Cape Tribulation hotels are not hotels in the city sense. The locality, home to 123 people at the 2021 census, holds a small number of bed and breakfast eco lodges, tourism resorts and backpacker hostels, all set inside the Daintree National Park.
That shapes how you plan a stay. Cape Tribulation is where the Daintree Rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef, about 110 km north of Cairns, with no grid power, no mobile signal and strict crocodile rules. We have set out what is known about the place, the weather, and the tours that pair with a night or two.
What kind of Cape Tribulation hotels and stays exist
Three styles of stay are found here: eco lodges offering bed and breakfast, tourism resorts and backpacker hostels. There are only a few of each, so we reckon booking early is sensible, though we cannot give availability or rates for any property.
For listings, start with our Cape Tribulation accommodation page, then browse the accommodation listings. If you prefer a larger property, see Cape Tribulation resorts, or the Daintree and Cape Tribulation lodges page for the rainforest end of the range.
Location and getting there
The locality sits in the Shire of Douglas, within the Wet Tropics World Heritage area. Bloomfield Road enters from the south at Thornton Beach and leaves to the north towards Bloomfield. The drive from Cairns takes about two hours and crosses the Daintree River by cable ferry.
Access is far easier than it once was. The first vehicle track was bulldozed in the 1960s, but it stayed a four-wheel drive track until the early 1990s. The road was sealed all the way in 2002, and the last bridge, built in early 2011, gave year-round all-weather access for the first time.
Cape Tribulation weather through the year
This is a very wet place. Average annual rainfall is 3,900 millimetres. The wet months run from December to April, while August and September are the driest. Figures below are 1991-2020 averages for the Cape Tribulation area.
| Month | Max C | Min C | Rain mm | Rain days | Sunny days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34.2 | 24.8 | 366.7 | 31.0 | 26.1 |
| February | 34.5 | 24.4 | 378.3 | 28.3 | 22.9 |
| March | 31.2 | 24.6 | 429.0 | 31.0 | 23.1 |
| April | 29.0 | 21.4 | 186.0 | 30.0 | 21.1 |
| May | 27.9 | 20.1 | 77.5 | 19.4 | 19.1 |
| June | 27.9 | 18.7 | 53.4 | 13.3 | 16.6 |
| July | 25.9 | 18.8 | 36.9 | 9.2 | 18.7 |
| August | 28.5 | 19.2 | 25.1 | 6.3 | 22.5 |
| September | 30.3 | 20.5 | 26.7 | 6.7 | 26.0 |
| October | 30.8 | 21.7 | 50.2 | 12.6 | 29.3 |
| November | 35.9 | 23.7 | 69.6 | 17.4 | 29.3 |
| December | 33.2 | 24.3 | 183.8 | 31.0 | 29.0 |
We would pick August to October for a stay: little rain, mild nights and plenty of sunny days. July is the coolest month, with a 25.9 degree average maximum.
Tours to pair with a stay
Many visitors see the area on a day trip from Cairns, but a night on the cape means less time in the car. These tours are listed on this site, and you can compare more on our Cape Tribulation tours page.
- Half-Day Daintree Rainforest Tour: 5 hours, from AUD 895.0, with a Cooper Creek cruise looking for saltwater crocodiles.
- Cape Tribulation and Daintree Wilderness Day Tour in Cairns: 8h 30m, from AUD 700.0.
- Private Daintree Wanderer Tour: 9 hours, from AUD 1015.71, with a river cruise, meals and a stop at Cape Tribulation Beach.
- Private Cape Tribulation and Mossman Gorge Day Tour: 12 hours, from AUD 1880.0, departing Cairns with a naturalist guide.
- Cairns to Daintree Cape Tribulation 3 Day Tour via Port Douglas: 3 days, from AUD 1990.0.
The three-day option is the one that most resembles a proper stay, and in our view it suits anyone who finds a day trip too rushed.
Things to see near your lodge
The locality has several lookouts: Mount Sorrow Ridge Trail Lookout, Kulki Boardwalk Lookout and Marrja Boardwalk Lookout. Kulki is the Kuku-Yalanji name for Cape Tribulation. Our Daintree and Cape Tribulation attractions and activities pages cover more, and the Cape Tribulation destination guide gives the wider picture.
A little history
Lieutenant James Cook named the cape on 10 June 1770 after his ship scraped a reef and later ran aground on what is now Endeavour Reef. He wrote that here began all their troubles. European settlers arrived in the 1930s but found the rainforest hard going. In 1983 a blockade on the Bloomfield Track made the area widely known, and the surrounding forests gained World Heritage Listing in 1988.
For wider trip planning across the state, Tourism and Events Queensland runs the official site at queensland.com, and a general reference is on Wikipedia.
Frequently asked questions
Are there big hotels in Cape Tribulation?
No. The locality has a small number of bed and breakfast eco lodges, tourism resorts and backpacker hostels.
When is the driest time to stay?
August and September are the driest, at about 25 mm and 27 mm of rain on average, with only six or seven rain days each.
Will a phone work at the lodge?
Expect no mobile signal and no grid power in Cape Tribulation, so plan ahead and check with your lodge before you arrive.
