Pt. Douglas and Cairns in October

[cruisetp]

We are making our first trip to Australia at the end of October.  We will be in Pt. Douglas for a few days, then to Cairns for a couple more days, then back to Sydney for a few more days.  We would really like to snorkel and see the Dain Forest.  Any recommendations on tours?  Also anything else that we really should not miss while in the area?  Any recommendations for transport from Cairns to Pt. Douglas and back?  Interested in both "don't miss" and "stay away from" suggestions.  Thanks

[OzKiwiJJ]

Wavelength for out reef snorkelling https://www.wavelength.com.au/

 

Sailaway for the Low Isles http://sailawayportdouglas.com/, and their sunset cruise is very pleasant too.

 

Tony's Tropical Tours for a Daintree tour. https://www.tropicaltours.com.au/

 

Flames of the Forest is a wonderful experience. Do the Aboriginal Cultural Experience if you can. https://www.flamesoftheforest.com.au/

 

I hope you have a wonderful time in Port Douglas. We used to go there regularly for holidays, before we discovered cruising. Have you booked your accommodation yet? There are plenty of shuttles from Cairns Airport to Port Douglas, and back to Cairns. I used to get the hotel to book it for me.

Edited July 24, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[banditoo]

4 hours ago, cruisetp said:

We are making our first trip to Australia at the end of October.  We will be in Pt. Douglas for a few days, then to Cairns for a couple more days, then back to Sydney for a few more days.  We would really like to snorkel and see the Dain Forest.  Any recommendations on tours?  Also anything else that we really should not miss while in the area?  Any recommendations for transport from Cairns to Pt. Douglas and back?  Interested in both "don't miss" and "stay away from" suggestions.  Thanks

Lucky you! For a point of reference, I am an experienced snorkeler having snorkeled in many locations around the world so I don't use my following exclamations lightly. 🙂 On a previous Australia land trip a few years ago, one of our locations was Port Douglas in early October. It was a great time to be there with perfect weather. And the snorkeling...WOW! I did a couple of outer reef snorkeling excursions. The one with Wavelength to the Opal Reef (one of the National Geographic photography sites) was absolutely incredible. The day trip I did with Wavelength went to Rayban, Blue Lagoon & SNO in the Opal reef area. Fabulous vibrant prolific colourful well established corals and sea life galore! Can you tell, I was over the top with this snorkeling experience?! A well run outfit. I also did a snorkel excursion from Port Douglas to Agincourt Reef with Quicksilver. This one went to a large platform out on the reef and has sub, glass bottom viewing area as well as snorkeling. I specifically chose that one for my husband who does not snorkel so that he could see some of the underwater experience on the reef while staying dry. The reef was still very good and I had great snorkeling but not as amazing as Opal Reef. 

[banditoo]

4 hours ago, cruisetp said:

We are making our first trip to Australia at the end of October.  We will be in Pt. Douglas for a few days, then to Cairns for a couple more days, then back to Sydney for a few more days.  We would really like to snorkel and see the Dain Forest.  Any recommendations on tours?  Also anything else that we really should not miss while in the area?  Any recommendations for transport from Cairns to Pt. Douglas and back?  Interested in both "don't miss" and "stay away from" suggestions.  Thanks

You also asked about transportation. Why not consider a rental car from the airport at Cairns for the straight forward short drive to Port Douglas (1 hour North). You could also drive to Daintree as a day trip from PD, taking in the Mossman Gorge, Dianttree River and Cape Tribulation National Park. A lovely drive and easy to do on your own. Another great location between Cairns (couple kms north of Cairns) and PD is Kuranda (can't fit in the same day as doing Daintree). 

[buchhalm]

YES,YES,YES to OzKiwi recommendations. That Wavelength boat trip is superb.

Fab restaurant in port Douglas, "Nautilus". 

Rent a car in cairns or pt. D. 

Public transport does exist, but don't expect huge frequency!

Pt. D. to Daintree is a lovely drive. There is a wonderful rainforest walking track. Walk slowly and quietly and look left and right and UP. You are very likely to see plenty if blizzards, spiders and snakes. Don't bother them, they won't bother you. 

From Daintree village,  they run crocodile watching river cruises.  Big crocks in the wild.

If you are feeling very energetic, and don't mind bouncy rides, there is a company in pt D that runs small group 4WD tours to Cooktown.

That's  FULL LONG DAY. Up, via cape tribulation, the tropical rainforests and back via the in-land route.

Not cheap, but worth every can't.

Not easy to find on line, but you should be able to book in pt D at the tourist office 

[GUT2407]

OZKiwi nailed it in my opinion