Port Douglas

Port Douglas was a gold port that shrank to a few hundred people before tourism rebuilt it in the 1980s, and it kept a scale that Cairns did not: low buildings, a single main street of restaurants and shops running down to the marina, and Four Mile Beach curving away beneath Flagstaff Hill. Its position matters more than its size, since it is the shortest run to the outer Great Barrier Reef from the mainland, with dive and snorkel boats leaving the marina daily, and the Daintree and Cape Tribulation are an hour north. The Sunday markets on the foreshore, Mossman Gorge inland and crocodile cruises on the Daintree River fill the rest.

What you actually see

• Four Mile Beach - the long beach below Flagstaff Hill lookout.
• The reef boats - daily departures to the outer reef from the marina.
• The main street - a compact strip of restaurants and shops.
• The Sunday markets - foreshore stalls beside the historic church.

When to go

May to October for the dry season, clear water and stinger-free swimming; from November to May box jellyfish and irukandji make ocean swimming unsafe outside the netted enclosure. Cyclones are a summer risk.

Honest expectations

Stinger season restricts swimming for half the year. Reef trips are full-day, expensive and can be rough crossings. Prices in town are high, and the wet season sees many businesses reduce hours or close.

Nearby

Mossman Gorge lies inland; the Daintree and Cape Tribulation are north.