Port Douglas, Australia

Port Douglas (5 days, 4 nights – Nov 11-15)

The distance between Sydney and Cairns is 1,600 miles...so fly! Don't even think about driving. We flew into Cairns in the late morning and rented a car to drive north to Port Douglas. The drive took us an hour...and yes, the Australians drive on the left. However, don't be intimidated. It feels strange to drive on the left...and the first few round-abouts are a little scary, but you will quickly get used to it. I promise. Dee Dee and I were both thankful to have a rental car for the three days that we were there for it gave us freedom to explore.

Port Douglas is a small beach town and is far less touristy and commercialized than Cairns. Cairns is a larger city with the big hotels and restaurant chains. Dee Dee and I wanted something lower key so we took recommendations from friends that Port Douglas would be a better fit for us. It is! We recommend spending no less than 4 days in the area if possible.

Keep in mind that Northern Australia is very tropical which can mean rainy and humid weather. The tropical countries of Malaysia, New Guinea and Indonesia are directly north and Australia receives the tail end of the tropical storms running through those areas. Dress for the tropics..which means wear clothing with material that breaths (cotton, lycra)!

Where to Stay
Hotel and resort prices in Port Douglas can be pricey...especially in the summer season (Nov - Jan). The best and least expensive option we found was booking a serviced apartment. We did our research on Trip Advisor and found several great options for under $150 AU a night...which is cheap for the area. We HIGHLY recommend staying at The Meridian Port Douglas for the location, rooms and specifically the hosts (John and Susan) were fantastic. Check out our complete review of this property on Trip Advisor. John and Susan are excellent hosts and were very helpful in booking tours of the area and providing recommendations on where to eat.

What to Do
Great Barrier Reef
The big attraction is obviously the Great Barrier Reef! However, the key with booking a trip is to not book too far in advance. The weather changes daily with heavy rain one day, and blue sky and calm water the next. Plan to call John and Susan at The Meridian the day before you arrive and ask how the weather has been. John will recommend what days would be best to go to the reef and can help you make a booking.

Unfortunately we had bad reef weather all four days we were there. We were able to get out on a boat the second day we were there. Due to the weather and choppy sea, we had to go out on the Quicksilver boat which is a large 300+ person boat that takes snorkelers out to a platform in the outer reef. Given the weather, Quicksilver was our only option to see the reef...along with 300 other people. The outer reef is 50 miles off the coast...and that's a long 50 miles in rough weather.

Given good weather, we recommend booking on a smaller 40 person boat, such as Wavelenght Reef Charters. These smaller boats go to 2-3 locations on the reef and you will have a better chance to see a wider variety of under-water life.

Dee Dee and I did have a great time seeing the reef on Quicksilver. We saw beautiful blue coral, several tiny tropical fish in bright colors along with giant clams that were as wide as I am tall (I'm 6 ft). Yikes. The coral is really beautiful..and is very much alive. We could see the organisms "breath" which is a little creepy...IT'S ALIVE!

The Daintree Rain Forest
I LOVE rain forests. The Daintree Rain Forest is an old growth rain forest that has been preserved through the Australian government. The other site in the areas is the Mossman Gorge. The best way to see the Daintree and Mossman is on a tour...seriously. One could visit both areas by driving up and walking around, but one will not have any idea about the significance of the surroundings, the various plants and wildlife. We took Tony's Tropical Tours and it was a great experience in a small group of 6 people plus the guide. We were picked up in a Toyota Landcruiser at our hotel at 8:00am and didn't get back until 5:30pm. The tour took us on two great walks through the Gorge and in the Daintree reserve and spent several hours pointing out and discussing the wildlife.

Dee Dee turned out to be a great wildlife spotter. She spotted tree crickets, leaf crickets and a few lizards...and a dragon lizard napping on the side of a tree. The highlight of the day was seeing the old growth pedestal base trees towering high above us. Wow! We also stopped off at the beach at the edge of the preserve and saw several coconut trees and several huge tanker ships floating off the coast...a reminder of the well traveled shipping rout off the coast that generates the garbage found on the beach as well.

The naturalist guides are quite well educated on the plants and wildlife and share the many issues the confront rain forest preservation and de-forestation. So...get ready for a dose of "green" thinking. However, Dee Dee and I were impressed with the guide's take on preservation. The guide said "there is not irresponsible logging. There are only irresponsible logging habits." The guide understood the need for wood, but was promoting better logging practices to generate more wood in the future. From what we understood, logging companies log and don't replant...or use tactics that destroy future growth opportunity. Not good.

Be sure to take a tour of the Daintree Rain Forest and Mossman Gorge. It's really eye-opening and you will see great things.

Where to Eat
The most famous place is Salsa which is at the end of the main drag closest to the beach. This restaurant is famous for being visited by President Bill Clinton on Sept 11, 2001. President Clinton was visiting Port Douglas when he was informed of the attacks and was whisked away by helicopter. His visit was commemorated by a signed plate hanging on the wall and each of the waitresses wear dark blue dresses with stains on them. The food is really good there...and not that pricey.

The best find in the area was The Beach House...a local restaurant was referred to us by workers at an ice cream shop. This place is fantastic from the food and ambiance side of things. It's very casual with tikki torches and sandy floors. The food is great too...I had a macadamia nut encrusted sea bass that was great...and memorable...and locally caught. Ask any local where the restaurant is and they will point you in the right direction...it's only 2 minutes drive from downtown.

Mango Jam is another good restaurant on the main drag. They are known for their pizzas and tropical fruit drinks.