10 of the best Port Douglas tours - Australian Traveller

Make the most of your time between the rainforest and the reef with these top tours to book in Port Douglas, Queensland.

An hour north of Cairns and a lifetime from worry, the seaside Queensland haven of Port Douglas is perfectly positioned to make the most of the two World Heritage sites that cocoon it: the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. From First Nations walking adventures to coral-chasing sailing trips, these Port Douglas tours are the best ways to experience all parts of this bustling tropical destination.

1. Dreamtime Tour, Mossman Gorge

a Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk with a local Elder, Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre, Port Douglas tours — Embark on a Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk with local Elders. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

Meet your Kuku Yalanji guide at the Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre (where there is, pro-tip, a wonderful gift shop and cafe on site that support and train the students of the onsite National Indigenous Training Academy) before embarking on a Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk with local Elders and a maximum of 14 other guests. Following a welcoming smoking ceremony, you’ll be guided on private walking tracks that loop around sacred sites and glorious rainforest, learning about native foods, toxic plants and the sacred Indigenous history of this exceptional ancient rainforest. Your ticket includes free access to the Mossman Gorge shuttle bus service, which recently added two electric buses, minimising the impact on the community that lives within the rainforest.

From $100 per adult.

2. Hook-a-Barra farm tour

a couple fishing in the Daintree, Hook-a-Barra farm tour, Port Douglas — Cast a line and hook a barramundi.

Fancy catching a barramundi at the base of the Daintree Rainforest? At Hook-A-Barra in Wonga Beach, a 30-minute drive north of Port Douglas, you can pick up a rod and fish for these commanding saltwater fish, which are grown from tiny fingerlings into specimens upwards of a metre long. Each pond contains fish of a different age, and each pond is filled with saltwater direct from the Daintree River, ensuring the barramundi get the same nutrients they’d get in the wild (and then some). An on-farm tour includes visiting the different nurseries, feeding fish, throwing in a line or two and learning from the farmers, then topping it all off with a tasting platter of barramundi four ways, including buttery sashimi. Harvest is done on a Wednesday and packing on a Thursday, so book accordingly to see the team in action as they bring in and pack fresh barramundi for dispatch around the country.

From $67 for adults. 

3. Australian Chocolate Company farm tour

It’s a full-circle operation at this family-run cocoa plantation , a 15-minute drive from Port Douglas. Beyond the cafe and chocolate shop at the front is a four-acre farm that’s best experienced on a guided tour that dives into the process of how cocoa is grown, harvested, processed and turned into the chocolate bars we know and love. It also includes a tasting experience alongside a hot or cold cocoa beverage, so you can pick your favourite flavour before investing in a bar of dark chocolate tinted with lemon myrtle or kakadu plum-spiked white chocolate.

From $55 per adult. 

4. Sailaway Low Isles

the Low Isles Great Barrier Reef as seen from above — Set sail in a luxury catamaran to the Low Isles. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

Experience the inner pockets of the Great Barrier Reef on these eco-conscious sailing tours , which take small groups of travellers out to the Low Isles – 15 kilometres offshore – in a luxury catamaran. When the wind picks up, the adventure does too, with the boat bobbing and bucking over waves and the sea salt spraying in the breeze. Meals, snacks and drinks are included, as well as a guided snorkel tour with a marine biologist, a journey out to the snorkel site in an electric-powered glass bottom boat, a guided history tour on the island and sundowners on the journey back. Spy the green sea turtles and Hawksbill turtles that frequent this part of the world, and the juvenile reef sharks that keep them company.

From $343 per person.

5. Shaolin Seafood Cruise

Held on a traditional Chinese junk boat designed and built in Hong Kong by an American sailor and his librarian wife in the late 1960s, this off-beat tour is intimate, quirky and deeply unique, offering exploration with a side of history and seafood snacking. Running as a charter boat in Port Douglas since the 1980s, the timber vessel is perfect for the leisurely 90-minute lunch cruise, which heads out to the sea and then wraps back in through Packers Creek on the lookout for crocodiles. Along the way, guests are treated to a glass of sparkling, an entree of spring rolls – barramundi in one, croc in the other – and a plate of freshly caught local prawns with buttered bread.

From $75 per adult.

6. Forever Reef Project site tour

The world's first coral biobank — See the world’s first biobank on a 45-minute tour with a marine biologist.

Hidden in an unassuming spot at the Crystalbrook Marina in downtown Port Douglas, this epic coral-centric centre is slowly but surely collecting and cataloguing 417 species of coral endemic to the Great Barrier Reef. (The team aim to open three more reef hubs across Australia by 2026, and one in Cairns by the end of the year.) Book in for a 45-minute tour with an on-site marine biologist and learn about how this world-first biobank is helping to future-proof reefs around the globe, donning special UV-blocking glasses to see the full spectrum of colour emitted by the soft and hard corals in the on-site nursery.

