OUTBACK & REEF
Stays Enquire
Plan by month
Aerial view of rainforest running down to a pale curving beach and fringing reef at Cape Tribulation, with turquoise sea beyond

Queensland · Gateway CNS

16.48° S, 145.46° E

The outer reef, without the pontoon.

When to go

THE REEF

The Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree

Two World Heritage areas meet north of Port Douglas: the oldest tropical rainforest on earth runs down to the beach at Cape Tribulation, and the outer reef is an hour offshore. We book a private or small-group boat to the ribbon reefs rather than the busy pontoons, and stay in the forest for the nights in between.

Right season
Jun to Oct
Nights we'd give it
4 to 6
Fly into
Cairns (CNS)
From Sydney, approx.
2h 55 in the air · 1,970 km

Port Douglas is an hour north of Cairns airport by road. Lizard Island is an hour by light aircraft.

Month by month

When to go

Compare every region
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
  • The right season
  • Good
  • Possible, with trade-offs
  • Out of season
  • This month

Jun to Oct

The dry. Calm days, good visibility, cooler water. The right season for the outer reef.

Nov to May

Stinger season: box jellyfish and irukandji near the coast. Swim in a stinger suit, inside nets on the beaches.

Jan to Mar

The wet, with cyclone risk. The rainforest is at its fullest; boat days can be cancelled.

A small crescent sand cay sits among patchy coral reef in clear turquoise water on the Great Barrier Reef
Dense Daintree rainforest canopy with palms and tall trees, mist drifting over the hills behind
Low aerial view along the edge of a reef where pale turquoise shallows drop off into deep blue ocean

What we'd do

What we'd do

  • The ribbon reefs by private boat

    A full day on the outer reef with a marine biologist on board.

  • Mossman Gorge with Kuku Yalanji guides

    A guided walk through the rainforest on Eastern Kuku Yalanji Country.

  • Lizard Island

    An island of 24 beaches, a research station and fringing reef off the sand.

  • The Daintree at night

    A spotlight walk: tree frogs, possums, the rare Bennett's tree-kangaroo.

  • Cape Tribulation

    Rainforest to reef on one beach. Swim only inside the netted areas.

  • Over the reef

    A scenic flight to see the reef's scale from 500 metres.

Aerial view of rainforest running down to a pale curving beach and fringing reef at Cape Tribulation, with turquoise sea beyond
A small crescent sand cay sits among patchy coral reef in clear turquoise water on the Great Barrier Reef
Dense Daintree rainforest canopy with palms and tall trees, mist drifting over the hills behind
Low aerial view along the edge of a reef where pale turquoise shallows drop off into deep blue ocean

Whose Country

Whose Country

Eastern Kuku Yalanji people in the Daintree and at Mossman Gorge; Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people at Cairns; more than 70 Traditional Owner groups along the Great Barrier Reef

The Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef are both World Heritage areas with Traditional Owner management agreements.

Aboriginal-owned and -led operators we'd book

  • Walkabout Cultural AdventuresCoastal and rainforest days north of Port DouglasKuku Yalanji-owned
  • Mossman Gorge Centre guided walksRainforest walks with Kuku Yalanji guidesIndigenous-owned centre

Ownership details are being confirmed with each operator.

Visiting respectfully

Some sites in Mossman Gorge are off-limits; stay on the marked track, and ask your guide before taking photographs.

Country, region by region

Where to stay

Stays in the Reef and the Daintree

All stays

The kind of place we book here. Your proposal names each property.

Dense Daintree rainforest canopy with palms and tall trees, mist drifting over the hills behind

The Reef and the Daintree · Rainforest lodge

Pavilions in the rainforest

Pavilions in the Daintree canopy, a short drive from the reef boats.

Photo: the area, not the property · Price on enquiry

Sample journeys

Journeys through the Reef and the Daintree

All journeys
A small crescent sand cay sits among patchy coral reef in clear turquoise water on the Great Barrier Reef

12 to 14 nights · May to October

Rock, reef, rainforest

The classic first journey, with time left in it.

  1. 3 nightsSydneyThe harbour, a Blue Mountains day, early nights.
  2. 3 nightsUluru-Kata TjutaFly direct. First light at the Rock, dawn at Kata Tjuta.
  3. 4 nightsPort Douglas and the DaintreeFly to Cairns. The ribbon reefs by private boat; Mossman Gorge with Kuku Yalanji guides.
  4. 3 nightsLizard IslandAn hour by light aircraft. Reef off the beach.

Three flights, every one under four hours. This is about the most we'd fit into two weeks.

Sydney · The Red Centre · The Reef and the Daintree

Ask about this journey

Questions

Before you go

When is stinger season?

Roughly November to May near the coast. Wear the stinger suit the boat provides and swim inside the beach nets.

Is the reef still worth seeing?

Yes. Coral health varies from reef to reef and year to year; good operators go where conditions are best that day.

Is there a reef charge?

Yes, a small environmental management charge per person per day on the boat. It's included in what we quote.

Next region TASMANIA Cradle Mountain glowing orange at sunrise above the Dove Lake boatshed, its peaks mirrored in the still lake
Late-afternoon light turns a line of red sandstone ranges deep orange behind a lone dark-leaved desert tree and golden spinifex near Kings Canyon

Start with the month

Tell us when.
We'll tell you where.

Begin an enquiry

Get in touch

[email protected] Plan your journey

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Sydney time
Work Club, Barrack Place, 151 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia