Cairns is an adventure sports enthusiast's paradise: every second shop is a tourist information centre with signs blaring "dive dive" or "tandem skydiving". Its location close to the ocean, the mountains and the rainforest gives travellers lots of choices of activities.
Standby rates are ubiquitous: many of the more expensive activities, including scuba diving and skydiving, are up to $150 cheaper if you are prepared to go on standby for a cancellation.
Swim in the artificial "lagoon" (a public swimming pool with some sand on one side) on the promenade near the pier. The lagoon is unfenced and free to use. A shallow depth(max depth 1.5 m) makes it ideal for families with children. The lagoon is a good place to cool off especially during "stinger season" between October and May (cf.
Dangerous creatures in Australia) when swimming at local beaches should be avoided except inside the stinger net enclosures, which are no bigger than the lagoon itself. Note that there are also no beaches in central Cairns itself - one can catch a bus to the northern beaches, and there are swimming net enclosures at Holloways, Yorkey's Knob, Trinity, Kewarra, Palm Cove and Ellis Beaches but the sand there is rather rough.
Sun-bake or people watch on the grassy part of the promenade near the lagoon. On a sunny day, even in the middle of Cairns's tropical "winter", there will sometimes be more sun-bakers than there is visible grass.
Have a barbecue on the promenade. Cairns has free barbecues scattered generously among the picnic tables on the grass.
Go walking - Cairns is surrounded by rainforest clad mountains, and there are nearly 200 walking tracks in this World Heritage Area. Keen walkers should keep an eye out for
Tropical Walking Tracks, found at local bookshops and adventure shops. It lists all of the tracks around Cairns as well as those between
Townsville and
Cooktown and has maps of them and 'how-to-get-there' directions as well.
Diving and snorkelling
A number of Cairns operators run day and liveaboard scuba diving trips from both Cairns and Port Douglas, and almost all include complimentary day-transfers for their passengers between the two. For seeing the Great Barrier Reef, the smaller dive boats provide the most intimate experience, both for diving and for snorkelling and are excellent for the confident or experienced. The larger operations have more amenities - better food, larger and faster boats, more activities, and often easier access to the water and are great for beginners, but sometimes provide a poorer underwater experience, as the underwater areas that the larger boats visit are heavily used.
Mike Ball Dive Expeditions143 Lake StreetEmail: resv@mikeball.comPhone: +61-7-4053-0500Price: 3 night trip from $1,480, 4 night trip from $1,678 and 7 night trip from $2,938, rental equipment and courses extraDive sites suited to serious divers. Allows solo diving and rebreather diving if you provide appropriate equipment. Cabins with private bathrooms are available. New Horizon Sail and DivePO Box 5957Email: info@reefcharter.comPhone: +61 7 4055-6130Fax: +61 7 4055-6315Price: The trip is from $380 per person for a two day liveaboard and from $540 for a three day liveaboard, all equipment included.New Horizon Sail and Dive operates two classic sailing boats, Santa Maria and Coral Sea Dreaming, to the outer Great Barrier Reef. They allow you to experience the reef in a smaller more intimate affair with a maximum of 10 passengers on each trip. Passions of ParadiseEmail: sales@passions.com.auPhone: +61 7 4041-1600A 25 m modern, fast sailing catamaran travelling daily to Michaelmas Cay, where the company holds a permit allowing passengers access to the beach. This is one of the most important bird nesting sanctuaries on the Great Barrier Reef with over 20,000 sea birds. The cay has white sand, warm shallow water and an abundance of marine life making it perfect for snorkelling, scuba diving, glass bottom boat tours or just relaxing on the beach. The second destination is the Outer Barrier Reef and a mooring at Breaking Patches. There you will find the hard coral gardens that the Outer Reef is famous for. The day includes a hot and cold buffet lunch, all snorkelling equipment and sailing on one of the fastest catamarans travelling to the Great Barrier Reef. Pro Dive Cairns116 Spence StreetEmail: info@prodivecairns.comPhone: +61 7 4031-5255Fax: +61 7 4051-9955Price: The trip is $560 per person, twin share or double, reef tax and equipment included. Open Water course $725, Open Water referral $630Specialises in 11 dive/3 day 2 night liveaboard trips to the Outer Reef, departing every day except Tuesdays. Their dive sites are suitable for inexperienced divers: most trips will include one or more groups of students doing their checkout dives. The liveaboard trip is $580 for a twin share or double cabin (including all equipment). Pro Dive Cairns also offer several PADI courses which include the liveaboard trip: the basic Open Water course (2 days of classroom and pool work plus the trip), Open Water referral checkout dives, Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver. The trip is $580 per person, twin share or double and equipment included. Additional fee applies of $35 per person, includes a $15 Government Environmental Management Charge as well as a Port Departure tax and administration costs. For some serious airtime
If you are sick of the sea, head up in the air for skydiving, hang gliding or hot air ballooning. The Cairns region has some of the best weather for ballooning in the world and so trips go year round and are rarely cancelled. It's also one of the cheapest places to go flying, anywhere. The trips go inland to the Atherton Tablelands and take off at first light at Mareeba, finishing around 10AM and can connect directly to a Great Barrier Reef tour or drop you in Kuranda. Hang gliders fly off Rex Point Lookout, halfway between Cairns and Port Douglas on the Captain Cook Highway. On weekends, it's common to see multiple gliders soaring the sky above the scenic lookout, and the winter season provides consistent flight conditions.
