Last updated on May 18th, 2024 at 11:59 am

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world AND the world’s largest living coral reef system. It is so big that it’s even visible from outer space. Most people visit the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns in Queensland. In this blog post, we want to share that and all the other amazing things to do in Cairns as well.  

TIP: The Great Barrier Reef can also be accessed from many coastal towns in Queensland, although Cairns remains a clear favorite. There are plenty of other fun things to do in Queensland if you have more than 3 days.

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If this is your first time in this continent don’t miss some important tips on visiting Australia.

Cairns Sightseeing

‘What else do we do in Cairns beside the Great Barrier Reef?’ I had asked our family friends when I was considering taking a quick 2 day trip to Cairns. I am so glad they convinced we spent at least 3 days and explore the mighty rainforest of Cairns. We headed up to the mountains after we were done exploring under the ocean. 

Yup if you didn’t know, the Northeast part of Australia is home to the rainforests just as they are to the Great Barrier Reef. While Melbourne was still chilly in Australian summers, Cairns was a complete tropical delight.

City Center

Cairns city center has a small yet cozy town vibe which is on high energy in the evenings. In my observation, the majority of the people I met in Cairns seemed to be from outside of Australia. From our hotel’s receptionists to the Great Barrier Reef’s tour guides most everyone had migrated from other countries. Needless to say, there is an abundance of accommodation and food options in Cairns for every type of traveler.

It’s fun to take an evening walk on the beachfront Esplanade boardwalk and other streets around the city center. You’d be surprised there aren’t any accessible beaches in Cairns due to the presence of saltwater crocodiles, stingers and jellyfishes (TRUE STORY). But if you want to go for a swim then head to Cairns Esplanade Lagoon (Free to enter) or head to Port Douglas which has a few beaches.

Best time to visit Cairns?

Being in the tropics any time of the year can be good to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Although, there is a wet season (summer and autumn) and dry season (winter and spring) in this region. From our personal experience of visiting in the summer season i.e. December – it was one of the busiest months considering not only tourists but locals enjoying their Australian holidays. 

What to see & do in Cairns

1. City Center

Now let’s talk about the fun stuff i.e. attractions and activities outside of Cairns City Center. As much as I looked forward to experiencing the Great Barrier Reef, I cannot tell you how much fun I had exploring other activities in the rainforests that surround Cairns. From a number of tribal villages to hidden waterfalls to coffee plantations to diverse vegetation, you will be surprised by what you’ll see. TIP: Stay clear of deadly spiders in Australia. 

You could just rent a car and see all these things for free in Cairns and skip booking a tour. We decided to invest in tours primarily for two reasons – we didn’t know much about the area and second, we didn’t have enough time to discover it at our leisure. We will tell you about our experience with these tours at the end of this post.

2. Great Barrier Reef 

Well who are we kidding, this is the number one reason you are visiting Cairns so might as well ‘dive’ into this first. 

In order to see Great Barrier Reef, you have to go a few miles into the ocean which can take roughly 45-90 mins of a boat ride. Get ready to see the finest and most colorful collection of coral polyps.

If you are lucky or book the right tour you can also see giant sea turtles who occasionally come to the surface to breathe. Unfortunately, it is a sad reality that the reef is bleaching at a rate faster than ever before and over tourism has a part to play in it.

Please do your part to protect the Great Barrier Reef by not touching the corals or any underwater animals.

REEF TOURS

The Great Barrier Reef tours will include breakfast, lunch, and the snorkel/dive gear. We booked our snorkeling tour through Reef Experience which also included a free beginner level diving with no requirement of PADI certification. If you want to carry your own snorkel gear here are some of the best snorkel masks to consider.

We also had an option of taking the free glass bottom boat tour to see the reefs if we didn’t want to snorkel or dive. TIP: Make sure you read the fine prints of your tour for all free inclusions.

Our tour took us to two different sections of the reef, one before and one after lunch. We were given a wetsuit before going into the water to protect from stingers and jellyfishes. Those two are the most deadly creatures in Australian waters but the tours will take you to areas which are safe for swimming.

2. Kuranda Village

When we were planning our Cairns trip we added Kuranda to our itinerary per the recommendation of a family friend who lives in Oz. I personally didn’t give it much thought considering it would be yet another cable car experience. I was so wrong!

The trip to Kuranda turned out to be my most memorable ride, both the train and the sky rail. What’s so special about these two rides you may ask? 

Well firstly, Kuranda is a native aboriginal village hidden in the lush rainforest mountains near Cairns. There are multiple ways to get up to Kuranda, you can either drive yourself or take a public transport bus or you can choose an adventurous ride to get up here.

We went the adventurous way obviously and opted for the Kuranda Scenic Railway while going up the mountain and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway on the way down. Besides these two there are tons of other activities to do in Kuranda such as Heritage Markets, Butterfly Sanctuary, Koala gardens to name a few. 

