Cairns - Surroundings

Cairns is an excellent base for day trips and longer tours in the highlands to the southwest (Atherton Tableland, with rain forest reserves, waterfalls and fine viewpoints). A trip on the steep historic railroad line through the Barron Gorge to Kuranda is a memorable experience.

Since the Great Barrier Reef runs very close to the coast in the far north of Queensland, making the reef and its islands (Green, Fitzroy and Frankland Islands) easy to access, Cairns is a favorite starting point for visits to the reef. A variety of boats, fast catamarans, hydrofoils and helicopters ferry hosts of day trippers, holidaymakers, scuba divers and snorkellers every day. There are also occasional cruises to Cooktown in the inaccessible north and Thursday Island, off the northernmost tip of Queensland. Also on offer are railcar tours to Savannah Gulf and the coasts of the Gulf of Carpentaria. From Cairns one can also visit the rugged territory of the Cape York Peninsula or the Tyrconnel Historic Gold Mine.