Find Hotels in Cairns, Australia

Great Barrier Reef is a one day activity so the other two will be spent doing tours, sightseeing and relaxing. Easy to get around by driving giving you access to all the sights.

There is so much to see within a 100km radius that a tourist could fill 10 days without seeing the same type of feature twice.

Met such friendly people. Laid back town. Amazing nature close by but it is a city. Check out fruit bats living in trees... Amazing.

Foreign currency exchange at the exchange store in town has better rate than at airport.

Lagoon is very nice to relax and swim. Sands are so soft. The casino is small, but above there is a wildlife park and there are some adventure activities you can do inside and also cuddle a koala. Some restaurants are really delicious like the Korean on the second floor of orchid plaza and the Japanese Don of a Japanese cuisine Dondoko.

It has a variety of attractions close by with rainforest and reef being the main ones. hartleys Croc park and Zoo and Quicksilver are well run catering for all travellers and have an international standard delivery. A must do on any trip to Cairns.

Having said that the shopping and dining in Cairns itself were excellent. The staff at the various hotels we stayed at were extremely helpful.

That's Cairns. There's lots to do in Cairns, but the key thing to do is visit the surrounding towns and rainforest areas. We found one little nice surprise in Mareeba (about an hour's drive from Cairns) when we visited Jacques Coffee Plantation. The coffee was great and the story behind the development of the plantation was quite inspiring. It's not a "flash" sort of attraction but is a real Aussie story of persistence and determination...with great coffee. Port Douglas and, of course, the Daintree are a must if you have time. The Crystal Cascades are great...lovely area for a walk and picnic.

If I go too near a snake/dingo/Tassie Devil and get bitten it's my fault. Likewise with the bats; if I go too close, I suffer the consequences. Don't let the almighty $$$ keep allowing the wrong decisions be made.

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Although you cannot beach swim in Cairns itself there is a fabulous huge pool for free use but don't plan on doing laps! Take the local bus to Kuranda and get the scenic train back, this gives you a saving of $20 on train up and back. Just wander, it is extremely pleasant.

The trips to reef are very well organized and a lot of fun.

streets etc.the gardens in the city are fantastic,and the wharf is also a must see.everything is easily accessible to the public and there transport is located perfectly central to everything.

It's an area to have fun and relax.

Don't waste your time on the Big barrier reef. Comparing to the Red Sea, nothing special. The corals are nice but there are not too many fish there. If going to the Green Island, it's most likely would be overcrowded and the corals there are all bleached. In order to see the real corals need to sail ~2 hr to the reef. BE WARE: if the wind is strong (15 knots waves or more), DON'T GO! The reef cruise would turn into a vomiting cruise. There were about 300-350 people on our boat and every single one was vomiting. Terrible experience, especially when you have to pay $550 for a family. Kuranda was really nice, but again everything is overpriced. People are not nice, especially to non-Ozzies. The service is poor. Bottom line: Cairns is a rip-off city, but worth visiting to see the beautiful nature.

Paronella Park is meaningful place worth to go.

It's no secret that it's filled with activities for the adventurers and sight seers. It's particularly fun for young people, with its bars and clubs all within walking distance. If you just wanted to relax, however, you could easily enjoy the sun by the esplanade or get pampered at one of their spas. The icing on the cake is how friendly everyone seems to be. Definitely a place to visit.

There were corals near the shore less than 1 foot deep (30cm) and plenty of fish. I even got to swim beside a sea turtle a short distance from shore (about 10-15m from shore) - I didn't swim too far out as I am not a strong swimmer but still got to enjoy the sight of fishes near the beach. For those who enjoy snorkeling in crystal clear waters another great place to go to is Mosman Bay which is just over an hour north of Cairns city. Another place to visit is the skyrail in Cairns - it is about 15mins drive from the city/airport and has beautiful views of the unique rainforest from high above.

We went to green island, had lots of fun, but too many people, felt crowded and commercial. We visited the table land farming area, include coffee farm, dairy farm,tea farm, you can see mango tree everywhere. The table land had lots of fun. Tropical rainforest walk in kuranda was good, nice town, we had lunch there was very impressed.the water was so fresh and sweet. The plunger coffee was very light and nice. Cairns trip was a pleasant and unforgettable trip, we will come back.

.. If you visit the rainforest, pls take skyrail, it takes only 20-30mins, if you take train, it takes 2 hour. And you have to stay in the train without air-conditioner and food.

lagoon on the foreshore is a magic place to be, at no cost.