Cairns Travel Forum

hi my wife and i are travelling to cairns for three days s5 july to 28 july and then on to brisbane/gold coast.any suggestions on things to do and places to c while in cairns please.also going to stay in hilton hotel cairns, anyone any thoughts on this
thank you

3 days isn't a lot of time for doing the Cairns area. I would suggest that you do the 3 main things that most visitors do, this area is very well known for the reef and rainforest.
Do a trip to the outer reef, one company I recommend is doing this with Quicksilver, they pick up from Cairns Hotels and then you do the drive up to Port Douglas to catch the boat. This is an excellent day's outing and you can snorkle, lay in the sun, glass bottom boat, extra's include a helicopter flight over the reef. If your budget can stretch for this, do it, it's fun.
Lunch is included and even if you can't swim you will enjoy.

The other must is a tour from Cairns to Cape Tribualtion. This will take you into the rain forest area, there will be some lovely views along the way. Lots of tours do this, Hilton will have a tour desk, you will be able to book there. There are school holidays in Aus at this time of year,you could book now before you come, just email the Hilton and I am sure they will help you.
Another day filled:)

The 3rd day you can organise a trip on the scenic railway up to Kuranda and then skyrail back down over the rainforest and if a fine day the views are great.
Kuranda is a lovely little town to browse, markets etc. Once again the Hilton will be able to book this for you.
The Hilton Hotel is in a good area, near the centre of town. Good choice.
Have a wonderful time here in Far North Qld.

Cheers
Anne

thanks very much your help ,might make it a four day trip now.
thanks again

Anne always has great advices...(grin). Have a page on Cairns too; invite you to have a look and see if the tips are useful in any way....

:) Hello Xuess, I am becoming a local up here in Cairns!
I MUST get my Cairns pages updated, have the pics, just need the time to load them!

Whoa! Love the sunshine too much Anne? (grin)

Hi Ann!I'm going to Cairns for 4 days in the first week of July- school holidays. I've read that I should book the train to Kuranda. I'm loath to do so if I can avoid it - bad weather etc may eventuate.I see there are 2 trains in the morning and they look pretty big. Should I book? Regards, Chris Nettlefold

Hello Chris,
You should have good weather in Cairns for July.
You mention you have 4 days here. One day should be put aside for the outer reef trip.
Another one is for the Cape Tribulation trip.
These are the two main things that should not be missed when visiting here.
If you can, I would suggest hiring a car and do the Cape Tribulation trip yourself. It isn't a hard trip to do and you can arm yourself with brochures and head for the hills:) Leave early in the morning from Cairns, say around 6.30am and head firstly to Port Douglas, have a cuppa there and then on to Mossman Gorge, you can spend up to 2 hours here. Then it's onward to Daintree river crossing and onto Cape Trib.

The train trip is fun. You can get the train up to Kuranda and then get the skyrail down the hill:) I would do it this way. This is easy to arrange once you are here, don't book ahead, no need.
Kuranda is a small village, the train station is unique and it is a nice place to wander around. You can decide how long you stay. The skyrail runs all day...so you can leave at anytime. That is why it's best to get train up and skyrail down:)

Let me know if you have any other questions, I am happy to help.

Thanks Anne.You're a champ.I don't drive so I suppose Cape Trib will be a bit far to really appreciate it and Mossman Gorge, Port Dopuglas etc by one day bus or tour, but what do you think? Re outer reef- I've been to Whitsundays, Hawaii and Thailand and seen a lot of coral. Given that and my short time frame would you still classify the outer reef as a "Must See"?If so, are the Quiksilver tours the go? I seem to have asked a lot of questions, but hope you can be of assistance. Regards.

Chris, do a day tour from Cairns to Cape Tribulation. It is well worth it.
There are a number of these, check out when you get here or I can take a look for you over the weekend and you could book in advance.
If you have done reef, no, no need to do it again.

In Cairns you have the benefit of a good bus system. A day spent exploring here is worth it. You can catch a bus to the Botanical Garden area. It's just lovely. You can walk around the gardens and then take a walk around tanks area, then across the road you can walk through the Centenary Lake area. It's a great way to spend an hour or so. There is a little cafe' at the Botanical gardens where you can have something to eat and drink, they are open for breakfast also.
You can also catch a bus to the northern beaches. The beach I would recomend to visit is Palm Cove. Spend a few hours here.
You could do both in a day.
The Esplanade area is where you can find great cafe's/restaurants, also on the Peir there is heaps as well. The boardwalk area is nice to stroll along of an evening. There is also a lovely big swimming pool there........
There is also a bus out to the Zoo, which is just north of Cairns city. I haven't been here, but I hear great reports about it.

Oh, there is one thing I really really highly recommend, that is doing a dinner at the Cairns International Hotel...It's a buffet type dinner and is approx $59 per person. It is the best value for money and the food is fantastic. Beautiful seaford, plus other food, just wonderful.This would be my most favourite dinning experience here. The sweets are pretty yummy as well:)

Thanks Anne!! There's my week taken care of!Regards, Chris N