18 Oct
Snorkelling Fitzroy Island
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Things First Time Visitors Should Do In Cairns

Cairns in Tropical North Queensland is famous for its incredible natural beauty, thrill seeking adventure opportunities and its laid back lifestyle. Whether you’re a solo backpacker or travelling with kids, you won’t be short on things to do and see.

Cairns offers a smorgasbord of activities and adventures for visitors to indulge in, which leaves you with the big decision of what are the must do’s on your first trip to this amazing city.

Here we have listed the top things first time visitors in Cairns should do to get the most out of their stay in this tropical paradise.

Visit The Great Barrier Reef

Seeing the Great Barrier Reef is usually one of the main reasons people from all over the world come to Cairns, so you’ll find a large range of reef tours available, catering to all types of travellers.

If you want to experience all that the reef has to offer, then you can’t go past a trip out to Fitzroy Island. Fitzroy Island is just a short 45 minute boat ride from Cairns, and is surrounded by World Heritage Listed coral reef systems.

Fitzroy-Island-Cairns-Accommodation

You can explore the breathtaking Great Barrier Reef at your own pace, snorkelling straight off the beach or choose to venture further afield with an outer reef dive or sea kayaking tour.  You can even take part in a stand up paddle board tour. You can hire gear, or talk to the team at the Fitzroy Island Sports Hub about tours available!

Glass bottom boat tours are also available and are a great way to see the reef for those who aren’t too keen on getting wet or families with young children.

Fitzroy Island has a range of accommodation options suited to all budgets from camping to luxurious resort suites for those who really want to soak up the relaxing Island vibe and explore more of the Island, including the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and the numerous rainforest walking tracks.

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and Kuranda Railway

The Skyrail Cableway takes you on a breathtaking gondola experience over the World Heritage Listed wet tropics rainforest. The trip takes 90 minutes from Smithfield up to Kuranda, the “village in the rainforest”. The trip includes 2 stops where you can get off and take in the amazing views and natural beauty.

You can upgrade to a Diamond View Car featuring a glass floor allowing you to watch as you float above the rainforest canopy. When you reach Kuranda, you’ll love exploring this quirky little village, checking out the famous Kuranda Markets and grabbing a bite to eat in one of the local cafes.

For the return trip from Kuranda to Cairns, you can choose to take the Kuranda Scenic Railway. Built more than 120 years ago, the Kuranda Scenic Railway is a two-hour journey taking you past the mountainous walls of the Barron Gorge National Park, through 15 hand carved, solid granite rock tunnels, over 37 bridges and past tumbling rainforest waterfalls.

Daintree RainforestImage Credit: cairns-australia.com.au

Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Adventures

Located 40 minutes north of Cairns, Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures is one of the best places to experience Australian wildlife in Cairns. Experience a full day of adventure including crocodile spotting on the boat cruise, the crocodile attack show and learning all about sustainability and conservation on the crocodile farm tour.

Other activities Hartley’s offer are koala and wallaby feeding, the snake show and the rare opportunity to feed a cassowary. Hartley’s has a cafe which offers the unique experience of eating lunch while watching the crocodiles casually cruising by in the lagoon below. You can also bring your own packed lunch.

Hartleys Crocodile AdventuresImage Credit: cairns-australia.com

Bungy Jumping With AJ Hackett

If you’re really looking for some thrill seeking adventure, then bungy jumping is the way to go. Located at Smithfield, 20 mins drive north of Cairns, this 50 metre plunge was the first bungy site in Australia.

The scenery of the surrounding rainforest and reef from the 50 metre platform is breathtaking, hopefully helping to calm the nerves before your first jump. Although this extreme sport definitely isn’t for the faint hearted, AJ Hackett offer sixteen different kinds of bungy jump to cater to everyone from the first time jumper to the seasoned thrill seeker.

If you can’t face the plunge there are also viewing platforms, sun chairs and a licensed bar located on-site. The atmosphere of the AJ Hackett site is fun and laid back and there’s also an additional thrill option of the Minjin Jungle Swing, which is a swing that catapults you through the rainforest at high speeds.

AJ Hackett Bungy JumpingImage Credit: cairnstoday.com.au

Go Freshwater Swimming In The Rainforest

If you ask the locals, they’ll probably all have their own opinion of the best freshwater swimming spot in Cairns, but one that is well known with both locals and tourists is Crystal Cascades.

‘Crystals’ is about a 25 minute drive out of Cairns City and is a secluded freshwater swimming hole, hidden in a tropical rainforest. A series of small waterfalls flow into large pools surrounded by large impressive granite boulders, perfect for sliding down and cooling off in the hot weather.

There are also BBQs and picnic tables in the area with a toilet/change room block close by. None of the major tour operators visit here, so you will probably need to ask a local for directions.

Freshwater Swimming Crystal CascadesImage Credit: weekendnotes.com/crystal-cascades/

Once you have experienced all of these fun and exciting things to do in Cairns, you will definitely have fallen in love with this little piece of paradise and already be preparing your list of things to do in Cairns on your next visit.

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