White water rafting
Rafting in North Queensland has the advantage of departures all year round, tropical water temperatures and ease of access to compliment breath-taking scenery and rapids. The region's white water rafting adventures are suitable for all levels of fitness and enthusiasm. Ride through the planet's oldest continuously growing tropical rainforests on rivers that still run totally wild.
RnR White Water RaftingPO Box 2945Email: res@raft.com.auPhone: +61 7 4041 9444Fax: +61 7 4041 9499Operating since 1984. The Tully River is Australia's best and most famous 1-day white water rafting experience, with up to 5 hr of rafting over more than 45 grade 4 rapids through World Heritage Rainforest. The Barron River option is a great half-day tour, with up to 2 hr of rafting on grade 3 rapids. For something longer, the North Johnstone 4 day expedition is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Helicopter in, 4 days of grade 5 rapids and camping 3 nights under the stars in riverside rainforest clearings. Coach tours
Many coach tours depart Cairns daily, with a couple of hundred to choose from. There are rainforest tours to Mossman Gorge, the Daintree River, Cape Tribulation, and the Cairns Highlands (Atherton Tablelands), specialised 4WD tours, city sights tours, tours to wildlife parks, outback tours.
Tropic Wings Coach ToursPO 1230 CairnsEmail: daytours@tropicwings.com.auPhone: +617 4041 9400Fax: +61 7 4041 9499One of the largest and longest established coach touring companies in Cairns, operating since 1981. Operate full and half day tours to Kuranda including Kuranda Scenic Railway, Skyrail, Rainforestation Nature Park and Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Cape Tribulation and the Daintree, Port Douglas, Atherton Tablelands and the 'Outback' .Extended tours available to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree. Jungle ToursPO Box 2945Email: res@jungletours.com.auPhone: +61 7 4041 9440Fax: +61 7 4041 9499Day and extended tours to the World Heritage areas of Cape Tribulation and the Daintree - where the oldest rainforest in the world meets the Great Barrier Reef. Small groups travel with their informative guides on air-conditioned buses. Tours can include Port Douglas, The Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, cruising on the Daintree River searching for crocodiles and wildlife, swimming in the Mossman Gorge and exploring Cape Tribulation Beach. On extended tours, various levels of accommodation are offered, from backpacker dorms to deluxe resorts, with plenty of options to party and play. Activities vary from reef trips with Rum Runner, to horseriding, jungle surfing, and sea kayaking. Northern Experience Eco TourStratfordPhone: +61 7 4058 0268Visits the waterfalls, Lake Barrine Cater lake, The Curtain Fig tree, Famous Milla Milla falls, 2 course hot lunch and cheese/yogurt tasting at the Mungalli organic bio-dynamic dairy, rainforest of the Southern Cairns Highlands, plus the historic Spanish castle ruins and gardens of Paronella Park and Mena Creek falls, near Innisfail, and the Babinda boulders for a swim in clear mountain spring waters. Back to Cairns via Bruce Highway, sugar cane fields and Walsh's Pyramid. Many photo opportunities. Small groups, max 20 passengers. source: Wikivoyage
