Cairns - The Capital of Australia's Tropics

Change Your Latitude > Cairns

Cairns is a truly tropical city … a modern, sophisticated destination that is an ideal base to explore the wider region with front door access to World Heritage listed Reef and Rainforest, islands, and Outback.

Enjoy a spot of shopping at the many boutique shops, dine al fresco at an award winning restaurant, café or bar or be inspired at a cultural display or art gallery.

Cairns has over 7,000 rooms available in a variety of configurations, from 5-star properties to apartments, boutique accommodation, budget and backpacker options, with more developments currently under construction.

The Cairns Esplanade is the city’s favourite spot to immerse in the tropical lifestyle with a 4,000 square metre swimming lagoon taking centre stage and an ambient temperature for year round swimming.

Surrounding the swimming lagoon are parklands, tropical gardens and wide vistas that link to the CBD. There is also the Cairns Foreshore Promenade with 2 kilometres of timber board walks, public space, gardens and entertainment facilities capturing the sweeping views across Trinity Inlet.

The Esplanade is also lined with a variety of eateries featuring various cuisines, bars, clubs, cafes and galleries. Furthermore, there are a variety of accommodation options that take advantage of the sweeping waterfront views.

Map of Tropical North Queensland

Cityport is bounded by the Cairns Convention Centre in the South and the Marlin Marina in the North, and is designed to cater for the increasing demand for access to the Great Barrier Reef with upgraded marine facilities and the creation of an urban waterfront tourism precinct.

The Reef Fleet Terminal is the common departure point for the 2,000 passengers travelling to the Great Barrier Reef and Islands each day. The terminal includes passenger check-in counters, tour group briefing areas and retail areas. Also in the harbour area is the Marlin Marina with over 200 berths for the colourful array of game fishing, tour and cruise boats and superyachts.

The Cairns Seaport is the country’s busiest cruise port with over 200 international and domestic cruise ship visits each year. A flotilla of international cruise liners now have Cairns firmly entrenched in their itineraries, while the numbers of superyachts that visit the region is also rapidly increasing.

The Cairns Beaches

The Cairns Beaches stretch for 26kms along a sunny coastline which begins just at the northern fringe of Cairns city. Miles of sand yields to sweeping backdrops of rainforest mountains, inviting you to swim, sail, windsurf or just relax under a palm tree.  The Cairns Beaches are Machans, Holloways, Yorkey’s Knob, Trinity, Kewarra, Clifton, Palm Cove and Ellis Beaches. Each is a small, separate township with its own distinctive character with plenty of space for those seeking solitude while still offering access to reef and rainforest tours and nearby wildlife attractions.

Together, these beachside towns provide much of Cairns’ holiday accommodation - choose from resorts, hotels, motels, holiday apartments and caravan parks. Watersports gear can be hired right on the beach, and stinger resistant swimming enclosures afford protection during the summer months at most beach locations.

Today, both Trinity Beach and Palm Cove have grown to become sought after resort destinations, where visitors can relax in four and five star comfort. Palm Cove is a sophisticated village, which has gained the moniker of ‘Australia’s Spa Capital’ due to its award-winning array of exclusive spa resorts, offering the latest in spa and pampering services.