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This town is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and there is every manner of reef trips available, from day trips, to overnight, dive courses, to glass-bottom boat trips. Only an hour from Cairns, the reef is at its most accessible here.
Heading North you have the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world. Full of wildlife and nature, a river teeming with crocodiles and ending in Cape Tribulation where the rainforest meets an endless long beach. The seaside resort town of Port Douglas between Cairns and Cape Tribulation is also well worth a stop. Similar to Noosa or Airlie Beach it is a great place to spend a few nights.
Check out our Cape Tribulation tours:
1 Day Go Wild Cape Tribulation Tour
1 Day Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest tour
Even further North is Cooktown, 4wd territory and this far north aboriginal culture is evident everywhere.
3 Day Cape Tribulation and Cooktown tour
Or stay overmight in Cape Tribulation on our overnight tours.
Inland from Cairns there are two other rainforests worth a mention. Kuranda is the village in the rainforest. Like a mini Byron Bay high up in the mountain area above Cairns you access it by the scenic railway or by the cable cars which connect it to Cairns. There is plenty of aboriginal culture there as well as wildlife and some awesome markets.
Check out our Kuranda day tours.
Atherton Tablelands, more of a wetlands than a rainforest. This area is all about waterfalls; jumping off them, swimming in them, kayaking through them. It’s also the place to spot some more elusive Australian native wildlife the Platypus and the tree Kangaroo.
Check out our Atherton Tableland day tour.
How about an overnight Great Barrier Reef tour?
2 Day, 1 Night Dive and Snorkel Adventure
If you are keen to learn to dive you could even incorporate a PADI course whilst you are in Cairns. Where better to learn to dive than on the Great Barrier Reef.
Check out our 5 day PADI Open Water Dive Course from Cairns.Â
Read a review of our PADI course here: Review of Learn to dive course in Cairns
You should aim to stay in Cairns for a week if possible. You can fly in directly to Cairns international airport from Japan or Papua New Guinea. For other destinations you will need to fly in via Sydney, Brisbane or another major airport. All National airlines fly here, Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin and Tiger and it is always the first or last stop on an East Coast tour.Â
One big thing thats important to mention is Cairns itself has no swimming in the sea, as with most of Far North Queensland but like Airlie Beach it has a lagoon for swimming.
Check out our full range of tours from Cairns: Tours from Cairns.
So many great reasons Why you should visit Cairns. I do hope we have made you excited for a trip to Cairns soon!
We partner with some incredible locally owned and operated Aussie tour operators.
We’ve hand selected our most popular and best selling trips.
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