Categories: Travel

Great Barrier Reef Drive Itinerary, Australia – 4 Days

Great Barrier Reef Drive Itinerary

Great Barrier Reef Drive

The Great Barrier Reef Drive from Cairns to Cape Tribulation, either independently or with a driver/guide, will see you traverse spectacular coastline hugging two World Heritage areas, the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest.

Wind through Cairns’ northern beaches, plot adventures from Port Douglas, and discover the region’s ancient culture before arriving at a place where the raw beauty of nature will leave you speechless. And all of this is in just four days.

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Day 1 – Cairns to Port Douglas

Departing Cairns, you can head to the northern beaches of Clifton Beach, Trinity Beach and Palm Cove. With its sandy shores lapped by the Coral Sea and a backdrop of rainforest-clad mountains, Palm Cove has the perfect setting for an intimate getaway or just a beachfront long-lunch.

Take a quick stop at Rex Lookout, where an incredible 180-degree view of the Coral Sea and its coastline begs a photograph. The road leaves the blue of the ocean for the green of sugar cane fields just before the palm-lined entrance to Port Douglas.

Driving distance: 42 miles (67.5km) plus detours / roughly 65 minutes direct.

Day 2 – Port Douglas

Today you can venture to the Great Barrier Reef (with multiple tours departing Port Douglas), eat their way through the town’s best restaurants and cafes, explore Four Mile Beach, or simply lie in a hammock between two palms and relax in the tropical atmosphere.

Day 3 – Port Douglas to Mossman Gorge

The short drive from Port Douglas to Daintree Village offers the opportunity to learn about the Indigenous people who have called the Daintree Rainforest home for tens of thousands of years. This is the traditional country of the Kuku Yalanji people who continue to have ongoing connections with the area and offer tours where you can experience their culture.

Mossman Gorge is the southern section of the Daintree National Park, where steep mountains thick with rainforest send the Mossman River tumbling over the Gorge’s massive granite boulders, creating cool, clear fresh water swimming holes.

You can visit Janbal Aboriginal Art Gallery in Mossman for painting workshops, experience traditional hunting at nearby Cooya Beach with Walkabout Cultural Tours, or relax with an Indigenous spa treatment at Daintree Ecolodge.

Driving distance: 32 miles (52km) / less than one hour.

Day 4 – Mossman Gorge to Cape Tribulation

40 kilometres north of Mossman Gorge you will arrive at the Daintree River, where the cable ferry transports you into the world’s oldest surviving tropical rainforest.

Journey through the rainforest, keeping an eye out for an endangered cassowary, on the way to the only place in the world where two World Heritage areas collide – Cow Bay at Cape Tribulation. While in the Cape, stay for a few days to visit Mackay Cay and Mackay Reef with Ocean Safari, visit the Daintree Discovery Centre, go horse riding on the beach, or sample a unique tropical treat at Daintree Ice Cream Company.

Once you are rested and have explored the reef and rainforest, you can simply follow the same route back to Cairns (three hours direct plus ferry).

Driving distance: 46km / 75 minutes direct plus ferry time (allow an hour and check times before departing)