Travel Recap: The Great Barrier Reef (Cairns/Port Douglas), Australia

Just one of the things Australia is famous for is the Great Barrier Reef, so we knew we couldn't miss an opportunity to see it! We considered this the "beach" portion of our honeymoon, as it was the warmest location and our resort was across the street from the beach. 

We flew from Melbourne to Cairns, and it was a very easy trip (about 3.5 hours). It was the second of our three stops in Australia, and it was so relaxing that when it was time to leave, we almost considered canceling our next portion (in Sydney) and staying! 

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tips and advice:

  • We knew we wanted to visit the Great Barrier Reef, and friends recommended we stay in either Port Jefferson or Port Douglas rather than Cairns. We chose Port Douglas, which is about an hour-long drive from Cairns.
  • Our visit was during the January 2020 wildfires, but locals told us they likely wouldn't impact Cairns or surrounding areas because they're simply too wet.
  • It was 80+ degrees the entire time we were there in January -- I wore loose-fitting clothing as much as possible.
  • We considered visiting the Daintree Rainforest, but we were short on time and feeling lazy with planning -- so we decided we'd just have to come back someday!
  • Check in advance what's open and if reservations are required! Some shops, restaurants, and bars close early or aren't open at all on certain days (like on Mondays or Tuesdays).
  • Coming from the U.S. East Coast, we typically got tired around 10pm every night.
  • We aim to do one big excursion or activity in every city and to spend the rest of our time exploring -- here, we (of course) chose the Great Barrier Reef!
itinerary:
  • Hotel: Peninsula Boutique Hotel
    • We loved our room -- it was very spacious with its own private deck and kitchenette, and we could hear the water. The hotel itself was fine, though we appreciated that it was adults only. And the immediate surrounding area was cute, with lots of little shops, and the hotel offered free bike rentals for exploring.
  • Day 1
    • Walked around the Port Douglas area
    • Dinner at the Watergate. It was good but unmemorable (not one of the top restaurants we ate at during our honeymoon).
  • Day 2
    • The Great Barrier Reef with Reef Experience.
      • We opted to pay for the Top Deck package, which included private seating, food, and a personal valet in and out of the water, as well as a free shuttle that picked us up from the hotel and dropped us off afterwards, which saved us a lot of stress. It was worth it just for having more than enough seating, but by far the best part was having a personal valet in the water, since it was both my husband's and my first time scuba-diving and neither of us were sure how we would feel in the water. Our valet was Piers and he was absolutely lovely. Plus, we were told that this company was one of the few locally-owned tours, and it was smaller than most, which helped keep it from feeling too commercialized or crowded. I do want to note that while we felt comfortable with the brief lesson we received on the boat prior to diving and had no issues in the water, we have since gone scuba diving in Mexico, and the lesson we received in Mexico was much longer and more detailed (including an approximately 90 minute lesson in the pool before going out on the boat).
    • Dinner at Zinc in Port Douglas -- another good but unmemorable dinner.
  • Day 3
    • We visited Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas to see and learn more about Australia's creatures. There is an opportunity to hold animals for photographs, so I got to hold a koala, as well as a snake and a small crocodile. Given the increasing awareness of the ways that wild animals (such as elephants or tigers) are mistreated or drugged in order to train them for human contact, I worried about the ethics and ultimately decided there didn't seem to be any harm because there didn't seem to be a significant need for "training" and because koala-holding is carefully regulated in Australia: It's only allowed in the state of Queensland; no koala is presented 2 days in a row; and there are only certain 30-minute windows during the day during which it's allowed. However, I've grown increasingly uncomfortable with the process, and at this point I wish I hadn't held any of them, as it's not a natural experience for wild animals and I'm sure they are uncomfortable and scared.
    • Drinks and French fries at our hotel
photo diary:

The beach across the street from our hotel

Photos from the early morning shuttle to the Great Barrier Reef! The Reef Experience tour package included a shuttle pick-up and drop-off :-)

So many parts of this drive made me think of the television show LOST -- not something you want to think about when you still have 4+ flights ahead of you!

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Mirrored Clubmaster sunglasses in green mirror (affiliate link) | Swim suit: Red Dress Boutique | Shorts: Blank NYC | Bag: Longchamp (affiliate link)

Breakfast on the boat -- lunch was served after our dives!

The descent into the water (we're using the rope to descend slowly and stay in control) -- you can see our valet Piers in the background keeping a close eye on us!

Our fellow scuba divers! A much smaller group than some of the other tours

My husband making new friends at the Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas.

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Mirrored Clubmaster sunglasses in green mirror (affiliate link) | Romper: Goodnight Macaroon | Purse: Tory Burch


Drinks our last night in Port Douglas 
Headband: Red Dress Boutique scarf | Romper: Lulu's (affiliate link)

where to eat and drink:
what to do:

  • Dive the Great Barrier Reef
    • Sunscreen can damage the reef, so make sure your sunscreen is reef-safe. Our tour company offered reef-safe sunscreen if you didn't have it, so check in advance!
    • You should not fly within 24 hours after scuba diving, due to the nitrogen and pressure.
    • We loved diving so much that we opted to take a second dive rather than finish after the first one.
  • Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas
  • Kuranda Rainforest
  • Daintree Discovery Centre
  • Fitzroy Island (day trip)

links I used or recommend:
From Cairns we flew to Sydney -- you can read that recap here.

Port Douglas was very scenic, and we loved the opportunity to relax a bit more -- we spent a lot of time at our hotel's outdoor seating area, ordering drinks and French fries and listening to the ocean as we read. And while it was extremely warm, we greatly appreciated that, since back home we would have been in the midst of winter!

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