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In Port Douglas the sun rises over the Coral Sea and sets behind the mountains to the west of Port Douglas. The best place to see sunrise is the beach, the best place to see sunsets is Rex Smeal Park or anywhere along Dicksons Inlet. Sunset sailing cruises are a popular Port Douglas activity, rightly so. Some companies will pack you a picknick to enjoy at sunset in the park. More details, and photos of beautiful sunsets and sunrises on this page.
The list below is clickable, the links will take you to the relevant parts of this post.
- Sunrise, viewing, times & where
- Sunset, viewing, times & where
- Sunrise hot air ballooning (picks up from Cairns)
- Sunset Sailing
- Sunset photo tours
- Sunset picnics
- Lots of sunrise and sunset photos
Sunrise and sunset activities are included in the relevant section.
Sunrise in Port Douglas
You have to be up early to catch the sunrise in Port Douglas, but it’s worth it. The sun rises around 5-6 am year round. Port Douglas is very close to the equator, just 17 degrees south, so the days and nights are both roughly 12 hours long.
The earliest the sun rises in Port Douglas is 5.14 am, in January (summer). The latest sunrises are at 6.25 am in July (winter). There is a chart with daily sunrise and sunset times for Port Douglas here.
The best place to view sunrise is Four Mile Beach, or any of the lookouts along the Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas.
The Rex Range lookout is a good spot.
If you’d like to stay at a hotel with sunrise views, The Sheraton Mirage would be a good choice, it faces out to sea. Beaches Holiday Apartments are more pocket-friendly, and some of these also overlook the beach and Port Doulas Esplanade.
Sunrise Activities
There are various sunrise yoga classes, run club, and group fitness classes on or near Port Douglas Beach. These change constantly so I can’t list them here. Running Club is usually on Tuesday mornings. If you need to know more about that email me.
Plenty of people will be on Four Mile Beach, walking dogs (on a lead only), running or even swimming in the stinger net near the lifeguard station.
Sunset In Port Douglas
The best place to watch the sun go down in Port Douglas is Rex Smeal Park, or the Marina, or anywhere along The Inlet
Sunset Activities
Sunset sails and cruises usually include a drink and a bite to eat. For a more luxurious sunset picnic, order the gift hamper from Epicurean.
- Take a sunset cruise with refreshments on Lady Douglas.
- Enjoy a sunset sail on the Shaolin Chinese junk.
- Take a sunset sail on a luxury catamaran.
- Take a sunset photography tour and capture the best views.
- Have a picnic in Rex Smeal Park with a ready-made French gift hamper from Epicurean on Macrossan St.
- It’s probably worth mentioning that the sugar cane is burned late in the afternoon, before sunset, but the fires are pretty rare to see now.
- Groper feeding used to be around sunset, but that no longer happens.
- Cane toad racing is normally after sunset.
