Cairns Travel Answers

If you go to my Cairns page "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer" - Cairns by wise23girl you will find a very recent report ...look in the tips as well. You can catch the train in Cairns itself though we went with a tour to to go to Kuranda but you do need a means of getting back to town from the Sky Rail The trains are not as frequent as the SkyRail which runs continuously ...so choose your train time to go and come back anytime within the operating hours. So you do not have to stay all day. I thought our tour was reasonable and we upgraded our train to Gold Class. Would you believe I did not note the tour group. But it was a Cairns company. We enjoyed www.billytea.com.au But the day on the water would be good.

Take the Barrier Reef cruise- its not to be missed. You can book the cruise yourself-most hotels have booking facilities for the cruises. We usually go to the reef from Port Douglas, which is an hour drive north of Cairns, and the full day (including meals, snorkelling equipment etc) costs A$110.00 pp- worth every cent. Quicksilver is the best company to use.

I did both and wouldn't want to have to choose between them. For the kuranda trip, you don't have to use a pick-up. I used a local bus to get to the starting point of the tour. From the Cairns Central Business District City Place bus stop or Palm Cove. Costs vary, depending on the bus zone travelled. Here is the bus schedule and map: tjapukai.com.au/svmanager/lo... Despite the beauty of Baron Falls and panorama the Scenic Train ride back down was a bit of a let down. Might be better to do it the other way for a good finish e.g. Train ride up and Skyrail down. Also used the local bus to the wharf where the boats leave from for the Great Barrier Reef trip. Your hotel will help you find the correct bus for the route.

They are both great choices and the reef trip is a must and well worth it - yes, Quicksilver is the best company. If you want to see rainforest an alternative to the SkyRail/train trip would be a trip to the Daintree River and/or Cape Tribulation. You may even feel comfortable hiring a car and driving yourself.

I went to Kuranda via the SkyRail and took a cheap bus back to the city, which cut the cost a lot. I believe it was only about4 per person. I used John's Kuranda Bus, which doesn't have a website that I can find, but there are also others like this one: transnorthbus.com/cairnskura.... The Kuranda tourism center can help you book the buses. If it comes down to it, I would pick the Great Barrier Reef trip over Kuranda. Passion of Paradise was my favorite dive/snorkel charter; their locations are incredible and their staff is great.

I agree- dont miss the great barrier reef trip. I like the Skyrail coming down the best. Found the train good but a little boring and time consuming. Since you only have a couple of days use the travel suggestions to get to Kuranda, Look around and get the Skyrail back down. Very spectacular! Just one tip we did witness a ladies back nabbed by 2 kids on a push bike in Kuranda. It was many years ago and probably not happening now but the lady concerned was very distressed so just be aware and take normal precautions as you do when travelling.