Road Trip from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation: Stops, Attractions & Tips

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Tropical North Queensland must be probably the most enchanting areas in Australia, if not the world. And the little part from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation reveals among the better of the area.

Just a bit approach offshore you could have the world’s greatest reef system – the Nice Barrier Reef after which hugging the shoreline is its superb good friend, the oldest rainforest on the planet, the 140-million-year-old Daintree Rainforest.

Yep. The Amazon doesn’t even come near reaching its knowledge.

This space is stuffed with wonderful pure magnificence, viewpoints, climbing trails, and notable landmarks. When you’re considering of taking a street journey from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation, you then’re onto the correct thought.

On this information, we’ve detailed the stops you need to take alongside the best way and tips on how to take advantage of out of your journey.

Is it definitely worth the drive to Cape Tribulation?

The drive from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation is among the most scenic in Australia. It boasts wonderful ocean surroundings, climbing trails into the oldest tropical rainforest on the planet, pristine seashores, adventurous sights, and refreshing swimming holes.

Contemplating it’s solely a brief drive alongside a well-maintained street, and your different is to take a bus that doesn’t cease in any respect these wonderful websites, it’s positively value it to self-drive to Cape Tribulation from Port Douglas.

How Lengthy Is the drive From Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation?

The drive from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation is about 84.1km and could be accomplished in about 2.5 hours to three hours in the event you drive repeatedly with out stopping.

Nevertheless, there may be a lot to see and do on the best way, it could be a disgrace to simply drive straight via in sooner or later.

Please do your self a favour and dedicate a minimum of 2-3 days to absorbing all that this unbelievable coastal drive has to supply. There isn’t any purpose to hurry, you would possibly miss simply why it’s a lot extra particular than the labels might ever give an inkling to.

We spent virtually every week exploring the area on a street journey from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation.

Here’s a Google map of our street journey:

When is one of the best time to do the Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation drive?

The perfect time of yr to do the Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation drive is within the dry season, which runs from July to November.

You too can have good climate in April – June, however you’ll want to keep away from the moist season which runs from December till March.

The dry season not solely brings out one of the best climate, however there may be much less of a threat of stingers.

The moist season raises the water ranges and it’s widespread to see street closures due to flooding.

Stops on the Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation Street

Beneath are among the must-see landscapes, sights, viewpoints, and iconic landmarks between Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. Make sure you add a number of, if not all of those stops, to your driving itinerary!

1. Port Douglas

Simply because our street journey begins in Port Douglas doesn’t imply you need to rush away so rapidly!

Port Douglas is a incredible place to spend a number of days exploring the native space, having fun with sundown views from the marina, consuming good meals, partying, and procuring.

It’s an ideal base to move out to the reef from and discover extra of the encircling area.

For issues to do in Port Douglas, don’t miss a stroll on the beautiful four-mile seaside, climbing as much as Trinity Lookout, and taking a ship out for a snorkelling journey on the Nice Barrier Reef.

For meals and drinks, we actually love these locations:

• Surf Membership Bar and Bistro – An area favorite for lunch, dinner, espresso, and drinks.
• Yacht Membership – Incredible location and seafood. Nice worth meals and well-priced drinks.
• Courthouse Resort – It’s an absolute should for beer and contemporary prawns.
• The Tin Shed – Watch the boats come within the late afternoon and benefit from the least expensive drinks on the town.
• Salsa Bar – Wonderful ambiance and meals. Incredible cocktails and margarita jugs!

2. Mossman Gorge

Mossman Gorge is on the southernmost finish (and my favorite half) of the Daintree Rainforest.

It’s historical, pristine, and stuffed with excessive vibrational power. Mossman Gorge is free to enter however you do should buy a go to catch the shuttle bus into the principle strolling space. Or you’ll be able to stroll the 2km your self.

A boardwalk takes you to the Mossman River and a fantastic swimming space. The river could be harmful after heavy rain, which is why it was really helpful we not swim after we visited.

The Mossman River water is alleged to be the second purest on the planet.

Isn’t that simply so wonderful? The rainforest is 140 million years outdated and it’ll contact your soul strolling amongst twisting vines, strangler figs, epiphytes, and cycad timber that date again to prehistoric instances.

