Will be in Port Douglas 3-7 December, looking to visit either the Low Isles or outer reef for a day trip. Hotel recommended a half day afternoon trip to Low Isles as you get the sunset coming back (and beers). Wife will be 6 months pregnant so probably leaning towards the Low Isles or a half day. Any providers to focus on, or to avoid?
Any other general advice re: restaurants, bars & other cool things is appreciated.
TIA
Thanks for the very detailed reply, I really really appreciate it! We have a car (thanks Mum - she lives in Cairns) and plan to drive up to the Daintree to see some of the forest, and a couple of waterholes along the way.
Obviously the boss can't drink but I plan to sample everything Hemingways has on offer, and get my fill of reef fish. The eating options sound good - wife is a bit fussy / diet restricted - so we shouldn't have issues with dinner (breakfast provided by hotel).
Originally we had a week there but the hotel decided to do maintenance midway through our stay and turfed us, so we opted for Palm Cove for the remaining nights.
Works out well then! Can def go to Hartleys from Palm Cove.
Also in PD, drive up to the Trinity Bay Lookout. We made the mistake of walking up, fine for me but not for the pregnant wife in 30 degree 90% humidity.
+1 for Menu Thai, great food
Also try:
More upmarket, Salsa & Zinc. We had great meals at both places.
If you go up to the Daintree, make sure you stop in at the Daintree Ice Cream Co. Excellent ice cream, flavoured with tropical fruits. In the Daintree, at Cape Tribulation, be aware that after 2:30 or so the cafes' kitchens all close. So don't do as we did and plan a late lunch after exploring, you'll go hungry.
If you like "fine dining" … give both Harrison's and Nautilus a go (in that order) … not cheap, but I did say "fine dining".
I would also endorse Quicksilver as above for a reef tour. Can't remember the actual one we did (a long time ago now), but I do remember it being a well run show.
As a standard pub, I enjoyed the Court House.
It's a babymoon so we probably should have 1 nice dinner! Thanks for the heads up.
Considering dropping the knee out at Low Isle if the weather is good & it's a nice setting, just have to hope I don't lose the bloody ring between the room, the boat & the island!
I’ve been out to the reef with just about all of the tours. They’ll all be asking for upwards of $300 but are generally well run. I would say unless you are travelling with young kids AVOID quicksilver.
Wavelength is the best IMO.
Thanks mate. Leaning towards Sailaway to the Low Isles at this point…sailing on a bit catamaran is very appealing, it's about $280pp. Missus likes the idea of having stable ground to rest up on in between swims. I'm bummed about not seeing the outer reefs but all good, next time it will be.
Outer reef isn't all that exciting. Dived and snorkelled there a couple of times. It receives a lot of traffic and doesn't have the abundance of colour any more. Also done the Low Isles a few times. I think this is better option. Plenty of sea turtles around. If you are a bit braver, swim out to where your boat is anchored and you might see a decent sized lemon shark, plenty of GT's, reef sharks etc. Closer in (where 99.9% of the snorklers) will be is shallow and you will see fish, anemones, turtles etc. Make sure you wear the stinger suit, and stay well clear of the anemones (especially on low tide).
Sailaway is a pretty good operator and you will have a good experience. Always opportunities to negotiate prices at the dock, even over the phone. If you are dropping the knee, have a chat with them, they might have a secret little spot etc. Also, check out where people have weddings in PD. There is this tiny little 'church' hut down on the grass near the water edge where the markets are held (down Salsa end). Might be inspired to return.
My partners family are food snobs. They love Salsa for most food, and Zinc for cocktails. Nautilus do a good chilli crab, but I didn't like it. Over priced, under delivered, but it's quiet and secluded. I actually had an amazing beer battered barra at the middle bar for $12 (might have included a beer). Salsa was probably the most consistent.
This is example of our week:
Day 1 - Explore 4 mile beach, Macrossan st, Go to the Coles and grab food/ lunch for the week, then head down to the wharf bar for a beer and bucket of prawns, dinner at the Beach Bar (where the locals seem to go - down near the far end of 4 mile beach).