KURANDA SCENIC RAILWAY

Have you ever seen one of those toy trains in comic books or movies? Well then here you get to ride a real one! And with all sorts of fantasy adventures like cutting through dense rainforests and passing by several waterfalls, stopping at a local village.

SKYRAIL CABLEWAY

The second adventure rush was the ride back on Skyrail Cableway. Hanging hundreds of feet above the rainforest we got a near perfect aerial view of Australia’s lush tropical region. The train, as well as the Skyrail, has a few stops on the way where you can step out and soak in some forest views. Skyrail has more stops, one of which includes a rainforest boardwalk. 

3. Atherton Tablelands/Waterfall

As we said before we opted for a package tour of three activities. In the process of deciding what to club with our reef experience, we came across this ultimate waterfall tour. It was a tough choice between this or Daintree (which was a close call).

We finally decided to go with Waterfall Wanderers tour because of the adventure involved with remote swim holes. If you love swimming in freshwater, lakes, and waterfalls this is not to be missed. TIP: If you have a rental car, you can visit these places for free.

On our tour, we ended up gaining local tribal perspective from our native tour guide. Like the time when he taught us how to lick a green ant’s ass to get a fresh dose of Vitamin C (you bet I didn’t!). Or the time he taught us how to play the traditional flute called ‘Didgeridoo’ (yes I tried but failed!)

 There are many waterfalls to visit in Atherton, three of the waterfalls we visited were –

• Josephine Falls
• Milla Milla Falls
• Dinner Falls

4. Daintree & Cape Tribulation

Daintree and Cape Tribulation is where the rainforests meet the reefs, one of it’s kind in the world. Both Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Located much closer to Port Douglas but still an easy day trip from Cairns. This would have been on our itinerary if we had the 4^th day. I would highly recommend it if you have the time. 

5. Bungy Jumping

Since we were on an adventurous trail we decided to add more fun by involving bungee jumping to the equation. AJ Hackett who is the pioneer of bungee in the world has his own set up in the rainforests of Cairns. They have more adventure activities to offer if you have an appetite for it.

Tours We Booked in Cairns

All three of our tours (first 3 in the list above) were booked with the help of Reef experience. They have multiple packages available on their website. Even though they only offer a pack of two tours, the booking agent was able to assist us with adding a third tour i.e, waterfall wanderers.

Their online chat assistance service allowed us to book everything from the US. The biggest advantage of booking everything through one company, in my opinion, was having one point of contact. For example, when our flights were delayed we didn’t have to call multiple places. All tour companies provide free hotel pick-ups in Cairns, another reason why we didn’t rent a car.

How Many Days to Stay in Cairns?

We would suggest anywhere from 3-4 days here at a minimum if you want to explore Cairns. We spent 3.5 days and were only able to do the first 3 activities above with a half day for bungee. Cairns was my personal favorite from our entire Australia trip but then again I haven’t been to central Australia (hopefully next time).

We would recommend staying in hotels in Cairns City Center as most tour companies offer pickups there. Plus it will also give you a chance to explore the city center on foot. 

Visa Requirements

As with any other country, it is very important to check much in advance if you qualify to enter without a visa or not. Because if not, it could be a lengthy process to apply. For North Americans (NA) you can apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). For Indian citizens living in North America, you have to fill an online application to get a travel visa which gets emailed to you. You will get an email with the visa (take the printed copy) so no stamp on your passport for Australia.

Mistakes to Avoid – Our Travel Mishap Flying Into Cairns 

If you are wondering why we even needed to change our plans then read along. We were supposed to take the last flight out of Sydney to get to Cairns. It was Jet airlines operated by Qantas (the worst when it comes to changing flights). Sydney airport shuts down at 11 pm and no flights are allowed to take off after 11 pm even if the incoming flight gets delayed.

You must have guessed by now how our plans got derailed. A bunch of phone calls (for tour co-ordinations) and hundreds of dollars later (on new flights to recapture a lost day!) we were back in action with our 3 awesome tours.

Booking all the tours through one company came as a blessing since we went in peak tourist season i.e. during Christmas holidays in Australia and yet they were able to make arrangements to accommodate our derailed schedule. If only we had made flight booking directly through Jet or Qantas. TIP: Do not book internal Australia flights through any 3rd party website. Remember pound foolish, penny wise!

All’s well that ends well. We returned home with lots of adventure, fun and loving memories from Cairns and cannot wait for you all to experience it too. And if you are debating to go on the other side of the continent then you must read these 7 reasons why Western Australia is equally good as the East.

I hope this guide helps you plan a great trip. If you have any questions or feedback, do drop us a note here or on our facebook page. And if you liked this post do share it or pin it for later on Pinterest (hover over the image).

Happy Traveling!