What to do in Cairns, Australia?

Question

I will be in Cairns with a group of my friends and was wondering what are the must-sees other than the obvious Great Barrier Reef and rainforest. We will be there for about 5 days are are all females aged 18-20.

Answer 1

Go for a trip to Port Douglas. It's beautiful and has a beach you can swim at.

Mossman Gorge is also beautiful and about 10 minutes from Port Douglas.

The reef is obviously a must- go on a tour that goes to the outer reef, where the snorkelling is the best. Avoid companies that take over 50 people on a trip (e.g. Quicksilver)- because of the volume of people they carry they are limited to certain areas, whereas smaller carriers are able to take you to more diverse and "untouched" areas of the reef.

You can also do day trips to islands- I would recommend either Green Island or Fitzroy Island if you decide to do this. You can swim and snorkel at both of these islands.

Answer 2

That user 'Aussie' is cheeky !

Anyhow ... Obviously top of the list is going out on the Great Barrier Reef -

Main ones are :: http://www.greatadventures.com.au and http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com

Also for something different do the http://www.scubadoocairns.com  or http://www.seawalker.com.au/english_site...

A day trip out to Green island - Otherwise you can go out on the Outer Barrier Reef on their platform for lunch.  

Most 'tourism' operators will do pick ups from your accommodation.

Cable Skiing Water Park is new to Cairns - (plenty of hot guys around there!)  http://www.cableskicairns.com.au   (it's right next door to Aboriginal Culture Park and the Skyrail on the main highway)

Daintree Discovery Centre (oldest rainforest) or if you don't want to do the walking think, a bit further up the road at Cape Tribulation go Jungle Surfing !!  http://junglesurfing.com.au

The dome above the casino right in the city is worth it if you don’t want to do the full zoo thing. They have presentations and tours throughout the day.  When buying a ticket it is also valid for 4 days so you can go back anytime at no extra cost. (same goes for the zoo)  Cairns tropical zoo also does a night show “Discover Wildlife by Night’  a true ‘Aussie’ experience,

www.cairnsdome.com.au

www.cairnstropicalzoo.com.au

You must do a bungy jump while here - http://ajhackett.com.au  

and on Sundays.. they have free entertainment, band etc all day.  It's great just to go up and just watch if you don't want to jump, so many of your age group up there all the time.

Spend time in Cairns City at the Esplanade swimming and sunbaking by the lagoon Cairns Esplanade http://www.cairnsesplanade.com  you are spoilt for choice of restaurants on the main strip there also.  Cairns Central Mall is a 10 min walk from the Esplanade for shopping.

Cairns Wildlife Safari Reserve has just reopened after a couple years - http://www.cairnswildlifesafarireserve.c...  - am sure they do a night show too.

But check out the main website www.cairns.com.au - has all the info on the area, entertainment, night life, gigs etc...

Have fun in Cairns !

Answer 3

Recently I was in Cairns for five days with my cousins from Germany. We are all quite a bit older than you, but met up with a LOT of young people having a great time.

Cairns is a really friendly place, and there is lots to do.

The things that are must sees are the Great Barrier Reef tour and trip into the Rain Forest.

We went on the tours below which were absolutely fantastic and included eveything you could want.

On Saturdays, there is a fantastic open air market day on The Esplanade in Cairns, right near the big swimming pools, with live music. Heaps of young people sat in the park and listened to the music, had food and drink, swam in the beautiful pools ~ all this is free ~ and there were many great stalls with Aussie arts and crafts, including jewellery and clothing.

We also went on the 'Cairns Explorer' half day trip ~ a bus ride which takes you to see all the sights and tours around showing you where the various good pubs, clubs and fun places are. The driver was heaps friendly and knowledgable, and he asked what we wanted to see ~ history,m culture, fun places, etc. We being older mostly didn't care about night clubs, but if we had wanted he would have shown us all that stuff.

Being your age, if you are a friendly group, you will have no trouble meeting people and having a great time.

I am a dedicated Sydney-sider but cannot recommend Cairns highly enough for a beautiful and fun filled holiday!

Cheers :-)

Answer 4

I was in Cairns in June and had a great time.

I went white water rafting on the Barron River - pretty full on, but lots of fun and on another day took a trip out to the reef and went scuba diving.

The cruise I went on gives you the option of snorkelling, scuba diving or helmet diving depending on what you feel most comfortable doing.  I booked it through this site - http://www.godo.com.au/activities/QLD/ca...

They have heaps of activities in Cairns for  you to choose from.

Enjoy!  

Answer 5

Cairns has a great Casino. The beach at Cairns used to be all mud when the tide went out, so they have built a 'lagoon' Its magic, you can swim all day.  Dont forget to book to go to Kuranda. Its reached by a fab train that goes thru great scenery, - you can choose to go or come back by sky rail too. Its an all day thing.Markets, etc. a must see.

Answer 6

Other then the obvious Great Barrier Reef and Rainforest stuff............take 1 day of walking the downtown and shopping and browing/ Depending on the other day enjoy the lagoon/ Book a skydive in the Cairns area. Go party. Its a very touristy town with lots of nightlife. Enjoy.

Answer 7

Well you have the trip up the range to Kuranda ....pleasant day out doing the arty crafty stuff with all of the alternate types that hang out up there .

Then a trip up the coast to Port Douglas might be worth a visit...you could even continue up to Mossman & do a trip down the Daintree River looking for crocs in their native habitat.

Whatever you do , be sure to keep an eye out for KBear ....she lives in a tree somewhere in that area &  gets very territorial !

Answer 8

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