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Port Douglas Boat Trips
The “big money” boat trip from Port Douglas is, of course, a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef. But there are other boat trips available from Port Douglas and you can even hire or charter your own boat for the day or for several days. We’ll cover your boat trip options from Port Douglas, on this page.
Port Douglas boat trips fall into 4 categories, outer reef cruises for snorkelling or scuba diving, Low Isles cruises, river cruises and sunset sails. We’ll tell you which to book, and which is best for you in this post.
There’s nothing––absolutely nothing––half so much worth doing as messing about in boats.” ― Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows.
Port Douglas River Cruises
You’ll see the Lady Douglas in the photo above. If you’d like a leisurely cruise from Port Douglas Marina on a characterful river boat, choose the Lady Douglas. While crocodile sightings aren’t guaranteed, I’ve never been on the Lady Douglas and not seen a croc. You can also admire the bird life and mangrove habitat along The Inlet while enjoying refreshments. Book a Lady Douglas cruise here, cruises depart daily.
Lady Douglas regular cruises are just 1.5 hours long and depart throughout the day. The departure times are as follows.
- Morning Cruise 10.30 am -12.00 noon.
- Midday Cruise 12.30 pm – 2.00 pm.
- Afternoon Cruise 2.30 pm – 4.00 pm.
- Sunset Cruise 4.30 pm – 6.00 pm
- Evening Cruise 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm – Friday Only. (Includes live music. Operating in high season, June-Nov on demand.)
Departure times may vary with time of year, you will specify your departure time when you book here. Walk-ins are sometimes possible. A drink and snack are included.
The Lady Douglas is also available for parties, weddings and private charter. Telephone number for enquiries: 0408 986 127
The Lady Douglas is the Port Douglas boat trip for you if you’d prefer a shorter cruise and don’t have a car to drive up to the Daintree River. This activity can also fit well with cruise ship shore excursions as the point of departure is just steps away from where cruise tenders drop passengers.
If you’re a little more keen on the wildlife of Tropical North Queensland and the Daintree Rainforest, we’d suggest you take a wildlife cruise on the Daintree River itself. To do this you can book a Daintree tour that includes a river tour, or book independently here. Again, walk-ins are sometimes possible if you drive to the departure point on the south side of the Daintree River.
In early 2024 there is only partial access to the Daintree Rainforest because of recent weather events, but most tours are still operating.
Port Douglas Low Isles Cruises
Boat Trips to Low Isles from Port Douglas can be full day or half day, they may include access to the island, or not, and glass-bottomed boats are available on some cruises. Guests can snorkel on fringing reefs off the beaches at Low Isles. It’s a very different experience to the Outer Reef, but still a good one.
The Lowe Isles are just off the coast, slightly north of Port Douglas, you can see them from Rex Smeal Park or the lookout walking track. The journey to Low Isles by boat is 30 to 40 minutes, compared to almost 2 hours to the Outer Reef.
From Low Isles you’ll see soft coral, sea turtles and usually very young reef sharks in the shallows. Having glass bottom boats and beach access is better for families with young children and babies.
The island has sandy beaches and a historic lighthouse to discover.
- Low Isles, half day, with beach access and glass bottom boat.
- Low Isles snorkel tour on the Shaolin Chinese Junk, 7.5 hours, departs 8 am. Has island access.
- Low Isles full-day by luxury catamaran, with lunch and glass bottom boat. Wavedancer, operated by Quicksilver Group.
- Low Isles by speedboat, no island access. (Reef Sprinter)
We’d encourage all visitors to see both reefs if they possibly can, neither is better or worse, just different.
Sunset Sailing
Sunset sails are a lovely way to end the day in Port Douglas. You can choose from the gorgeous red sails of the Shaolin, an old Chinese junk, or a luxury catamaran. Most of these sailing trips will derve drinks and snacks. The Lady Douglas also offers a sunset sail, but she doesn’t go out past the mouth of the inlet. Sunset sails depart around 5 pm from the marina daily, the boats are back around 6.30pm. The duration is about an hour hand a half. Lady Douglas is here, the Shaolin is here, Sailaway (lux catamaran) is here.
Overnight Cruises and Liveaboards
There are no regular overnight cruises departing Port Douglas currently, (that we know of) other than private charters and marlin fishing boats in season. Marlin season is roughly September through to December or January. If you’re looking for liveaboard diving there are options from Cairns. Some are cheap (we don’t recommend them), some are very good. We are divers and we’ve tried quite a few of these liveaboards including minke whale diving. The best place to look for these is here, for the whole of Australia or anywhere in the world.
Boat Hire in Port
You can rent a simple boat for a trip around the marina and up the inlet. This is great for fishing. The booking office is on the marina.
For a more luxurious boating experience, there are various options including superyachts. Think George Michael and Kylie-type superyachts. The best place to look into this is probably here. (search “Australia”) The Whitsundays may be a better option for this kind of trip. There are daily and weekly yacht charters with or without crew. You’d need to be much richer than me!
Reef Cruises From Port Douglas
Our recommendation for your day on the reef is Wavelength Reef Cruises (see availability here). This is a local snorkel company run by a family of passionate marine biologists. Wavelength has multiple boats, all are fairly small, and they visit some great sites. The crew is fantastic and very experienced and conditions and tides will determine which reef you will visit. Wavelength is also one of the most affordable days on the Outer Reef with underwater photos included in the price.
If you’d prefer a pontoon-based day on the reef, choose Quicksilver. This is the only pontoon available from Port Douglas and semi-submersible rides and underwater viewing is normally available. Certified scuba diving and intro dives can be booked on the day. Book Quicksilver here.
For a better scuba diving experience book Quicksilver Dive (Silversonic) here. They can take you to better dive sites than the permanent pontoon.
Sailaway is the boat we suggest you take for a luxury reef sail. This day at sea will also take you to a remote sand cay. See this luxury catamaran here.
If you are visiting Port Douglas at a busy time of year, particularly school holidays, Christmas or Easter, you must book in advance. The boats will be full. There are other operators from Port Douglas Marina, but these are our honest, first-hand recommendations.
