Cairns is a warm and welcoming city with a great location between the Great Barrier Reef, lush rainforests, and the cloud-covered Atherton Tableland. It is widely utilised as a starting point for excursions to these nearby natural wonders because the town of Cairns itself has a plethora of tourist attractions and a welcoming vacation environment. A tropical trip is further heightened by the town's profusion of tour operators and palm-lined streets. A well-liked pastime here is strolling along the Cairns Esplanade, a seaside promenade flanked by parks, playgrounds, cafés, and water-themed activities. Although there are beautiful beaches to the north and south of Cairns, from Trinity Bay to Port Douglas, the city itself does not have a particularly long stretch of sand.
Among the most popular tourist sites are the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, the Great Barrier Reef, and lovely trips to the rainforest hamlet of Kuranda. The popularity of Cairns as a tourist destination in Australia is understandable.
1. Beautiful cruises and flights to the Great Barrier Reef.
A cruise to the Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest treasures and a World Heritage Site, is one of the most popular things to do from Cairns. The 2,300-kilometer-long Great Barrier Reef, one of the planet's richest ecosystems, is made up of a stunning variety of hard and soft corals, various fish and mollusk species, and other marine life, including dolphins, turtles, and sharks.
An scheduled tour is the ideal way to experience this remote natural beauty, whether you want to snorkel or dive. The 8.5-hour Great Barrier Reef Diving and Snorkelling Cruise from Cairns whisks you out to the reef in just under an hour thanks to the marine biologist on board. For those who also want to experience the reef from the air, the Great Barrier Reef Scenic Helicopter Tour and Cruise from Cairns is a fantastic option. You have two options: fly one way to the reef and take a boat back, allowing time for lunch, swimming, and snorkelling along the way.
2. The Cairns Esplanade
is a wonderful place to stroll at sunrise or sunset and soak in the ambience of this friendly city. This beachfront strip has undergone extensive renovations to transform it into a lively social hub and entertainment district servicing both residents and tourists. The city's coastal esplanade currently has playgrounds, swimming lagoons, parks with rich tropical vegetation, and a waterfront promenade. Birdlife is abundant in the nearby mangroves and tidal flats, and informative signs offer fascinating details on the local ecosystem.
The treasure trove of free entertainment includes a climbing park, beach volleyball courts, bike lanes, a skate park, exercise equipment, playgrounds with water-themed themes, and more. Restaurants and cafés offer a variety of food options, while picnickers will find barbecues strewn around the lawns.
3. Cairns Botanic Gardens
The Cairns Botanic Gardens, established in 1886, include one of Australia's finest collections of tropical flora. Anyone with an interest in the green stuff can take a self-guided tour through six colourful gardens with more than 4,000 different plant varieties. The formal Flecker Garden showcases tropical habitats from around the world with species from Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and Queensland. From here, you can wander down the Rainforest Boardwalk to Centenary Lakes, a bird refuge with both freshwater and saltwater habitats. The main gardens are connected by footpaths to a region of rainforest on Mount Whitfield's slopes that provides breathtaking views of the town and the shore. The additional highlights include the Aboriginal Plant Use Garden, a bamboo collection, a fern house, and a Gondwanan Heritage Garden that traces the evolution of wet tropics plants in Australia. This is one of the best inexpensive things to do in Cairns; entrance is free.
Cairns, Queensland: 1 Collins Avenue
4. Spend a day at Kuranda.
One of the most popular day trips from Cairns is to Kuranda, which is hidden away in a lush rainforest on the Atherton Tableland hills. THE Half of the fun in the getting there. Just outside of Cairns, on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, you can soar above rainforests that are on the World Heritage List while seeing the breathtaking Barron River and Gorge below. As an alternative, ride the Kuranda Scenic Railway up through the jungle, past narrow gorges and icy waterfalls. The panoramas will be enjoyed by tourists who choose to drive themselves.
When visiting, you really must visit the Kuranda Markets. Every day, the Original Markets and the Heritage Markets are open, and both are stocked with handcrafted items, indigenous crafts, souvenirs, jewellery, and mouthwatering tropical food. Other well-liked attractions include the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, the largest collection of free-flying birds in Australia, Birdworld, Kuranda Koala Gardens, and Rainforestation Nature Park. Along with Kuranda, the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park receives a lot of visitors.
By taking a guided tour, you can make the most of your stay in Kuranda. The full-day Kuranda Scenic Railway Day Trip from Cairns includes two exhilarating modes of transportation: the scenic railway to Kuranda and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway to return, with enough of time to view the sites in between. The fact that you may customise the route to your needs is the finest part.
5. Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park.
