Search hotels in Cairns

We arrived in Cairns in the evening and only stayed one night. We visited the Cairns night markets that runs from 5-11pm. Not worth the bother. The next day we took a tour to Green Island. Absolutely loved snorkelling on Green Island, some many fish and corals to be seen. Be aware of marine stingers. Hire of a stinger suit is only $8. The next few days we spent in Port Douglas area (70km north of Cairns). We visited the Mossman Gorge, The Daintree, Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas markets and spent a lovely afternoon at Palm Cove on the way back to Cairns airport. Lovely beaches in the Daintree but watch for crocs. We saw croc tracks on the Cape Tribulation beach. It was hot 35-36 degrees with humidity over 80% rising to 100% at Cape Tribulation. Ever present marine stingers and crocodile warnings. Come prepared with water, sunscreen and hat when visiting in summer.

We only went to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef. I am not sure if my expectations were too great but the snorkelling was disappointing. We were on a boat for 3 days/2 nights, and snorkelled ( I was not allowed to try the introductory scuba dives - I have asthma- despite being very fit). We saw 4 turtles, an epaulette shark, a white tipped reef shark, small jellyfish and my daughter saw some squid in a total of 15 dives. Other than that it was not much more impressive than snorkelling in Mauritius. I would certainly not travel so far to do it again. If you want to try scuba as a novice( $ 70 first dive, $50 for subsequent dives), you need a medical before getting on the boat, at a cost of $60 if you disclose any concerning medical condition. I am not sure, other than asthma, what other conditions would preclude scuba diving. Cairns is an ugly, and by Aussie standards, dirty town. I was not impressed at all by it.

I'm an FNQ Local and left Cairns when they decided to redevelop it into a GC MKII. It's lost a lot of it's charm and people in the city have become very city snob rather than the usual "Good morning" with a smile from everyone you passed. Council has stripped the city bare of all greenery so they best ditch the sign "City in a Garden" as that's simply no longer true. You can however still experience life at a nice relaxed pace with a friendly chat amongst complete strangers in the suburbs. Visitors will find the cost of eating a rude shock as well as the price of groceries. The humidity in Cairns is something else entirely if you are not from the tropics don't come in Summer, best months are July-Sept if you don't like humidity and rain.

We only stayed for one day and night due to us embarking on a cruise from the Port of Cairns the next day but there was definitely a lot more we could have done had we were able to stay longer. We ate at a lovely and lively Tha Fish Seafood Restaurant which served very tasty and fresh snapper. There was a very good selection on the menu.There were quite a few restaurants to pick from along the board walk area and they all seemed to be pretty full. Eating overlooking the marina was delightful.Its a short walk into town where there are a variety of shops. From the marina there are lots of watercraft to do trips on.Its very easy to get taxi from Cairns airport which is only about 15 minutes drive.We saw information on reef diving, snorkelling beach walks and culturally diverse food which if we had more time, we would have investigated. Great spot in far North Queensland well with visiting.

We like Cairns as it is easy to navigate with its well planned street grids and also your Shuttle bus from the hotel. Only complaint with that is the shuttle should go as far as Cairns Central.Our reason to come to Cairns is to visit our family on the Atherton Tablelands so we aren't in Cairns long but over the years we have been to all your Tourist Attractions and everything is great. If people don't appreciate the tours and facilities they are very hard to please. We usually eat at the Harbourside or other times have tried Fasta Pasta and for breakfast - Muddy's - Not too far from Harbourside. I fell in love with Cairns in 1980 before all the development but circumstances prevented me from moving here but we began coming here again 11 years ago, sometimes 2 or 3 times a year, sometimes just my husband and I and other times we had the family with us and stayed at the Harbourside and I still love Cairns and love the way it is still evolving.

We didn't enjoy the captian cook highway side of cairns as much as the bruce highway / tablelands side of cairns. My highlight was the millaa millaa falls.Swimming under the falls to the other side was amazing. I also loved the josephine falls. sliding down the rocks was so much fun. Hubby loved the skyrail and hartleys crocodile farm. The weather was amazing, the people friendly and it was so good that we are going to move there to live. The barrier reef was also one of the best things. So much to see and do. Never get bored. My hubby is greek and the food at fettas in grafton street and the service was great. very easy to get around cairns. you could never get lost. If you don't like the really steamy weather we were told that only december january and february get steamy because it rains a little but all the other months are amazing especially september when there are no stingers in the water and all the beaches are swimmable.