We were gifted a 3-night ‘staycation’ in Port Douglas by family (thank you G&R), so we nipped up the Great Barrier Reef Drive (around 45 mins from Clifton Beach) – one of Australia’s most spectacular roads, hugging the Coral Sea with the rugged rainforest covered Macalister Ranges tumbling down to touch the reef itself. 

Cyclone Jasper ripped through here in December 2023 with more than 120 landslides and tens of thousands of tonnes of mud, rocks and debris spilling over the road into the ocean. One large boulder that landed on the road was estimated at 300 tonnes, so no surprise then that a 27-kilometre section of the road was completely blocked, cutting off Port Douglas for 3 months. They’re still trying to clear debris and rebuild this road with a series of traffic lights causing delays even now. 

Our visit just happened to coincide with ‘Taste Port Douglas’, Australia’s leading tropical food and drink celebration, a four-day long weekend of foodie-inspired events, master cooking classes and delicious eating experiences. The event attracts Australia’s top chefs and producers so it’s quite the scene, especially at lunchtime and evening when the many excellent restaurants were packed to the rafters with hungry revellers and the odd celebrity chef basking in his self-importance. It also didn’t exactly help things that the Carnival Splendor was in town, disgorging 3,700 resort-clad passengers into the bars and restaurants, creating mayhem on the streets. 

Fortunately for us, we’d booked ahead and chosen three of the most talked about restaurants in town. First up, on a busy Saturday night was Jungle Fowl (www.junglefowl.com.au), a tropical Thai restaurant worthy of its rating as one of the top places to eat here. Delicious beyond telling!

A lazy Sunday lunch at Seabean with friends (and their two dogs), a Spanish tapas bar serving generous wooden platters of Pintxos, typical small snacks from the Barcelona region, washed down with a cheeky bottle of Rioja. Heaven. https://www.seabean.com.au

Then Salsa Bar & Grill, a bright and breezy Queenslander restaurant that’s been one of Port’s top restaurants for over 30 years. Think mouth-wateringly delicious Linguini Pepperincino, local tiger prawns tossed in black pepper, chilli, garlic and parmesan and you’re right there. https://salsaportdouglas.com.au

Sunday is market day in Port Douglas with an idyllic setting looking out over the Coral Sea amongst massive Mango trees, swaying Coconut palms, the Sugar Wharf and the impossibly cute St Mary’s by the Sea chapel making this the most picture-perfect setting you could imagine. It’s a gorgeous outlook from here across the mangroves and out towards the rolling, rainforest-clad mountains and the remote wilderness of the Daintree in the distance. There are hundreds of stalls here selling everything from Indigenous artwork, artisan crafts, clothing and textiles, tropical fruits and nuts, native rare wood artifacts and even boulder Opals – chipped away revealing tantalizing streaks of sparkling colour. 

This was just a taste of Port but being so close to home we’ll be back often and looking forward to dining out at the many other restaurants, cafés and bars here.