About 15 minutes' drive from Cairns in a verdant jungle, the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park offers intriguing insight into one of humankind's oldest customs. The centre has been a popular tourist site for more than 25 years and is regularly included in excursions to Kuranda because of the neighbouring Skyrail station. The rich culture of the Tjapukai people can be experienced through dance performances, music, storytelling, and exhibitions. You can learn how to play the didgeridoo, throw boomerangs and spears, and discover the health advantages of eating bush food. The itinerary includes both nighttime visits with a buffet dinner, a fire-starting ceremony, and live entertainment as well as daytime visits with interactive activities. You can have dinner at the Boomerang Restaurant after completing your day's activities.
Address: Cairns Western Arterial Road, Caravonica
The sixth national park is Barron Gorge.
Far North Queensland's Barron Gorge National Park is a stunning wilderness area and a portion of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. A thick rainforest covers these gloomy heights, and stunning waterfalls flow into the Barron River and its tributaries. The best ways to enjoy this unspoiled natural beauty are on the Kuranda Scenic Railway or the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. The 260-meter Barron Falls is a breathtaking sight, especially when it is raining. The main attractions are accessible by car for visitors who want to spend several days visiting this spectacular park.
7. Spend the afternoon on Green Island.
Coral reefs surround Green Island, a tropical island paradise in Cairns, and it is completely covered with rainforest. The main activities include swimming, scuba diving, snorkelling, and, for those who would rather stay dry, seeing marine life from a glass-bottomed boat or underwater observatory. It is possible to explore the island itself, which is equally rewarding. The island pool is a great place to cool down, and there are well-kept boardwalks that weave through the lush flora. Thousands of seabirds nest on the nearby coral island of Michaelmas Cay, which has one of the largest bird populations on the Great Barrier Reef.
The air-conditioned catamaran trip to the island is a delight of the Green Island Day Trip from Cairns. When you get there, you can attempt seawalking, dive the reef, go snorkelling from the shore, or take a trip in a glass-bottom boat or semi-submersible to see the coral.
8. Day tour to Fitzroy Island
Fitzroy Island offers a quiet dose of ocean, sand, and sun and is reachable by ferry from Cairns in approximately 45 minutes. The beaches with a forest backdrop, where you may kayak, snorkel, and swim, are the major draw. The summit of the island and the lighthouse on the point, both to the north of the island, are connected by walking pathways. You might also find Little Fitzroy Island's colourful soft corals on a half-day kayak cruise. A picnic lunch, sporting equipment like stand-up paddleboards and snorkelling gear, a stinger suit, and a glass-bottom boat tour are all included in the Fitzroy Island Day Trip from Cairns, along with the round-trip ferry ticket. If you want to go further, however, you can purchase an Activity Pass that also includes all of these things.
9. Visit Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest in a single day
One of the rare places on earth where the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, two of the world's greatest ecosystems, mix is Cape Tribulation, which is situated about 140 kilometres north of Cairns. These two natural beauties may both be visited in a single day from Cairns and are both recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At Cape Tribulation, you may observe coral reefs thriving in shallow waters along the breathtaking beach with a jungle backdrop. While there, you can add a range of reef and wilderness adventures to your agenda, like ziplining through the rainforest, hiking, diving, snorkelling, and kayaking.
The best practical way to see this spectacular stretch of shore is on a guided trip. The Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation Day Tour includes a boat down the calm Daintree River, a guided rainforest walk to Mossman Gorge, a visit at Cape Tribulation's beach, and a refreshing swim in the Coral Sea. You may hand-feed kangaroos and see other unusual Australian animals at Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas. The tour's educated guides explain the different tropical ecosystems as well as the Kuku Yalanji people, who were these places' original settlers.
10 Palm Cove.
About a 25-minute drive from Cairns, Palm Cove is famed for its stunning beach bordered by palm trees and opulent spa resorts. Peace and quiet prevail along this wonderful stretch, and several beachside cafés and restaurants beckon. Swimming is not permitted outside of a small area for the majority of the year because of box jellyfish and possible crocodile encounters. You might like to unwind on the soft dunes and enjoy the stunning views of the ocean. Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, a well-known croc show and wildlife park, as well as the Cairns Tropical Zoo, which is home to reptiles, birds, koalas, possums, pademelons, dingoes, and wombats, will appeal to animal lovers.
Location: About 20 km north of Cairns
11, Cairns Aquarium.
The 2017-launched A interesting glimpse at some of the marine ecosystems and species of the Great Barrier Reef can be seen at Cairns Aquarium. The aquarium seeks to encourage the preservation of these Wet Tropics ecosystems, which are recognised as a World Heritage Site in Far North Queensland. Over 15,000 animals live in more than 70 habitats and ten different ecosystems at the aquarium, including mangroves, tropical rainforests, river systems, the Coral Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef. Get up close and personal with scalloped hammerhead sharks, learn about the dangers of the reef, experience hazardous marine stingers, and see barramundi and crocodiles in a billabong river system. The campus's Italian restaurant serves lunch and snacks.
Cairns, Queensland, 5 Florence Street
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