We extremely advocate that you simply take one of many Ngadiku Dreamtime Walks. Your Aboriginal information will take you into a personal part of the forest instructing you about Aboriginal customs, sharing in regards to the meals and medicinal properties of the vegetation, and sharing a number of Dreamtime tales.

This was such a tremendous expertise.

Rise up paddle boarding can be an incredible exercise to do on the Mossman River.

3. Cooya Seaside

Simply east of Mossman is Cooya Seaside, there’s not a lot to do right here except for spearfishing and dirt crab searching!

We extremely advocate you are taking a Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tour with Brandon Walker. You’ll spend the afternoon studying the normal methods of the native Aboriginal tradition and having a number of enjoyable doing it. You get to eat what you catch after.

4. Daintree Village

So this was a pleasant discover!

We stayed in a lodge on the Daintree Riverview Lodges and Van Park and had essentially the most divine views from the widespread balcony overlooking the river. The sundown was simply magnificent.

Whereas staying on the Daintree Riverview be part of an Argo 8×8 tour via the proprietor’s cattle property and the Daintree Rainforest. It was wild enjoyable!

The ladies squealed as we went up actually steep and tough terrain, previous herds of cattle, and to the hill peaks for sensational views out over the Daintree River and rainforest.

Many vacationers miss the Daintree Village by heading straight over on the ferry to enter the Daintree Nationwide Park, however these individuals are unsuitable to take action. We completely liked this space; Craig and I couldn’t work out if we felt like we had been in Asia, Victoria, or Eire.

The rainforest right here was cleared a few years in the past (throughout settlement instances earlier than it was protected) for cattle farms.

The peaks of those spectacular rolling mountains are coated in rainforest and down into the valley on the banks of the river are emerald inexperienced fields.

5. Cape Kimberley

Cape Kimberley is the primary of the seashores you come to within the Daintree Nationwide Park and simply over the Daintree River crossing.

It’s a 5km detour from the principle street, however in the event you’re after serenity, that is it. It’s very quiet with beautiful views of Snapper Island simply offshore.

6. Mount Alexandra Lookout

Maybe essentially the most well-known lookout on the entire drive is Alexandra Lookout. Cease in right here for stunning views out over the Alexandra Vary and Snapper Island.

Right here is the place you see the Daintree River going into the ocean and may get a transparent image of the place two World Heritage Websites – the Daintree rainforest and the Nice Barrier Reef meet.

What a particular a part of the world.

7. Daintree Discovery Centre

The Daintree Discovery Centre is a particular should do. Not solely did the women have a ball, they realized a lot in regards to the rainforest and its environment as effectively.

The aerial walkway takes you up into the forest cover and climbs up a 23m excessive tower, every degree supplying you with the chance to expertise a special rainforest layer and be taught in regards to the varied vegetation, bugs and butterflies, and different wildlife that reside there.

There are additionally paths that go on the decrease flooring of the rainforest as effectively.

Your entry features a self-guided audio tour with a shortened model for the children. They liked looking for the numbers, punching them into the information, after which listening to the tales of the forest.

It was nice to pay attention and see in entrance of them precisely what they had been studying from the narrator. It additionally affords an indigenous interpretation, which all of us loved studying extra about conventional meals and drugs.

The middle has rainforest talks all through the day. I loved sitting in on one about ants. It’s an animal nobody pays a lot consideration to other than making an attempt to maintain them out of your picnic basket.

I used to be fascinated by simply how intelligent they’re and the way very important their function within the thriving ecosystem of the rainforest is.

8. Cow Bay

I didn’t suppose this seaside was as fairly because the Lonely Planet made out – I’m nonetheless confused as to how they got here up with the “stunning white-sand seaside to rival any coastal paradise description.”

Irrespective of how I checked out it, I couldn’t get the white sand to seem.

I do suppose the opposite seashores within the Daintree are prettier, nevertheless it’s value a glance to guage for your self.

9. Daintree Ice Cream Firm

Who doesn’t love ice cream on a sizzling day in a rainforest?

Properly, I’m the one who often says no. I’m not an enormous ice cream lover, however I did say sure to the 4 unique flavours on provide on the Daintree Ice Cream Firm.

