Things to do in Cairns this weekend

Cairns sits between two UNESCO World Heritage areas — the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest — making it perhaps the most naturally privileged city in Australia for weekend adventures. Here's how to make the most of it.

Great Barrier Reef day trip

The primary reason people visit Cairns is half an hour away by fast catamaran. The outer reef platforms at Agincourt, Saxon, and Flynn Reef offer the best coral and the clearest water. Reef Magic, Quicksilver, and Passions of Paradise are among the operators with strong environmental credentials and consistently excellent guides.

Daintree Rainforest

Two hours north of Cairns lies the world's oldest continuously surviving rainforest — 180 million years of evolution visible in the leaf litter and the strangler figs and the cassowary footprint in the mud near the creek. The Cape Tribulation section, where the rainforest meets the reef, is one of the most remarkable landscape conjunctions on earth.

Cairns Esplanade

The free lagoon on the Cairns Esplanade solves the crocodile-in-the-mud problem that Darwin's waterfront shares — a large, heated, lifeguard-patrolled swimming lagoon right on the waterfront, surrounded by the Esplanade's parklands, BBQ areas, and the morning market activity that makes this the social hub of Cairns life.

Kuranda

The heritage Kuranda Scenic Railway climbs from Cairns into the rainforest on a gradient that 19th century engineers achieved with dynamite and determination, stopping at Barron Gorge Falls before arriving in the village market town of Kuranda 90 minutes later. Return via the Skyrail gondola for a different perspective through the rainforest canopy.

Tjapukai Cultural Park

Djabugay Country begins just outside Cairns and the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park offers an immersive introduction to the knowledge, culture, and performing arts of the Djabugay people who have been the custodians of this country for tens of thousands of years. The night fire ceremony is particularly powerful.

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