Best family activities in Cairns

Cairns sits between two UNESCO World Heritage areas — the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest — and the family activities the city provides reflect this extraordinary natural privilege, with reef snorkelling, rainforest walks, and wildlife encounters creating a family destination of global significance.

Great Barrier Reef snorkelling and glass-bottom boat tours — the Reef Fleet Terminal at Cairns provides access to the outer reef through multiple operator options suited to families with young children. The glass-bottom boat and semi-submersible options deliver the reef experience without snorkelling, while the pontoon platforms at Moore Reef and Upolu Cay provide safe snorkelling environments for children as young as three.

Cairns Aquarium — the purpose-built aquarium in the city centre provides the Coral Sea Ocean tank (with reef sharks and rays), the freshwater crocodile lagoon, the turtle habitat, and the rainforest stream exhibit that collectively deliver both the reef and the rainforest ecosystems in a single building. The Behind the Scenes tour suits older children particularly well.

Kuranda Village — the rainforest village accessible by the historic Kuranda Scenic Railway (from Cairns station) or the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway (from Smithfield) provides the village markets, the Rainforestation wildlife park, the Birdworld aviary, and the koala garden that create a full-day family experience in the rainforest that most children rank as the highlight of a Cairns visit.

Hartley's Crocodile Adventures — the crocodile park at Palm Cove, 25 kilometres north of Cairns, provides the crocodile attack show, the wildlife boat cruise, and the koala encounters that make it the best single-site wildlife experience in the Cairns region for families wanting to see multiple species in one location.

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