From $35.

7. Back Country Bliss River Drift

river sleds floating along the Daintree River, Back Country Bliss — Drift along the Daintree River on a river sled. (Image: Tourism Tropical North Queensland)

The sweet serenade of Mossman River water gurgling over ancient stone boulders is a constant soundtrack on this immersive two-hour outdoor experience , which takes small groups of guests out to the sandy riverbanks – ecological insights included – beneath the rainforest canopy in pursuit of the gentle rapids that will deliver the ultimate relaxation experience. Your raft and a wetsuit are provided, and the crew will take the pictures, so you can focus on making the most of the otherworldly quiet, navigating the underwater gems, and letting the soothing current be your core focus.

From $145 per adult.

8. Walkabout Cultural Adventures

Local Aboriginal guides share their cultural connection on a Daintree tour with Walkabout Cultural Adventures. (Image: Tourism Tropical North Queensland)

The day-long adventures hosted by Walkabout Cultural Adventures , founded by Kuku Yalanji man and Mossman local Juan Walker, are never short of educational, inspiring and fun activities that truly epitomise the heart of this exceptional region: where the rainforest meets the sea. The Daintree-focused Ngana Julaymba Dungay tour can be enjoyed as a full-day or half-day experience and includes lunch and morning tea, exploration of coastal habitats, a guided walk through Mossman Gorge and hands-on lessons about bush tucker and native produce. Transfers from Port Douglas – and delectable snacks of fresh homemade damper with golden syrup – are included in the ticket price.

From $190 per person.

9. Hook Up Fishing Charter

If fishing is your passion, the rainforest estuaries and pristine coastal environment surrounding Port Douglas are perfect for experienced anglers and amateur fisherfolk alike. The private Hook Up charters – which take place on a custom seven-metre boat owned by a fisherman with more than 25 years of charter and commercial fishing experience – target coral trout, Spanish mackerel, giant trevally, nannygai and others on half-day or full-day tours. Prices are fixed for private charters, whether you’re a party of one or a group of five, but shared charters offer access for a cheaper rate – and the chance to meet other passionate anglers to boot.

From $168 for shared charter.

10. Hartley’s Wildlife Adventures

a huge saltwater getting fed in the Daintree, Hartley’s Wildlife Adventures, Port Douglas tours — See saltwater crocodiles up close in the Daintree. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

Saltwater crocodiles have called the Daintree home for an estimated 200 million years and have been known to frequent some of the region’s popular golf courses more recently, too. Spot them at this crocodile farm and wildlife conservation hotspot , 30 minutes south of Port Douglas by car. Your ticket price includes access to interactive displays, wildlife presentations (including snake shows and crocodile feeding exhibitions), a 20-minute boat ride on the melaleuca wetland lagoon to spot crocodiles in real time, and endless walks around 2500 metres of trails through the 10-hectare property. There are also farm tours twice a day (included in your ticket price) that give a behind-the-scenes look at the on-site ranching and captive breeding program of crocodilians.

From $48 per adult.

Discover the best places to stay while you’re in Port Douglas.

Exploring the world’s largest sand island starts with the perfect K’gari homebase.

The morning light is still soft, but it’s already a perfect sunny day. We left our K’gari homebase at Kingfisher Bay Resort with our guide, Peter Meyer, at 9 am to make the most of our time to explore all that the world’s largest sand island holds. The size of K’gari is hard to grasp until you arrive here. This is no sandbar. Stretching 120 kilometres, unique lakes, mangrove systems, rainforest, 75 Miles of beach, historic shipwrecks, small townships and even one of Queensland’s best bakeries are all hidden within its bounds.

But first, one of the island’s most iconic sights: the pure silica sand and crystal clear waters of Lake McKenzie.

Laying eyes on it for the first time, I’m finally able to confirm that the photos don’t lie. The sand is pure white, without the merest hint of yellow. The water fades from a light halo of aqua around the edges to a deeper, royal blue, the deeper it gets (not that it’s particularly deep, six metres at most). The surface remains surprisingly undisturbed, like a mirror.

Arriving with our guide before 10 am means that no one else is around when we get here. Which means we have the pleasure of breaking the smooth surface with our own ripples as we enter. As a self-confessed wimp with chilly water temperatures, my fears are quickly assuaged. Even in the morning, the water stays around 23 degrees – perfect for lazing about all day. But we have more sights to see.

