Eat al fresco under three giant mango trees with ocean views at this multi-award-winning restaurant. Head chef Adam Ion and wife Namhee offer a mix of Asian flavours in a modern Australian menu that serves the best local seafood. melaleucaportdouglas.com.au

Nowhere epitomises Port Douglas more. Open since 1995, Salsa Bar & Grill overlooks Dickson Inlet and is set within a Queenslander beach house. Enjoy sunset across the water, live music and modern Australian fare (try the Daintree barramundi served with jalapeno emulsion). salsaportdouglas.com.au

Get lost in an evening of pinxtos, paella and tapas. Start with sundowners, and stay for late night snacks, Seabean Spanish Bar & Tapas draws upon the flavours of the Mediterranean Coast and twice won the award as North Queensland’s best specialty restaurant. seabean.com.au

Opened last year by a former Longrain chef, Jungle Fowl features modern Thai food, infused with the flavours of the region (try the cured Coral Trout with green nahm jim, lemongrass and kaffir leaves). Jungle Fowl’s farm-to-table cuisine is served in a waterfront location – though it’s the seafood that stars. junglefowl.com.au

Dine under the stars within a tropical garden with the smell of the sea from across the road. Featuring an Australian fusion menu with the best local ingredients, try everything from local barramundi to kangaroo. Check out the floor-to-ceiling aquarium in the bathrooms. zincportdouglas.com

Billionaire Christopher Skase built this place in 1987. It’s aged gracefully, with 147 hectares of gardens and a beachfront setting and swim-up bars amongst one of the largest salt-water lagoons you’ll find in Australia. There’s also a golf course and three restaurants. marriott.com

Set within a rainforest beside a beach 10 minutes drive from town, Sea Temple Resort & Spa is a sanctuary to escape to. All rooms are built around a huge lagoon – at night the pool is lit up with fire-top columns. There’s a great restaurant on site. pullmanportdouglas.com.au

Most of Port Douglas’s best hotels are actually found outside town. Niramaya Villas & Spa is a short walk from Four Mile Beach and five minutes’ drive from town. You’ll be surrounded by 15 hectares of rainforest, in villas with their own private plunge pools. niramaya.com.au

Enjoy the convenience of town – and Four Mile Beach – just across the road. The Beach Club epitomises tropical North Queensland, with suites amongst tropical gardens where birds gather every morning and evening. Book a suite with its own private plunge pool. peppers.com.au/beach-club

Sleep amongst a private forest – beside your own private beach – on 58 hectares of headland 15 minutes drive south of Port Douglas. There’s a restaurant/ bar built amongst the treetops, and hikes within native forest. thalabeach.com.au

Located five minutes walk from the centre of town, this stunning palm tree-lined beach attracts a flurry of activity. Walk along it, take a swim (it’s patrolled all year) or have a drink at bars and restaurants built right beside it. Don’t miss sunrise, or sunset.

Take luxury 30-metre sailing catamaran, Wavedancer, on a sail out to the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Just an hour’s sail east, stop at Low Isle to snorkel its lagoon with resident turtles, before lunch on the beach. wavedancerlowisles.com

Take a helicopter to your own private island in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. Fly to Undine Cay and land on the sand where you’ll have your own island to swim and snorkel from, before a private picnic. nautilusaviation.com.au/experience/undine-sand-cay

Take a cruise aboard an historic riverboat – Lady Douglas – into mangroves alongside a river behind town to spot salt water crocodiles, and other native animals. Time your cruise for a sunset along the water, complete with sparkling wine. ladydouglas.com.au