All visitors traveling north of the Daintree River will need to ride the Daintree Ferry. The ferry serves as the gateway to the locations beyond the river including the communities of Cow Bay and Cape Tribulation. Ticket information, pricing and pre-bookings can all be made at the Daintree Ferry website.

You can drive a 2wd car  to The Daintree, and as far as Cape Tribulation. All major roads are sealed and some minor roads are unsealed but well-maintained and suitable for normal cars. You would only need a 4WD if you wanted to drive the 4WD-only Bloomfield Track beyond Cape Tribulation towards Cooktown, or the CREB Track . Caravans are permitted and it is safe to drive across the Daintree ferry and on the Bloomfield track to Cooktown.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Trans North runs a direct service to Cape Tribulation, coming up from Cairns on Monday, Wednesday and Friday – returning to Cairns on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. They pick up in Cairns around 7:30am and Port Douglas around 8:30am. The trip is dependent on the conditions of the Bloomfield Track to Cooktown so checking the schedules in the wet season is a must.

APPROXIMATE DRIVE TIMES

From Cairns to Daintree Ferry  110km – 2 hours

From Port Douglas to Daintree Ferry 40km – 50 minutes

From Daintree Ferry to Cape Tribulation Camping – 30 min (roadworks may cause delays)

From Cape Tribulation Camping to Cooktown (sealed road ) 324km –  4 hours

From Cape Tribulation Camping to Cooktown (unsealed road via Bloomfield ) 103km – 2 hours