For $6 you get a bowl of ice cream with 4 scoops. The flavours rely on what they’ve made at the moment primarily based upon the unique fruits which have been harvested from the orchard. We had coconut, wattle seed, yellow sapote, and blackberry.

The wattleseed had a slight espresso flavour to it. My favorite was positively the yellow sapote and coconut. That is the kind of ice cream I might eat buckets of.

9. Thornton Seaside Cafe

The Thornton Seaside Cafe is a stunning spot to cease for lunch or breakfast proper on Thornton Seaside.

Strive the Thai fish cake burger – scrumptious. The one draw back to this cafe is the bathroom block is presently underneath building so you need to use the porta-loo.

10. Maardja Botanical Stroll, Noah Seaside

This was one of many prettiest and most attention-grabbing walks we did within the Daintree.

The 540m interpretative boardwalk follows the creek via a piece of rainforest and previous the eerily twisting roots and vines of the mangroves to a lookout over Noah Creek.

Your eyes shall be fascinated.

Put on mosquito repellent although because the midges are biting.

11. Mason’s Cafe and Swimming Gap

The burgers at Mason’s Cafe are fairly legendary. Decide your animal: wild boar, emu, crocodile or kangaroo.

It’s slightly difficult to get your mouth round their measurement, however the burgers are good sufficient – though I wouldn’t put them into legendary memorable standing.

Take a brief stroll from the cafe to the swimming gap within the creek. It’s very pristine and, I gathered from all of the individuals standing solely as much as their knees, very chilly!

12. Dubuji Boardwalk

The 1.2km Dubuji boardwalk winds its approach via the mangroves, shaded by its cover of huge fan palms, strangler figs, and vines. It takes you to a different boardwalk main all the way down to Myall Seaside.

We walked over a small bridge that simply hovered above the muddy floor beside it – floor that had big sliding marks and footprints of what might solely have been a croc!

I couldn’t think about being on that path because it was crawling on via – slightly too shut for consolation!

Definitely made me take note of these saltwater crocodile warning indicators in every single place on the Daintree seashores.

13. Myall Seaside

If in case you have your personal caravan, camper trailer, or tent think about staying at Cape Trib Tenting. That is the social campground with beautiful camp spots proper on fairly Myall Seaside.

Even in the event you don’t keep It’s an incredible place to come back for wood-fired pizzas of a night and communal campfires.

13. Cape Tribulation

Undoubtedly, the prettiest of the seashores within the Daintree Rainforest and is so serene and empty.

Stroll alongside the seaside after which again as much as the Kulki boardwalk for beautiful views again throughout Cape Trib seaside. As soon as once more seeing the place that historical rainforest meets the ocean.

Listed below are some actions to contemplate whereas staying within the Cape Tribulation area:

• Jungle Browsing – I did this exercise after we visited final yr. It’s a enjoyable journey zip-lining via the cover of the world’s oldest rainforest. The final flying fox provides you the prospect to slip down the wrong way up like a bat.
• Kayaking Cape Tribulation Seaside – Craig liked doing this exercise whereas I used to be jungle browsing.

14. Emmagen Seaside

Simply go slightly additional north of Cape Tribulation, proper earlier than the street turns to the 4WD-only Bloomfield Monitor, to go to Emmagen Seaside.

The observe is subsequent to the large strangler fig on the right-hand facet of the street. It’s a brief five-minute stroll all the way down to the seaside and is certainly value a glance. There was nobody round after we went. It’s proper subsequent to Emmagen Creek so be cautious of crocs.

Learn how to Get to Port Douglas From Cairns

It’s fairly simple to increase this street journey by ranging from Cairns, and including it on to The Captain Prepare dinner Freeway, which runs from Cairns all the best way to Mossman, simply north of Port Douglas.

This stretch of street passes by Palm Cove, which is legendary for its palm lined seashores that connect with the lustuous turquoise waters.

The entire street from Cairns to Cape Tribulation is usually known as the Nice Barrier Reef Drive, because it passes alongside the assorted stopovers the place you’ll be able to entry the long-lasting reef.

FAQs About A Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation Journey

Right here’s what individuals often ask us about getting from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation…

Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation movies

Wish to see what a street journey from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation is absolutely like? Watch our movies from this journey on our YouTube channel:

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