Short-term ferry pain for long-term expansion gain
Daintree tourism
Long line-ups at the Daintree ferry have been reported this month as ongoing roadworks cause delays for drivers heading across the Daintree River.
Douglas Shire Council is widening the approach lanes in preparation for a new four-lane ferry service set to start next year, causing traffic to bank up while waiting in the line to board.
Trips across the river were down this May and June compared to last year, with close to 17,000 recorded in May and about 19,400 in June.
In comparison, about 17,300 were made last May and 22,100 in June 2025.
More than 91 per cent of trips across the ferry last month were made by car.
“For the months of May and June 2026, the ‘Douglas Card’ was reinstated as a temporary measure to boost economic activity north of the Daintree River following the ferry outage because of Tropical Low 29U,” a report tabled in this week’s council meeting states.
“Douglas Card utilisation was: May 2026: 603 trips, June 2026: 588 trips.”
The Douglas Card was made available to Queenslanders in neighbouring council areas allowing free ferry rides and visits to Mossman Gorge.
Following a presentation made to the council by industry body Tourism Port Douglas Daintree and tourism operators, councillors voted to extend the Douglas Card as a strategy to help boost tourism numbers after the ferry was broken down in April.
The new four-lane ferry is being built by Birdon shipbuilders in Port Macquarie, NSW.