Cooktown
- Address:Charlotte Street, Cooktown
- Admission:Free
The relaxed coastal town of Cooktown is a popular excursion from Port Douglas.
Captain Cook beached his ship the Endeavour here, hence the name. These days daytrippers come here to visit the intriguing James Cook Historical Museum, to pay their respects to his statue overlooking Bicentennial Park, and order up a seafood platter at a local restaurant.
Cooktown has some impressive buildings for an outback coastal town, thanks to the 1870s to 1890s gold rush at the nearby Palmer goldfields. The town’s impressive botanic gardens date from this period.
Latest Reviews All Cooktown Reviews »
Excellent, informative well guided trip. Flying back from Cooktown also added an insight into the day to day life of the community.
Continue Reading »
The trip was very good. Enjoyed by all.
The only problem was that the food did not cater for speciality diets eg Gluten free
I informed ahead of time about this, but the places that made the food had no idea. The driver ordered rib eye fillet for dinner, but they put gravy on it (which contains wheat flour). So this delayed the trip home as they had to re-cook the steak. It was the only item that was gluten free that was on the menu.
As well as the beautiful scenic trip through the Daintree Rainforest to get to Cooktown, the town itself is a great place to visit. Its a really charming little colonial town with very friendly locals. The views from Grassy Hill Lookout are spectacular and a beer on the verandah at the Cooktown Hotel can't be beaten. It's a long day trip to get there from Cairns or Port Douglas but well worth the effort! Continue Reading »
Practical Info
Cooktown is one of the most northerly settlements on Australia’s far north coast, before the wilds of Cape York Peninsula take over. Port Douglas is 267 km (166 miles) south of Cooktown.
A tour to Cooktown from Port Douglas can combine the scenic coastal route, traveling through the Daintree to Cape Tribulation along the Bloomfield Track, and the inland Mulligan Highway for iconic outback landscapes.
