I have just been advised not to stay in Port Douglas by someone who claims to be a world traveler? What say you all?
Port douglas or not
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We are 50something travellers and love to do outdoor things. We LOVED Port Douglas, it's small, walkable, upscale hotels, nice shops with good quality tourist stuff, very friendly people and great food. The best reef tours leave from there as well as the Daintree tours. What's not to like?
Sally in Seattle
Decktime: did your advisor suggest an alternative? Depends so much on his/her tastes. PD is very much a tourist resort town and doesn't have much to do with the real Australia.
No Pat there really wasn't alternatives given. just a blanket E-mail statement.
Surely it's all down to personal preference? And, as Pat says, alternatives. If you want an upscale hotel and all the other things Sally mentions, then PD has to be a better option than Cairns itself. If you just want the lux without the shopping strip and with less choice of places to eat I believe Palm Cove is an option - or one of the exclusive resorts in the Daintree, or a nice B&B. Pretty much everywhere you could possibly stay in that area will be plugged into the tour loop - pick up and return you to your accommodation, etc.
I wouldn't stay in PD personally because I dislike the artificialness of it all and the facilities it offers are not high on my personal wish list. And there are alternatives that suit ME better. But they might not suit YOU.
Happy travels.
As Alice13 says it really does depend on what your interests are. There are so many other places to stay in the region and all are within about an hour or so of each other.
It would also depend on whether or not you intended to hire a car. If you stayed in Port Douglas you would not particularly need one, unless you wanted to explore by yourself - and there are many lovely places, scenic drives, deserted beaches, etc in the region which you would miss seeing on an organised tour.
If you do intend to hire a car you have many more accommodation options, all within easy reach of the area's main activities and attractions. You might like to have a look at Daintree Village Tourism Association's website at www.daintreevillage.asn.au which covers the whole stunningly-beautiful region between Mossman (just north of Port Douglas) and historical, peaceful little Daintree Village which is right on the banks of the magnificent Daintree River.