Overview
Set on the coast of tropical Far North Queensland, Cairns is small but geared entirely to travel: a waterfront esplanade with a public lagoon stands in for a swimming beach, and the marina fills each morning with boats bound for the reef. The climate is hot and humid, with a wet summer and a dry, milder winter that is the peak season. The city itself is a base — its real draw lies offshore and in the ranges behind.
Highlights
Day boats and liveaboards run out to the outer Great Barrier Reef for snorkelling and diving over coral and turtles. Inland, the Daintree and Cape Tribulation hold the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, and the Kuranda Scenic Railway climbs to a mountain village past waterfalls and gorge. The Cairns Esplanade lagoon, the Atherton Tablelands and nearby Palm Cove and Port Douglas round out an easy tropical base.