Day 2 - Head out to the Mossman Gorge for a nature walk and swim (flow / current depending). We had a great day there jumping off the rocks, swimming flat out against the current…but later found an international person drowned the same day, They probably couldn't swim at all I'm guessing. Local indigenous crew have set up an operation there now. So you cant simply drive straight to it. You need to park, and then they shuttle you to it for a fee. They do a few native eats at their shop if you are peckish. Then on to the Daintree. Took a Hyundai Getz through. I missed the 4wd only sign. Thought it was a bit rough..but we got through..whoops! A few nice beachy stops. Upstream / croc areas are a bit lame. Dinner, do a bbq at your hotel. Coles Macrossan had some tasty Mortein Bay bugs that went down a treat.
Day 3 - Pool hop - Go sneak in and hang out in the pools at QT / Peppers Beach hotel etc etc. Plenty of variation in resorts worth exploring. A few bevs for you along the way/ mocktails for the lady ;) Book Sailaway and get a massage person to come to your hotel. I just googled a local contact. She was awesome, was about $100 for an hour (and accepted private health rebates, and got $64 back). Go to one of the many eateries on Macrossan.
Day 4 - Visit the market in the morning. Watch a footy game etc in the Sportsbar and grab lunch. Jump on Sailaway for the arvo. Salsa for dinner.
Just go with it basically. Go spot cain toads near the creeks behind Salsa at night, visit the cain toad racing at the iron bar (and buy a beer jug for $10… drink straight out of it..its hot), walk up the hill around sunset and watch a trillion fruit bats dart around, do a sunset picnic near the port entrance etc etc.
Its a great place…enjoy. Best of luck with the knee drop.
P.S. - Avoid the tree in the middle of Macrossan St at night. There will be 1 million lorikeets screeching their lungs out in it…super loud.
Also, if you head south of Cairns, google the secret falls. Locals head that way.
Very solid advice. Did most of what is mentioned here. 4 nights was probably enough unless you have plans to laze by the pool at one of the big resorts (we had a nice hotel with pool, just not a resort style one). Sailaway to the Low Isles was very good, the coral was outstanding as was the marine life (heaps of large fish and 4 turtles). Port Douglas is quite a nice place. I enjoyed strolling in the evening from where we stayed on the Esplanade down Macrossan St to the water and then finding somewhere to eat. I particularly enjoyed the Tin Shed, and the coral trout & prawn pies from Grant St Kitchen are next level. The food is pretty good, not too badly priced, but I was surprised how cheap beer is by comparison to down south.
My wife and I did Cairns and Port Douglas for our babymoon (she was 6 months too) in February last year.
We splashed out and did an Agincourt Reef tour, was about $300 each from memory. Nice part of the reef and we loved the underwater submarine view of the reef.
https://quicksilver-cruises.com/reef-tour/wavepiercer/
In PD:
There's a market in PD on Sunday mornings, we found this out on the Monday we were there of course.
Hemingway's Brewery was nice. This is where the boats leave from so you can do it afterwards.
Alot of the food in PD is pub style i found, although some places were closed when we were there as it was the peak of the wet season. Rattle n Hum, Mockas Pies, Menu Thai were all good.
Cane Toad racing at Iron Bar.
Rent a car, don't spend the whole time in PD.
Activities outside PD:
Rustys Markets - Cairns (Fri - Sun only). Lots of tropical fruits to buy, local souvenirs (not touristy ones) and places to eat. Famous Vietnamese ice coffee place there too, as well as sugarcane juice.
Day trip up to the Daintree/Port Tribulation. Plenty of spots to stop off along the way.
Hartley's Crocodile Adventures - Small Zoo with a focus on crocs. Absolutely loved it. You can also hold Koalas in QLD.
Mossman Gorge
You could rent a car for two days and cover the above off. Drive down to Cairns in the morning, check out the boardwalk and CBD if you like. Rustys for brekky/brunch, purchase fruit for rest of the trip. Go to Hartleys on the way back to PD. Just review the activities schedule in case there is a show you want to see.
The Cape Tribulation trip will take an entire day, we got back around dinner time and didn't go to Mossman this day, but it's on the way and you could see the gorge in an hour really. Can skip Mossman.