This extremely scenic drive takes you beyond the holiday city of Cairns via the coastline to charming Port Douglas and the Daintree's World Heritage-listed rainforest.

From central Cairns, take the Captain Cook Highway north out of town.

Stretching for 30km, the beautiful Marlin Coast has many sandy beaches and small resort villages like Trinity Beach and Palm Cove. Other attractions along the way include Cairns Tropical Zoo and Hartley's Crocodile Adventures at Palm Cove, and the Rainforest Habitat near Port Douglas.

Continue on the Highway, then take the Port Douglas turn-off.

Once a sleepy fishing settlement, charming Port Douglas is now a rather exclusive resort village, with upmarket accommodation, dining and shopping, a picturesque harbour and a perfect, long sandy beach.

Return to the Highway and continue to Mossman.

Mossman has a sugar mill and a few other attractions, but this small town is essentially the gateway to the magnificent Daintree rainforest.

Take the Mossman Gorge road.

The significance of this lush region - the province of tropical rainforest, many orchid species, the large, flightless cassowary, enormous birdwing butterflies and a rare tree kangaroo - was recognised in 1988, when the Daintree National Park was World Heritage listed. The most easily accessible part of the Daintree is Mossman Gorge, with its easy 2.7km circuit hiking trail. Cross the Daintree River on the car ferry and you can take the bitumen road as far as Cape Tribulation (50km). There are several places off this road where you can experience coastal tropical rainforests and white-sand beaches.

Return to Cairns via the same route.