Located just over an hour north of Cairns, the route from Cairns to Port Douglas is an easy and enjoyable 70km drive along a sealed highway. If you’d prefer to travel from Cairns to Port Douglas without having to drive, there are also a couple of excellent scenic rail journeys that are a great option departing out of Brisbane and offering connections from Cairns to Port Douglas. As the gateway to Tropical North Queensland, all flights land at Cairns Airport with transfers available to Port Douglas.
Located 1700km north of Brisbane, the quickest and easiest way to arrive is by flying into and then connecting from Cairns to Port Douglas. The one hour drive is a comfortable trip along the Captain Cook Highway, however if you have the time to extend your holiday you can road trip all the way from Brisbane to Port Douglas. The trip will need to be spread across a couple of days as the direct driving time is around 22 hours and there is plenty of stunning countryside and a great range of attractions to see along the way including the Sunshine Coast, Airlie Beach and Fraser Island.
Although there aren’t any major airports in Port Douglas, there are a great range of transport and transfer options from Cairns to Port Douglas including car hire and shuttle services. The Cairns Airport features both domestic and international terminals and is actually the fifth busiest international airport in Australia, meaning it is well-equipped to assist in any further transportation from Cairns to Port Douglas. However if you’d prefer not to fly or drive, why not enjoy one of the two spectacular rail journeys that depart Brisbane arriving in Cairns to Port Douglas via connections.
Travelling return from Brisbane to Cairns three times weekly, The Sunlander takes 31 hours on its journey showcasing lovely inland coastal towns like Bundaberg and Gladstone as well as sub-tropical regions such as Mackay, Proserpine and Bowen. The Spirit of Queensland is Australia’s fastest train and therefore completes the journey in only 24 hours and both services enjoy a similar standard of comfort and luxury. Similar to the airport, there are a number of transfer and connection options from Cairns to Port Douglas that connect these train journeys to Port Douglas.
