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Travel to Cairns
Flying to Cairns
There are no direct flights to Cairns from the UK, but you can buy a connecting ticket with Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, or Air New Zealand. You can usually find cheaper fares to Australia if you fly between mid-April and mid-June, while Christmas tends to be the most expensive time to visit.
From London - 24 hours (including stopover); New York - 26 (including stopover); Los Angeles – 18 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 27 hours (including stopover); Sydney - 3 hours 10 minutes.
City Airports:
Cairns Airport (CNS)
Telephone:+61 7 4080 6703
Website:www.cairnsairport.com.au
Location:
Money:
Luggage:
Website:www.cairnsairport.com.au
Location:
Cairns Airport is situated 7km (4 miles) north of Cairns city centre, in northern Queensland.
Money:
ATMs are located in the arrivals area of the international terminal and the check-in, departure and arrival areas of the domestic terminal. Currency can be changed at booths in the baggage reclaim area of the international terminal and the departure lounge of the domestic terminal.
Luggage:
A baggage storage service is available at both terminals. Contact the Car Park Service Kiosk (tel: +61 411 617 686) for queries or assistance with locker storage. Luggage trolleys are positioned at key points (free for arriving international passengers) and porter assistance is also available. For lost items, call Cairns Airport’s information hotline (tel: +61 7 4080 6703).
Travel by road
Summary:
Traffic drives on the left in Australia. The minimum driving age is 16. Road quality is good within Cairns, but if you're heading into the outback, roads may be dusty and unsealed and can become very wet during the rainy season. Speed limits are generally 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas and 100kph (62mph) outside urban areas, occasionally rising to 110kph (68mph).
You can drive on your national driving licence, but if it's not in English, it's a good idea to bring an official translation or an International Driving Permit.
The RACQ (tel: 131 905, in Australia only; www.racq.com.au) is the state's main motoring organisation and can provide further information on driving in Queensland.
Emergency breakdown service:
RACQ (tel: 131 111, in Australia only).
Routes:
Cairns is connected to Townsville, Airlie Beach and Rockhampton to the south by the Bruce Highway (1), and to Port Douglas to the north by the Captain Cook Highway (44). The road from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown is for 4-wheel drives only.
Driving times:
From Townsville - 4 hours 15 minutes; Airlie Beach - 7 hours 15 minutes; Rockhampton - 12 hours; Port Douglas - 1 hour.
Coaches:
Operators running daily long-haul services between Cairns and Brisbane, via Townsville (5 hours) and Rockhampton (18 hours), include Greyhound Australia (tel: 1300 473 946, in Australia only or +61 7 4690 9850; www.greyhound.com.au) and Premier Motor Service (tel: +61 2 4423 5233; www.premierms.com.au).
Smaller coach companies, including Coral Reef Coaches (tel: +61 7 4098 2800; www.coralreefcoaches.com.au) and Sun Palm Transport (tel: +61 7 4099 1191; www.sunpalmtransport.com.au), run services to northern destinations such as Port Douglas (1 hour) and Cape Tribulation (3 hours).
Travel by rail
Services:
Comfortable sleeper trains connect Cairns with Brisbane to the south. Cairns is also the starting point for two tourist trains. All trains operate out of Cairns' Bunda Street station at Cairns Shopping Centre.
Operators:
Queensland Rail (tel: +61 7 3606 6630; www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au) runs the Spirit of Queensland service, which travels up the coastline from Brisbane to Cairns. The train runs five times a week in each direction.
The Savannahlander (tel: +61 7 4053 6848; www.savannahlander.com.au) leaves Cairns once a week on a scenic trip into the outback. The 1960s-era "silver-bullet" train travels through the tropics to Forsayth and back, with an overnight stop before the return journey.
Queensland Rail also runs the Kuranda Scenic Railway (tel: +61 7 4036 9333; www.ksr.com.au), a tourist route that operates daily to and from Kuranda in the Atherton Tablelands.
Journey times:
From Brisbane - 24 hours with the Spirit of Queensland service.
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