Top Things to do in North Queensland
What to do and see in North Queensland, Queensland: The Best Nature & Parks
Discover the best top things to do in North Queensland, Australia including Daintree Rainforest - Cooper Creek Wilderness, Opal Reef, Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Daintree National Park, Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas, Four Mile Beach, Palm Cove Beach, Barron Falls, Atherton Tablelands, Birdworld Kuranda.
Restaurants in North Queensland
1. Daintree Rainforest - Cooper Creek Wilderness
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 497 reviews
2 or 4-hour Guided And Interpreted Walking Tours Through The Centrepiece Of The Oldest Rainforest In The World.
Reviewed By Finnaus75 - Sydney, Australia
Our guided walk with Neil was fantastic - such great knowledge and expertise. Couldn't recommend doing the guided walk with him more.
2. Opal Reef
3. Australian Butterfly Sanctuary
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,329 reviews
The largest butterfly flight aviary and exhibit in Australia - an all weather experience in the heart of the Kuranda village. Home to over 1500 magnificent butterflies, youll be enchanted by the arial dynamics of these elusive wonders of nature as you wonder through the aviary's rainforest gardens.
Reviewed By jesseyf2015 - Paris, France
Incredible, if you’ve never been to a butterfly sanctuary you need to go! They have many different kinds of butterflies flying freely which is amazing to be amongst and watch them dance around the air around you. It’s a really pretty garden too!
4. Daintree National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 921 reviews
Part of Queensland Wet Tropics World Heritage area.
Reviewed By VTJedi
The Daintree National Park is huge. Technically it spans both parts of the river which you have to cross by ferry in your car. Forget a tour company - do yourself a favor and see it on your own. The roads were easy to drive and on our day trip from Port Douglas we visited Cape Tribulation (beach and lookout for over an hour - at times the only ones on this pristine beach), we hiked one of the boardwalks and was a cassowary and her baby, we visited the famous ice cream place and had amazing tropical ice cream and walked around the property looking at the trees, and we visited the lookout for views. That was a full day. We would have needed more time to see/do more in Daintree. Maybe next time we'll consider spending the night. It's where 2 UNESCO world heritage sites meet and there's plenty to do here but I recommend do it yourself by car. I watched the way the small tours operate and I would have been miserable on their prescribed highlights. One of the tours didn't even let them people but 5 minutes on Cape Tribulation beach - what a pity for them!
5. Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,076 reviews
Situated at Port Douglas, Queensland, the award winning Wildlife Habitat is a leader in eco-tourism and conservation. This immersion wildlife exhibit has five distinct Habitats - Woodlands, Wetlands, Rainforest, Savannah and Nocturnal, which are set over 8 acres of land to provide an interactive, and educational native wildlife experience. Meet an abundance of Australian animals including koalas, emus and the endangered Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo and Southern Cassowary. Hand-feed wallabies and kangaroos and cuddle a koala. Enjoy Breakfast With The Birds or Lunch With The Lorikeets and enjoy a sumptuous buffet meal and meet some feathered friends.
Reviewed By Dcarno
Fantastic experience, great customer service and quite a range of Australian animals, with superb facilities.
6. Four Mile Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,022 reviews
Reviewed By PaulBartleyW - Lichfield, United Kingdom
We stayed at The Peninsula Boutique Hotel, at the far end of this awesomely serene Beach (just off Main Street, at the town end). The hotel, sits back but next to the beach and is ideally scenically located for the beach. Four Mile Beach is a Stunning view to see & a pleasure to explore.. Its wide; clean and the sand is not grainy underfoot.. Yes, there can sometimes be jellyfish in the water - BUT, you can swim in the safe / secure netted area (at the one end of the beach), snorkel & see the sea life very safely.. There’s also a lifeguard here, should you get into distress - again, adding to the safety of this lovely beach.. Additionally, you can cycle down this beach easily and safely - as well as enjoying a gentle stroll???? Just, don’t forget the sunscreen - whatever your doing on the beach????
7. Palm Cove Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,154 reviews
Reviewed By 71lynw
Nice clean beach on one side with Beach patrolled flagged area and the fishing jetty at the end great spot Amazing sunrises from the beachfront
8. Barron Falls
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,055 reviews
Reviewed By LeoDeSousa2020 - Brisbane, Australia
Highly recommend even if you don’t do the Skyrail or train you can easily drive to the falls and follow down the natural wetlands to the viewing platform.
9. Atherton Tablelands
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 654 reviews
Reviewed By D6035PRkathyd
This was a really enjoyable area to explore by car at a leisurely pace. We did not get as far as we hoped, but thoroghly enjoyed Crater Lakes National Park (including the tea house on Lake Barrine), Yungaburra's walk along Peterson Train in search of a platypus sighting, Emerald Creek Ice Cream and the Cathedral Fig Tree.
10. Birdworld Kuranda
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 759 reviews
Home to the largest single collection of free flying birds in Australia (some 500 of them!), Birdworld Kuranda in the Australian highlands of the Atherton Tablelands displays no less than 75 species of the most spectacular birds from all corners of the planet - as well as from the earth’s fast diminishing rainforests.Visitors are free to wander through the lush, tropically landscaped bird sanctuary to observe the birds in their own specific - yet natural - habitats. Two lakes connected by a tumbling waterfall for example are home to waterbirds such as stilts, herons and Australia’s own unique Black Swan. In Birdworld's rainforest canopy overhead, blue, gold and scarlet Macaws dazzle with colourful brilliance as they soar above the tree tops. One outstanding Birdworld denizen not to be missed is that rare avian giant, the Cassowary - an Australian bird now officially enlisted as endangered.Designed to "create a centre where birds would be showcased in their natural environment without the barriers of cages coming between them and their admiring public", Birdworld Kuranda is a photographer's paradise. (And without those barriers, visitors often find a feathered friend nestling on their shoulder - a golden photo opportunity!) Birdworld Kuranda can provide guided tours for all group bookings.
Reviewed By bmccl22 - Daintree, Australia
I was visiting Kuranda for work and decided to stop in and say hello to some feathered friends at Birdworld while I was there. I was quite impressed with the variety of species they have. At first the area seems small, but because it is a free flying aviary, I found I had to do about 2-3 loops around the track to see all the different birds. The experience is very interactive, they have several Parrots and Macaws who won’t hesitate to fly over and sit on your shoulder or arm. I would recommend being careful what jewellery or accessories you have on as birds do love shiny things and Tango, one of the younger Macaws, spent a lot of time eyeing off my earrings (though I wasn’t upset because he did a great job posing for me in the process). Overall I found this a much better way to view bird life than seeing them in small cages at a standard zoo, though I would not recommend it to people who aren’t comfortable being up close and personal with animals.
