On
this page you have all the Cairns travel information you need.
Cairns is the only real
city in the Cape York area.
It
is one of Australia's smallest cities, but the second largest (after
Townsville)
in north
Queensland.
It is Australia's most
tropical city, located in the only corner of Australia where there are
tropical
rainforests.
The good thing about it is that it is surrounded
by beautiful green rainforest-covered mountains, which give the city a
very special tropical look.
The
not-so-good thing is that rainforests
mean just that - it rains a fair bit in this part of Australia.
But
the rains are not that bad when the climate is
hot. And there are many
sunny days in
Cairns too.
Cairns
is a city that sees a
lot of
travellers.
The city itself may not have a lot of museums, but it's
a very
enjoyable, colourful city,
perfectly fine without them.
And more than anything - there are many
attractions outside it.
Kuranda,
Daintree Rainforests and Port
Douglas are just a day
trip away (even
though they are worth more time than that).
Cairns (along with Port
Douglas) is the best
place in Australia to take a trip to the
world
famous Great
Barrier Reef.
You are likely to come to
Cairns on your way to Cape York whether you fly
here from
overseas or drive
from elsewhere in Australia.
It is a good place to
stock up your supplies and whatever may be missing
from your camping gear, before you head to the Cape.
It may be a good idea to stay for a bit and enjoy
some great shopping,
restaurants
and accommodation
-
because in Cape York, you have a lot of bush camping ahead.
Things to Do in Cairns
Cairns
Attractions
Some touristic things to see are Cairns Museum,
Cairns Regional Gallery, The Reef
Casino and Wildlife Dome, Tanks Art Centre, Botanical
Gardens, and Cairns
Tropical Zoo and Cairns
Night Zoo.
Cairns
Adventures
Cairns is known as Australia's adventure capital and there are a fair
few activities such as skydiving,
white
water
rafting and parasailing; and Cairns is the only place to do bungee
jumping in
Australia!
Other
Activities
Other
great Cairns activities are sailing,
snorkelling and scuba
diving. You can also go horse riding, join afishing trip or a bike tour,
or take a
scenic helicopter
flight or go
hot
air ballooning.
Other
Things
to Do
But there are also some FREE things to do in Cairns! There is some
great fishing,
swimming that is safe from crocodiles,
and there are some lovely
rainforest walking tracks and scenic drives.
Day
Trips
There are some great day trips to do from Cairns. You can
take day trips to Kuranda,
Port
Douglas, Mossman
and Cape
Tribulation, Great
Barrier Reef, Atherton Tablelands and Cairns
Outback.
Tours
An easy way of doing it is on an organised tour where you are picked up
from and delivered to your accommodation and the whole day is organised
for you. There are all kinds of different tours available.
Accommodation,
Getting Here and
Getting Around
Accommodation
and
There is a lot of different accommodation from
backpacker hostels
to caravan parks,
B&B
guesthouses, resorts
and motels to
five
star hotelsholiday apartments.
And it's not all expensive.
Cheap Flights to Cairns
Cairns has got an international airport so from many destinations you
can take direct flights. But many flights do stop in Sydney,
Brisbane,
or Darwin
before you get here.
Transport
In the large, southern cities public transport is the way to get around
-
parking is expensive and hard to find. In Cairns, the only public
transport is buses, while getting around by a car is easy.
Cairns
Vacation Rentals
There are many places to rent different vehicles from cars,
utes, 4WDs,
and mini buses, to campervans
and caravans - particularly handy if you
want to do your own trips outside the town.
Practical
Information
Shopping
Cairns shopping is great. The central streets
are packed with shops
that even stay open night time. There are also a few good markets;
and as you would expect some big shopping centres.
Dining
Cairns has got some excellent
restaurants and you can eat anything from local seafood to beef,
crocodile, kangaroo and emu. And of course, almost any
international dish that you can imagine.
Events
There are many different events and festivals in this city. Two most
known ones are Cairns Show in July and Cairns Festival in
September.
Entertainment
Like any city, Cairns
has quite a lot of entertainment - from street musicians and acrobats
to cinemas and theatres, as well as live music in the pubs, and some
lively
nightlife.
When
to Go
Climate
Cairns
has got a beautiful tropical climate with a Dry Season with sunny days
and temperatures in 20s (Celcius), and a Wet Season with lots of rain
and temperatures in 30s. It's never too cold :-)
Cairns
Information Centres
Here is where you can find more information about things to see and do
in Cairns. There are many visitor centres in the city centre and all
have helpful staff to answer your questions.
Maps and Photos
Cairns Photos
Cairns
is also a very photogenic city with lots of contrasting colours and
good lights, often with dramatic, dark storm clouds in the background.
Have a look at some photos.
Maps Below is
a
great Cairns
map, and a Cairns
Street Directory. It is handy to have one with you instead of
running around the city trying to find one. There are many different
maps available but there is nothing to beat HEMA.
Cairns
Car Rental
Below you have the summary of Cairns car rental.
It does
not get you to Cape
York, but if you want a
cheaper way than a 4WD to get around in Cairns,
this is it.
There are buses, and that's the only other option.
So what choices do you have?
There are a fair few Cairns car
rental companies,
and since the scene changes
constantly, don't expect me to be able to cover them all at all times.
Further down the page is
a search box
where you can find the current
ones.
Here is a bit of a
description:
Budget, Avis, Britz and Thrifty are huge
companies covering
the whole Australia.
Hertz and Europecar are
world-wide as you
probably know.
Sargent is
also found in
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane.
1300 Meteor
is a north
Queensland one, also found in Townsville and Mackay.
And
then you have the local ones - Cruising Car Rentals,
Sugarland
Rentals, A1 Car Rentals, Crown Rentals, Travel Car Rental, All One Car
Rental
and the Cairns Older Car Rental - scattered around the town.
One thing you probably want to consider, apart from the price, is the location of the rental company.
The
larger Cairns car rental
companies are usually at
the airport,
which makes the pickup really handy if you are flying to
Cairns.
The smaller ones are mostly along Sheridan Street (which is the main
road from the airport to the city centre), as well as in central
Cairns.
Cairns
Information
If you have a
tourism related question about Cairns, below are some of the many
tourist information centres that you find in Cairns.
Tourism Tropical North
Queensland
51 Esplanade, Cairns
1800 093 300
Cairns Tourist
Information Centre
cnr Aplin street and Esplanade street, Cairns
(07) 4031 1751
Reef Charter
100 Abbott Street, Cairns
(07) 4051 5777
Cairns Tour Advice
& Booking Centre
103 The Esplanade, Cairns
1800 833 304
A1 Tourist Information
Centre
100 Abbott Street, Cairns
(07) 4041 5008
Get
this 50 pages
guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
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This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.