Cairns Accommodation Guide

Cairns attractions include reefs and rainforests

The Great Barrier Reef
Arguably Australia’s most famous attraction, this fragile ecosystem is much more than the sum of its impressive statistics and common superlatives. The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest system, made up of about 2800 individual reefs, coral cays and atolls, and hundreds of continental islands, stretches over 2000km, from Torres Strait to just south of the Tropic of Capricorn. The huge variety of colorful soft and hard corals that thrive in Queensland’s warm, shallow waters form a thin, living veneer. The the bulk of the reef was formed over millions of years by calcareous algae, which cemented together the remains of coral skeletons as the sea level slowly rose. Nothing prepares you for the profusion of marine life encountered on a snorkel or dive in the protected waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The finely balanced aquatic environment includes hundreds of types of corals, thousands of different molluscs, sponges, worms, crustaceans, and more than a thousand different species of fish.

Green Island
Forty-five minutes offshore from Cairns, Green Island is a 15ha national park coral cay with a superb underwater observatory. The exclusive Green Island Resort, limited to 90 guests, has been designed for low impacts on its ecologically sensitive surroundings. At this popular day-trip destination, you can snorkel off the island’s beach or take a ride in a glass-bottomed boat. A walk around the island will take about 20 minutes. Don’t miss Marineland Melanesia, an aquarium with a gallery plus a museum featuring crafts and artifacts.

Lizard Island
Lizard Island, 80km north of Cooktown, best accessed by air, is known as a base for deep-sea game fishing and scuba diving.

Low Isles
Low Isles, just off Port Douglas, is a picturesque destination for day visitors, while Double Island, just a few hundred meters off Palm Cove, was a small, exclusive resort.

Skyrail
Just 11km north of Cairns, at Caravonica Lakes, is the lowland terminus of Skyrail, the aerial cableway that runs over the rainforest canopy via a series of pylons to the mountain village of Kuranda and returns. There are two stations along the way: Red Peak, which has a forest walkway, and Barron Falls with an interpretive center and lookout.
Smithfield; daily 9am–5pm 4038 1555

Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
This award-winning cultural center, home to the Tjapakai Dance Theatre, offers a total indigenous experience including a History Theatre, traditional camp scenes, didgeridoo performances, fire-making demonstrations, bush food and medicine displays, and boomerang throwing.

Cairns Regional Gallery
Situated in one of the city’s charming old buildings, this vibrant art gallery displays its varied permanant collection and hosts visiting exhibitions. Be sure to stop for a coffee at the excellent outdoor cafe here.
cnr Shields and Abbott streets, Cairns, Qld 4870. Mon–Sat 10–5, Sun 1–5 4031 6865

The Esplanade
Cairns’ tourism hot spot and a great place to dine alfresco, take an evening stroll, book a tour or just plain hang out with the locals. An outdoor amphitheatre hosts concerts, a 4,000sq m sandy swimming lagoon with grassy picnic areas and public barbeques, and an environmental interpretation centre explains the region’s many ecosystems. A 3-km walking trail, from the city centre, follows the foreshore.

Flecker Botanic Gardens
Located 4km north of the city centre, these magnificent 38 ha gardens feature a profusion of tropical plants, an orchid house, a fern house, an Aboriginal plant garden, walking trails, wetlands and is perfect for picnics.
Collins Ave, Cairns; open daily 7:30am–5:30pm

Reef Hotel Casino
Hit the tables and experience the excitement of international gaming including blackjack, roulette, sic bo and, of course, gaming machines. The restaurants and bars keep the patrons refreshed and Casino Nightclub 1936 pushes dance music Thursday to Saturday nights until late.
35-41 Wharf Street, Cairns; Open daily, 24 hrs 4030 8888

Kuranda Scenic Railway
Let the Kuranda Scenic Railway take you on a scenic 90-minute journey, through 15 tunnels and past waterfalls, along the winding old rail line to the charming mountain town of Kuranda.

Port Douglas
The road between Cairns and Port Douglas and on to Cape Tribulation is one of the world’s great scenic drives, with its coastal ranges, verdant sugarcane fields and panoramic coastal views. Port Douglas has excellent restaurants and a variety of accommodations cater to all budgets. Many reef tours depart from the town’s wharf and Ben Cropp’s Shipwreck Museum and the Old Courthouse Museum are good places to while away rainy days. For commanding views of Four Mile Beach and Low Isles, or just to get your bearings, try the lookout on Flagstaff Hill. The nearby Rainforest Habitat is a re-created natural environment housing over 80 species of tropical birds in a walk-through aviary, and animals such as koalas, kangaroos, and crocodiles.

Atherton Tableland
The Tableland’s quaint country towns, volcanic lakes, pretty waterfalls, and variety of rainforests, are a cool, refreshing change from the coastal scene. This unique upland region is always several degrees cooler and much less humid than the coast. The fertile soils that support dairy and beef cattle pastures, orchards of tropical fruits and nuts, coffee trees, and sugar cane, are the result of volcanic activity of relatively recent origin. This activity also gave the Tableland its host of natural attractions, including the volcanic lakes Barrine and Eacham, the unique Mt Hypipamee Crater, the volcanic tuffs and cinder cones of The Seven Sisters, hundreds of waterfalls and, of course, the remnant World Heritage-listed rainforests, with their popular feature trees.

Although it is possible to visit the tourist attractions in Kuranda, in the northern part of the Tablelands, as part of a day road, rail or Skyrail tour, a few days are best set aside to fully explore this diverse region. Three highways lead from the coast: the Kennedy Highway via Kuranda; the Gillies Highway via Gordonvale; and the Palmerston Highway from Innisfail. The Tableland is the perfect base from which to explore coastal or outback attractions, and accommodation choices include resorts, motels, B&Bs, backpacker hostels, and caravan parks. The small towns of Yungaburra, Malanda, and Milla Milla are particularly worth visiting as are the larger towns of Mareeba, Atherton, Herberton, and Ravenshoe. Roads are mostly all sealed, but care should be taken on winding roads, particularly in the wet season, when local flooding and landslips are a possibility.