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Browse 118 travel reviews, 125 travel blogs and 3,735 travel photos from real travelers to Cairns.
- 125 Cairns Travel Blogs
- 3,735 Cairns Photos & Videos
- 25 Cairns Hotels
- 22 Cairns Things To Do
- 7 Cairns Restaurants
- 2 Cairns Tips
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Cairns Overview
As the gateway to the astonishing Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforst (the only place in the world where two World Heritage Areas meet), Cairns is something of an international playground, with life very much centered around having a whole lot of fun. And why not; while the city might not be steeped in the best of Australian culture, there’s little that could distract from the reef anyway, and you’ll find plenty in the way of affordable thrills, lively bars and tourist trips to keep you busy.
Of course, it’s the vibrant call of the mammoth reef that’s brought you … read morehere, and there aren’t many ways you can’t enjoy it. From staying on your own off-shore island in the thick of the action, to diving or snorkeling across the reef, passing over it on a flat bottomed boat or even learning about it in the impressive reef education centre. The flittering, alien landscape of the sub-aqua is amongst the best in the world here, with plenty of colorful fish, wild-looking corals and some startling drop offs to float over.
You’ll inevitably want to focus your time on the reef, but there’s plenty more, too. Quirky restaurants and shops. At night you certainly must visit the “Night Markets”... lots of souvenir shops at one place.
Not to be missed too: the stunning 4,800m2 saltwater lagoon, which makes for a dreamy city-center swimming pool. When stingers rule out the beach in the summer, head for Crystal Cascades instead, where you can wallow in the pools of a whole heap of striking waterfalls. Or with the local busses you can drive to the northern beaches. There are a lot of busses and there are frequent drives... almost every half hour.
Don't miss out on the esplanade: sportactivities (sort of fitness machines, skatepark,...), a large playground, there even can be a circus workshop going on. Lots of people hang out there, even locals walking their dog, going jogging or just going for a stroll.
Of course, as such a popular tourism spot, Cairns makes the perfect destination to meet and mingle with other travelers, too, as well as being drenched in so much sun you could almost be in Thailand.
There can be few more desirable stops on an Australian itinerary than Cairns, which manages to be an epic tourist destination and home of a host of Australian stereotypes at the same time. Above all, though, you’ll never forget that reef.
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Check Cairns Hotel Deals
7 reviews This is the trendy hostel in Cairns. It’s a huge nightclub complex, so if you are in the city to party, then this is the place to stay. …
3 reviews I've stayed here a few times with a friend who stays regularly. It's probably just bad luck but every time I stay there something goes wron…
3 reviews The Hides Hotel is in a central location,and if like us you are in the budget area of the hotel it can be very noisy of a night and the roo…
2 reviews Stayed here on the 'locals' deal before which is $100 for the room and you get a $100 food and drink voucher from the restaurant! Great valu…
1 review The last day of our holiday we treated ourselves with a scenic flight over the Great Barrier Reef. But what bad luck: it was cloudy and rain…
1 review I decided to go on this excursion with some of my class mates when I was in Cairns. We were a great international group of participants on t…
1 review They picked us up at our hostel so that was a nice service. It was in the morning so it was very quite, no queue at all. We took the skyr…
1 review My son (9-years old) and I went on the Daintree Dreaming-tour organized by ‘Adventure North Australia’. It’s a full day tour in a very…
1 review This is the place that the locals love to drink at, especially on a sunday night (ask around about the Cairns Sunday Sesh!). It's in a grea…
1 review My family and I stumbled across this quaint, sea food place on a walk from our holiday villa in Cairns. At first it seemed that they just s…
1 review OK, So I'm in Australia looking for Chinese Dim Sum. I'm Chinese!! I wanted to have a good brunch. This place wasn't hard to find at all a…
1 review The resturant was recommended by the Hotel Staff and they were right. Barnacle Bill's Seafood Inn is a great place to have Lunch or Dinner.…
1 review Hi, How are you? I am very sorry for the delay! That's wonderful you are going to Cairns! It's a beautiful city! You should see the zoo the…
1 review A small energetic city. You will never feel boring in the morning or at night. In the morning, you can go to the big lagoon to swim, lying…
3 reviews They constantly run the backpackers meal deal there. $12 Aussie dollars gets you a 300g steak, vegetables, and small beer. Excellent!! Th…
1 review I have been there for several times while I was in Cairns, and it was quite fun. There are special parties (with different discounts on drin…
2 reviews Such a nice place to stay. The people are so friendly and accomodating. I turned up on the door and they managed to squeeze me in. The staff…
2 reviews Stayed here 3 nights and loved it. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Easy to book tours through them and when you booked $200 in t…
2 reviews I never stayed at this hostel, but friends of mine did and I spent many an evening there. There is always themed nights like bbq night where…
1 review City Waterfront Palms was great value for money. It was clean, in a great location, nice pool, nice staff, nice kitchen…and the list goes…
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