(Review) Best Daintree Crocodile Tour in Cairns/Cape Tribulation

(Review) Best Daintree Crocodile Tour in Cairns/Cape Tribulation

Need help choosing the best Daintree crocodile tour or cruise between Cairns and Cape Tribulation? Read this honest review with tips and insights on how to make the most of your Daintree crocodile tour!

The World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest is the oldest in the world. This ancient ecosystem is home to a unique diversity of iconic Australian wildlife, including of course the Australian saltwater crocodile.

The Daintree River is one of the best places in Australia to spot a Salty in the wild. However, it can be difficult to spot one yourself. Luckily, there are several great local operators offering Daintree crocodile tours and cruises, offering a safe, sustainable and fun way to spot crocodiles near Cairns, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation.

In this quick guide I introduce my favorite crocodile cruise with Daintree and Solar Whisper. I'll go into a little detail about why I think they're the best and add a quick review and summary of my Crocodile experience with photos.

Featured in: The 10 Best Cairns Tours and Experiences to Book
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Choosing the best Daintree Crocodile Tour

If you're looking for a crocodile cruise near Cairns or Port Douglas, you might be surprised to find that there are absolutely tons of tour operators!

However, my favorite and one of the best rated on the Daintree River is a trip on Solar Whisper. These guys are the only zero emission Daintree crocodile tour in the Daintree. Their boats are solar powered and use electric motors, meaning less pollution and of course a quieter ride with much less impact on the crocodiles.

Below are a few reasons why I believe they are the best.

• Elektromotoren – keine Emissionen, kein lauter Benzinmotorsound
• Größere Chance, ein Krokodil zu sehen, da es nicht von den Motoren erschreckt wird
• Eine der günstigsten Daintree Crocodile Tours
• Das Büro liegt günstig neben der Daintree-Fähre – ein perfekter Zwischenstopp während Sie warten
• Toller Kommentar und Spotting Guides

Book Now: 1 Hour Solar Whisper Wildlife Spotting ($30 Online)

As you can see, I'm a pretty big fan of Solar Whisper's Daintree Wildlife and Crocodile Cruises. I actually went out with them twice! I would recommend booking online to secure your spot.

Featured in: Best things to do in Cairns

About the Solar Whisper Daintree Crocodile Cruise

How do I get here?

The Solar Whisper Daintree Crocodile Cruise departs from the large car park next to the Daintree River Ferry. This is approximately 122 kilometers from Cairns (1 hour 45 minutes) or 67 kilometers from Port Douglas (1 hour).

To get here, follow the Cairns to Cape Tribulation Drive, also known as the Great Barrier Reef Drive. This is one of the most scenic drives in Australia and definitely one to add to your FNQ bucket list!
alt="Great Barrier Reef Drive from Cairns to Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia">
Below I have pinned the exact location of the Daintree Crocodile Cruise site to help you find it.

FEATURED IN: 20 Things to Do in Cape Tribulation

The Solar Whisper Boats

If you have booked online in advance, all you need to do is check in at the office desk upon arrival. Crocodile and wildlife tour times vary depending on the season, but when we were there there were options for trips at 9:30am, 10:45am, 11:45am, 2:15pm and 3:30pm.

The Solar Whisper Daintree boats are fantastic. They are flat-bottomed river boats with electric motors and a sunroof for shade. The great thing about these excursions is that they are not crowded boats, but rather a small group experience.
alt=“SOLAR WHISPER OFFICE IN THE DAINTREE”>
alt=“DAINTREE CROCODILE TOUR, RIVER BOAT WITH SOLAR WHISPER”>

My experience on the Solar Whisper Daintree Crocodile Tour

If you would rather do this Daintree crocodile watching tour as a surprise then I would suggest just booking a trip and skipping this part. However, for those who are interested in what to expect and what they might see on the Daintree, here is a summary of my recent experiences.

On our last visit to the Daintree we chose the earliest crocodile and wildlife cruise at 9:30am as it best suited our trip to Cape Tribulation.
alt="DAINTREE RIVER IN THE FAR NORTH OF QUEENSLAND">
alt=“DAINTREE CROCODILE TOUR, SOLAR WHISPER CRUISE FROM CAIRNS”>

