s Backpackers, Lychee Tree, Pelican Inn and
Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas.
Four Mile Beach. Poster by AllPosters,
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Port Douglas Restaurants and Shops
As you enter the town, you come right to Macrossan Street – the main
street of Port Douglas, with its colourful shops, bars, cafes and
restaurants. In the
southern end of Macrossan Street is the Esplanade –
a small beachfront with a swimming enclosure (stinger net) in the very
northern end of Four Mile Beach. North of it is Flagstaff Hill – a good
lookout point if you are up to a bit of a walk.
Marina. Poster by AllPosters,
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Port Douglas Market and Old Buildings
In the northern end of Macrossan Street is the town’s church St Mary’s
by the Sea, the Old Courthouse Museum, and the Sunday Markets hold
every Sunday in the ANZAC Park. The church was built in 1911, and the
Old Courthouse Museum was the only public building to survive a cyclone
the same year, and today it is the oldest building in the town.
St Marys by the Sea. Poster by AllPosters,
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Rainforest Habitat - Port Douglas Australia
South of the town is Rainforest Habitat
– a fantastic place to learn about rainforest plants and some 180
species of Australian
animals such as koalas,
kangaroos
and cockatoos, and some
tropical animals like crocodiles,
cassowaries
and tree
kangaroos. The park is
organised in three sections: wetlands, rainforest and grasslands, and
there are free guided tours that take you through these different
habitats. If you like to get close to parrots
and cockatoos,
try the Breakfast with
the Birds.
Rainforest Habitat. Poster by AllPosters,
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Reef Cruise - Port Douglas Australia
For many travellers, the main reason to stay in Port Douglas is to
visit the coral
reef. The trips to the Great
Barrier Reef from Port
Douglas may be a bit expensive, but they are about the best in
Australia. Many companies such as Aristocat, Calypso, Haba, Poseidon,
Quicksmart and Tallarook will take you to both snorkelling and diving
where you can get really close to the colourful fish and other amazing
animals. If you don’t want to snorkel or dive, you can take a trip with
a glass bottom boat.
Cruise, Port Douglas Australia. Poster by AllPosters,
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Low Isles - Port Douglas Australia
One of the most popular trips from Port Douglas is the Low Isles – a
lovely coral cay with a sandy beach and a lighthouse.
The tour
operators that can take you there are Sailaway, Zachariah and
Ragamuffin Sail & Snorkel.
Low Isles. Poster by AllPosters,
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Diving - Port Douglas Australia
It is also quite popular to get your diving licence in Port Douglas.
Discover Dive School and Quicksilver Dive School have courses that
include two days theory and pool diving in Palm Cove north of Cairns,
and two days open water diving off the coast of Port Douglas.
Port Douglas Rainforest Tours
Other tours include Bike’nHike which will take you to mountain biking
trips to rainforests in Cape Tribulation and Hidden Valley; Reef
& Rainforest Connections that offers a variety of tours to
places like Cooktown and Mossman Gorge; and Kuku-Yalanji Dreamtime
Walks – some interesting tours by Aboriginal
guides who take you to
their country in Mossman Gorge.
Mossman Gorge. Poster by AllPosters,
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Wining and Dining - Port Douglas Australia
Port Douglas is a great place to eat out and go drinking. There are so
many restaurants, bars and cafes that you will definitely find what you
like. Most of them are along Macrossan Street: Mango Jam Café,
Portofinos, Sassi Cucina, and the famous Iron Bar and Restaurant (where
on some nights they have cane toad races!).
Others include High Tide on
the Esplanade, Salsa Bar & Grill on Wharf Street, Sardi’s on
Davidson Street and On the Inlet on Inlet Street. A nice pub to
recommend is Court House Hotel, and in the southern end of Wharf Street
is the Port Douglas Yacht Club.
Marina, Port Douglas Australia. Poster by AllPosters,
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Getting There and Accommodations in Port Douglas Australia
It is easy to get to Port Douglas from Cairns.
Even if you haven’t got your own transport, there are buses run by
Coral Reef Coaches, and boats from Cairns to Port Douglas by
Quicksilver. And of course, you can rent a car.
Most places to stay are expensive and high class. The most
common form of accommodation is holiday apartments, followed by resorts
and hotels. Budget accommodation does exist but is rare and not as
cheap as you'd probably expect.
Accommodation. Poster by AllPosters,
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Here's a Port Douglas map, where I have
tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on
the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the
map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move
around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth,
click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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best efforts have been made to ensure
that all the information on this site is correct,
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