This was our third visit to Port Douglas because we love it! It is such a relaxed place to be on holidays. Plenty of things to do and its a lovely warm average of 28 degrees in August. ( Which is a great escape from the bitterly cold winter of Melbourne).
Port Douglas sunshine here we come!
We have discovered that the cure for the freezing winter blues of Melbourne is to go up North where it is warmer. Port Douglas is north of Cairns where the temperature in August is a nice toasty 28 degrees. We booked this trip to Port Douglas last year. The time had finally come with lots of excitement for a holiday in tropical paradise.
Thursday morning at 5am the alarm went off and after a hot shower and breakfast we drove to Melbourne Airport. Allowing heaps of time in case of roadworks and delays we arrived one hour earlier than needed. Parked the car in the long term car park, and quick photo to remind us where we are parked and a dash to get inside the warm shelter and away from the shivering 2 degrees of the Melbourne Winters day.
Travelling light to Port Douglas
The flight arrived in Cairns 15 minutes early which was great. We walked straight through the airport to the pick up point and managed to get on a pre booked shuttle bus that was just about to leave. ( in the past we have had to wait about an hour for the next bus). It helped that we didn’t have any baggage to pick up and were travelling light.
Shuttle from Cairns to Port Douglas and Shantara Resort
Its a great scenic trip along the coast to get to Port Douglas. ( If you would like to see a video I made one up a few years ago, this will give you an idea of what to expect – check out my video of the shuttle bus from Cairns to Port Douglas) It is a bit windy in places and the bus drivers go pretty quick. We only had a couple of stops dropping off other travellers along the way – also very lucky! It wasn’t long before we were being dropped off at the front of Shantara Resort.
This was our third time staying at Shantara Resort – we love it. Its couples only no kids. We like the pool deck studio rooms with easy access to jump in the pool whenever you want. No kids means a much more relaxing holiday!
Late lunch at The Little Larder Port Douglas
We were starving ( it was 2.30pm) and once we had unpacked our bags headed down to Macrossan St, which is just around the corner, to find somewhere to eat. We spotted The little Larder in the distance and headed across to see if we could get a table. There was a table left outside in the sun which was a nice change.
We ordered a beer and some food . David had a Cajin prawn Po’ Boy and I had a Pulled beef dish with roti and salad on top – it was yum!
Unexpected tour of the Superyacht CORROBOREE I
I had recently created a website for the superyacht CORROBOREE I and mentioned to the owner and onshore manager that I was going to be in Port Douglas in August. There was a chance that we could see the superyacht in the marina – as long as it had not been booked for charter and the captain and crew were not too busy. I sent message to say we were sitting down having lunch in Port Douglas and before I knew it were were walking to the marina and about to check out CORROBOREE I.
Matt the captain of CORROBOREE I proudly took us through the luxury superyacht and showed us dining areas, bedrooms, kitchen and engine room. Everything was spotlessly clean and luxurious. It was great to meet Matt and get a snippet of a totally different way of life. What a way to start our holiday! We were lucky to be able to see it as it was booked for a charter heading off the next day for the weekend.
Swim and relax in the Shantara Resort Pool
We walked back to Shantara resort and went for a swim and float around in the pool. This is our third time in Port Douglas and third time staying at Shantara Resort. We love it as there are only couples and no children. This is great if you really want to relax!
Shantara Resort is great if you really want to relax! No kids to be seen…( except the big one you can see floating on a noodle)
Jimmy Rum’s Mixing Lounge for a pre-dinner cocktail.
Jimmy Rum’s Mixing Lounge is hidden off the main street in Port Douglas. New to Port Douglas since we had last been, the Cocktail bar had been recommended to us by a work colleague. There is a red light and small sign out in the street marking the location. We entered the dark inviting relaxed environment and sat at the bar. Nick the bartender made us a couple of yummy cocktails – which was very entertaining to watch. David had sweet foamy on top and sour on the bottom cocktail and I had a gin based cocktail with basil.
We managed to drop in most nights at some stage to have a pre-dinner, “its my birthday” or late cocktail.
Seabean Tapas Bar Restaurant
We walked down the main street and around the corner looking for somewhere to eat. We came across Seabean and their menu looked great. It was busy so we got seated by the owner “Henry” ( another new friend) next to a young couple that were sitting on a bigger table. I don’t think they were too impressed at first. While we were trying to decide what to order they helped us by recommending their favorites – as they had just got about four different dishes delivered. We ended up talking to them while waiting for our food to come out. They had ordered too much so offered for us to help finish a couple of their dishes.
We had the mushrooms with blue cheese, and a pork belly dish. Delicious! Our new friends ( just for the night) invited us to the Central Hotel for a drink. We enjoyed some live music, a couple of drinks and chatting with them. We got back to Shantara Resort at 11.30pm. What a big day! Fantastic start to a wonderful holiday in Port Douglas….
The Little Larder
Shop 2, 40 Macrossan Street
Port Douglas QLD 4877
Jimmy Rum’s Mixing Lounge
13/53-61 Macrossan St,
Port Douglas QLD 4877
Seabean Tapas Bar Restaurant
3/28 Wharf St
Port Douglas, QLD 4877
Central Hotel Port Douglas
9 Macrossan St,
Port Douglas QLD 4877