Four-star Three MICHELIN Keys Lizard Island, far north, Port Douglas
Lizard Island Resort
Forty suites and villas on a national park island at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef, an hour's flight from Cairns, with twenty-four beaches and a dinghy to reach them.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Three Keys, 2025 and 2026
- Rooms
- 40 suites and villas
- Beaches
- 24, all on the island
- From the airport
- About an hour by air from Cairns
The hotel
Cook's island on the outer reef.
In 1770 the Endeavour ran onto a reef near here, and James Cook climbed the island's summit to look for a way out through the coral. He named the island on 12 August that year for the monitor lizards he saw, which still live here, and the peak is still called Cook's Look. It rises 370 metres above a national park of about a thousand hectares.
The island lies 27 kilometres off the Queensland coast and 240 kilometres north of Cairns. A research station has worked here since 1973; the resort followed in 1975. Cyclone Ita damaged it in 2014, and it closed for repairs. Today stays are all-inclusive, guests take dinghies out to beaches of their own, and in 2025 it was the only hotel in Australia given three MICHELIN Keys.
- Twenty-four beaches Take a motorised dinghy and a picnic and have a beach to yourselves for the day.
- The reef Snorkelling from the shore with turtles, and the Cod Hole dive site out on the Great Barrier Reef.
- Cook's Look The climb to the island's 370-metre summit, where Cook searched for a passage through the reef.
Rooms & suites
From garden rooms to a house on the hill.
Forty suites and villas across eight types, from Gardenview Rooms to The House.
- On the sand Beachfront Suites Suites on the beachfront of the resort.
- With a pool Oceanview Plunge Pool Villas Villas looking out to sea, each with its own plunge pool.
- Stand-alone The Pavilion, The Villa and The House Three single addresses, each listed by the resort as a category of its own.
Dining
Meals included, from the reef to the wood oven.
Restaurants and bars as listed by the resort; meals and a selection of drinks are part of the stay. Shown for information.
- Salt Water Menus drawn from the tropics The open-air main restaurant
- Beachside Dining Private dinner In a gazebo on Anchor Bay
- The Cellar Wine A private wine list
- Marlin Bar Wood-fired pizza The resort bar
Recognition
Awards and listings.
- Three MICHELIN Keys 2025 and 2026
- Relais & Châteaux Member
- Luxury Lodges of Australia Member
Good to know
Before you go.
- Children Guests must be ten or older.
- All inclusive Meals, soft drinks, a selection of wine, beer and spirits, the minibar, dinghies, kayaks and snorkelling gear are part of the stay.
Getting there
Flying to Port Douglas.
Fly into Cairns, the region's international airport, then take the resort's scenic flight north, about an hour over more than 200 kilometres of reef. Private jets also land at Cairns for the same connection.
- Brisbane 2 h 10
- Sydney 2 h 55
- Melbourne 3 h 25
- Bali 4 h 50
- Singapore 6 h 55 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Lizard Island Resort have?
- Three, in 2025 and again in 2026. It is the only hotel in Queensland with three Keys.
- How do you get to Lizard Island?
- By light aircraft from Cairns, a flight of about an hour along the reef. The island is 240 kilometres north of Cairns.
- Can children stay at Lizard Island Resort?
- Only from the age of ten.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Port Douglas?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Port Douglas, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Port Douglas
Other hotels worth the trip.
Staying at Lizard Island Resort?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Port Douglas, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.