Exploring K’gari

ariel of in lake mckenzie on k'gari fraser island — Relax in the warm waters of Lake McKenzie. (Image: Ayeisha Sheldon)

This was the Personalised 4WD tour offered by Kingfisher Bay Resort, and my absolute top pick of experiences. Over the course of the day, we had the freedom to create our own bespoke itinerary (plus a provided picnic lunch along the way), with an expert guide who had plenty of stories and local expertise to give context to what we were looking at. From the history of the SS Maheno shipwreck, which survived the First World War only to be washed ashore by a cyclone in 1935, to a detailed description of how an island made of sand could sustain such diverse flora.

If it’s your first time to K’gari, the Beauty Spots Tour is another great option. Departing daily from Kingfisher Bay Resort (you’ll start to notice a trend, as many of the tours do start and end here), an air-conditioned, 4WD bus takes guests to the island’s most iconic locations, including the best places to swim, like Lake McKenzie and Eli Creek. The latter offers a gentle current, perfect for riding with a blow-up tyre out towards the ocean.

The next day, for a look at a completely different side of K’gari, I joined one of Kingfisher Bay Resort’s Immersive Ranger-guided tours to kayak through the mangroves of Dundonga Creek. This long, snake-like stretch of creek winds its way inland from the ocean outlet we entered by, at times too narrow for three kayaks to be side-by-side. Small insects buzz from leaf to leaf, while birds call overhead. Occasional bubbles indicate we’ve passed some fish that call this place home.

kayak tour through the mangroves at k'gari island — Learn about the island’s mangroves from your Ranger. (Image: Reuben Nutt/ TEQ)

If kayaking isn’t for you – or if, like me, you simply want more – other ranger-led experiences include nature walks and a dedicated Junior Eco Ranger Program for kids ages five to 12 (these run every weekend, and daily over the peak December holidays). Just ask for a timetable of upcoming tours when you check in.

While during whale season, Hervey Bay Whale Watch & Charters operates tours from the hotel’s jetty to get up close to the famous Humpback Highway of Hervey Bay, from 7 November to 31 May, attention turns to the Aqua Oasis Cruise . Departing from the resort every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for resort guests, adventure along the island’s remote western coast, pointing out wildlife like dolphins, turtles, flying fish and eagles along the way.

The cruise drops anchor so guests can jump into the water using the boat’s equipment – from SUP boards to inflatable slides and jumping platforms. Then refuel with a provided lunch, of course.

Unwind at sunset

two people drinking cocktails at sunset bar, kingfisher bay resort — Unwind at the Sunset Bar. (Image: Sean Scott)

As much as days on K’gari can be filled with adventure, to me, the afternoons and evenings there are for unwinding. Sunsets on K’gari are absolutely unbelievable, with Kingfisher Bay on the west side being the best spot to catch the colours.

The Sunset Bar , located at the start of the resort’s jetty and overlooking the beach, is the ultimate location for sundowners. Let chill beats wash over you as you sip on cool wines, beers and cocktails in a relaxed, friendly vibe. Personally, a cheese board was also absolutely called for. As the sun sinks, the sand, sea and horizon turn a vibrant shade of orange, with the jetty casting a dramatic shadow across the water.

When the show is over, head back to the hotel for dinner at the Asian-fusion Dune restaurant, or the pub-style Sand + Wood. But if your appetite is still whetted for more lights and colours, the evening isn’t over yet.

Settle into the Illumina stage for Return to Sky, an immersive light and sound show leading viewers on a captivating journey through K’gari’s stories and landscapes.

Indulge and disconnect

woman setting up massage room at kingfisher bay resort Island Day Spa — Find bliss at Island Day Spa. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Of course, there is a type of traveller who knows that balance is important, day or night. While Kingfisher Bay Resort offers more than one pool for guests to spend all day lounging by (they’ll even serve you food and drinks while you do it), you’ll find me at the Island Day Spa.

The masseuses could match the magic hands of any big city spa, and I felt the warm welcome as I walked into the light, breezy reception. Choose from a range of botanical facials, beauty treatments and soothing massages using traditional techniques (obviously, I couldn’t go past a relaxing massage). All products used contain organic, native botanical ingredients with nutrient-rich plant extracts to soothe skin and mind. To really indulge, try out one of the packages, couples treatment or even a pre-wedding day offering.

Getting there

kingfisher bay resort 4wd tour driving passed ss maheno on k'gari island — The world of K’gari awaits. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Getting to K’gari is shockingly easy. Find daily flights into Hervey Bay from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Kingfisher Bay Resort offers a shuttle bus between the airport, their headquarters in Hervey Bay and the ferry to take you to K’gari.

10 of the best tours in Port Douglas