Clifton Beach, north of Cairns

Once the secret of backpackers, Cairns is now a well known destination for all kinds of international travelers who yearn for a tropical experience. Whether you like fishing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, golfing, shopping, bird watching or beachcombing, you can find it all around Cairns. Located on Queensland’s north coast, Cairns provides an excellent base for exploration to such wonderful sights as the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Forest, incredibly beautiful beaches, Kuranda and the Atherton Tablelands.

Cairns itself is now a wonder to experience. Over the years the city has grown to provide luxury accomodation and an excellent assortment of restaurants to please international taste buds. Shopping has improved to the extent that designer stores and malls are proliferating around town.

The laid-back ambiance that attracted the backpacking set is still here as well as budget accomodation in the form of hostels and inexpensive motels. Indeed, Cairns is still attracting hordes of young independent travellers. There’s even a special car market where backpackers can buy and sell those Ford station wagons and camper vans they love at low prices.

Sunbathing on Cairns Esplanade

You should be aware that Cairns itself doesn’t have much of a beach. The waterfront is mudflats, with just a tiny section of sand. To compensate the city fathers have put in a large salt water pool/lagoon up to 1.5 meters deep for people for relief from the heat. There is a lot of grass and more sand around the lagoon for sunbathing. There are also new facilities to go along with the lagoon. This is now a popular place to hang out, so expect crowds.

Cairns Lagoon

If you want a real Queensland beach experience you need only drive north of the city to find some beautiful, uncrowded natural beaches. We recommend Clifton or Ellis Beach. For more facilities, services and restaurants try Trinity Beach or Palm Cove (upmarket). Remember to check whether the stingers (poisonous jellyfish) or crocodiles are around. If so you should only swim inside the stinger nets setup in various places along the beaches.

Cairns is an ideal base for exploring North Queensland. Daytrips to Port Douglas, Kuranda, the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree or an overnight to Cape Tribulation are what make this area so popular with travelers. The rainforests and reef systems are relatively pristine, unique experiences which you will never forget.

View of Cairns region

With so many natural wonders around, don’t get stuck in Cairns with its man-made temptations. However if the weather turns nasty you can always take in a movie, do some shopping at the markets or malls, or catch up on your Internet correspondence.

There are several interesting markets in Cairns. Rusty’s Market is the place for fresh produce. The Cairns night market on the Esplanade serves up a nice variety of fast food including chinese, thai, japanese in addition to the usual burgers and fish. The merchandise vendors have the usual tourist stuff, like T-shirts, hats, etc. but at reasonable prices.

Since Cairns is located in tropical Queensland, the best time to visit is during the dry season from May to October, as the weather is far more pleasant and the poisonous jellyfish are not around. The off-season is very wet with tropical cyclones a frequent occurance. However during this period you’ll find the best bargains on accomodation and far less crowds around.