RELATED TOUR: Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures

Wildlife watching

Our guide, Marc Peter, was super informative and a really good spotter. Less than five minutes from the pontoon, he had already pointed out a large python hanging high up on the canopy.
alt=“TREE PYTHON, DAINTREE WILDLIFE TOUR WITH SOLAR WHISPER”>
Marc pointed out that the timing of this trip was great for us as the skies were clear and the tide was fairly low. We spotted our first crocodile, a 3 meter long female, sunning herself on the bank just minutes after the python. Because Solar Whisper has a flat-bottomed boat with an electric motor, we were able to get much closer to the crocodiles without disturbing them in their natural habitat.
alt=“SALTWATER CROCODILE ON THE DAINTREE RIVER”>
alt=“SALTWATER CROCODILE, DAINTREE CROCODILE TOURS”>
Just a few minutes upstream we were also lucky enough to see several local birds including a heron, a Papuan frogmouth, two kingfishers and many birds of prey flying overhead.
alt="WHITE HERRON DAINTREE RIVER">
alt=“KINGFISHER BIRD DAINTREE RIVER AUSTRALIA“>
alt="BIRD OF PREDATOR ON THE DAINTREE RIVER">
alt="PAPUAN TAWNY DAINTREE RIVER">
The main attraction on our Daintree crocodile cruise was Scarface, the dominant male of the Daintree River. Experts estimate this 4.5 meter long saltwater crocodile to be over 70 years old!
alt=“DAINTREE CROCODILE TOUR, RIVER BOAT WITH SOLAR WHISPER”>
Marc explained to us that there is a very strict hierarchy in these river systems. The dominant male crocodile is the only one allowed to mate, but is sometimes challenged by younger crocodiles.
alt=“DAINTREE CROCODILE TOUR, SOLAR WHISPER CRUISE FROM CAIRNS”>
We also managed to spot two more female crocodiles on our Daintree cruise, as well as a couple of very small baby crocodiles and a number of crab species and a few Radjah ducks when we got into one of the narrower streams.
alt=“FEMALE SALTWATER CROCODILE IN THE RIVER DAINTREE”>
alt=“FEMALE SALTWATER CROCODILE IN THE RIVER DAINTREE”>
alt=“JUVENILE SALTWATER CROCODILE”>
alt="DAINTREE crabs">
alt="RADJAH DUCK, DAINTREE RIVER, AUSTRALIA">
Overall my experience on the Solar Whisper Crocodile Tour down the Daintree was really enjoyable. I'm not sure if we were very lucky or if it's normal to see such a wide variety of species on these trips. Anyway, based on my experience I would recommend this crocodile cruise to anyone planning a trip to Far North Queensland!

Don't miss my Cape Tribulation accommodation guide if you're heading north!

More photos from the Solar Whisper Daintree Croc Tour

Below are some more photos from my Daintree crocodile tour with Solar Whisper.
alt=“SALTWATER CROCODILE TOUR, DAINTREE RIVER AUSTRALIA”>
alt=“DAINTREE CROCODILE TOUR, SOLAR WHISPER CRUISE FROM CAIRNS”>
alt="CRABS IN THE DAINTREE">
alt=“JUVENILE SALTWATER CROCODILE”>
alt="CROCODILE CRUISE DAINTREE">
alt="DAINTREE SALTWATER CROCODILE TOUR">
alt="CROCODILE WATCHING TOUR ON THE DAINTREE">
alt=“FEMALE SALTWATER CROCODILE IN THE RIVER DAINTREE”>
alt="BIRD OF PREDATOR ON THE DAINTREE RIVER">
alt="KINGFISHER BIRD DAINTREE RIVER">
alt="KINGFISHER BIRD DAINTREE RIVER">

Tips for making the most of a Croc cruise IN Cairns and Cape Tribulation

Still in the planning stages of a trip to the Daintree? Here are a few tips to help you make the most of a crocodile boat tour and maximize your chances of spotting one!

• Jahreszeiten – Krokodile sind in der Trockenzeit viel leichter zu erkennen. Das kühlere Wetter bedeutet, dass sie sich zum Aufwärmen an die Ufer setzen. In der heißen Regenzeit des tropischen Nordens von Queensland neigen Krokodile dazu, sich im Wasser abzukühlen, wodurch sie schwerer zu erkennen sind
• Wetter – Versuchen Sie, einen sonnigen Tag auszuwählen, wenn Sie können. Die warme Sonne ermutigt die Krokodile, aus dem Wasser zu steigen und sich an den Ufern zu sonnen
• Tageszeit – Die meisten Krokodil-Flusskreuzfahrten auf dem Daintree planen ihre Fahrten so, dass die Wahrscheinlichkeit, ein Krokodil zu spucken, maximiert wird. Ich würde sagen, mach dir nicht zu viele Gedanken über das Timing. Ebbe ist jedoch eine bessere Zeit, um Krokodile zu entdecken, da die Ufer freigelegt sind.

More Cairns adventure and travel inspiration

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide and review of my experience on the Solar Whisper Daintree Crocodile Tour. If you have any questions about planning a trip to the Daintree, please do not hesitate to contact me. Otherwise, join the discussion below and share your experiences in the comments.

While you're here, check out some of my other articles for Cairns and the Far North. I have written countless other articles about this incredible region, full of must-see things and hidden gems.

Read: The 7 Best Cape Tribulation Tours

MY CAMERA AND PHOTO EQUIPMENT

• Spiegellose Kamera: Canon R5
• Drohne: DJI Mavic Pro 2
• 360-Grad-Action-Kamera: Insta360 One X2
• Landschaftsobjektiv: Canon RF 15-35 mm f/2.8L
• Allround-Objektiv: Canon RF 24–105 mm f/4L
• Teleobjektiv: Canon RF 100–500 mm f/f/4,5–7,1 L
• Lange Aktionsstange: Insta360 Invisible Pole (BulletTime)
• Landschaftslinsenfilter: Hoya Circular Polarizer
• Kamerarucksack: F-Stop Tilopa
• Lieblingsfotozubehör: Peak Design Capture Clip

For a list of my recommended photography gear (including what I use and why), check out my Travel Camera Gear Guide.

If you would like to use photos on this website, please visit my licensing page to find out how. For high resolution & commercial use please contact me directly.
alt=“FEMALE SALTWATER CROCODILE IN THE RIVER DAINTREE”>
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