Babinda Boulders - Credit Tourism and Events Queensland
Great Barrier Reef Drive - Credit Tourism and Events Queensland
Ribbon Reef - Credit Tourism and Events Queensland
Great Barrier Reef - Credit Tourism and Events Queensland
Nandroya Falls - Credit Tourism and Events Queensland
Cairns and Great Barrier Reef
Warm air, ocean breeze and palm trees. The Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region is one of the world’s most inspiring nature-based destinations with two World Heritage areas side by side in the Great Barrier Reef and Earth’s oldest rainforest.
Cairns is the gateway to these areas, and with the international airport just 10 minutes from the city, you can be snorkeling with turtles or zip-lining through the rainforest on the day you arrive. A cosmopolitan tropical city with a thriving food scene, Cairns has brilliant bars, cafes, and waterfront restaurants serving tropical delicacies from local farms and the ocean. The city is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, with modern vessels traveling to pontoons, islands and coral cays where you can snorkel or dive among colourful coral and diverse marine life. You can also view the reef in semi-submarines, glass-bottom boats, or by helmet diving.
Surrounding Cairns is the Wet Tropics rainforest, the oldest tropical rainforest in the world, home to waterfalls and wildlife, including the endangered cassowary. Explore the rainforest by car, train, cable car, white water rafting, mountain biking or walking.
It is the only region possible to experience Australia’s two Indigenous cultures, the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander people, whose stories are entwined with the World Heritage areas. Time your trip right to take an up close appreciation at the renowned Cairns Indigenous Art Fair.
Further north are the idyllic seaside holiday towns of Trinity Beach, Palm Cove and Port Douglas before heading into the deep green rainforest and untouched coastal beauty of the Daintree and Cape Tribulation.
